I’ve been a Pixel phone devotee since the beginning, and one of my favorite features is the call-screening capability that debuted with the Pixel 3 in 2018. I don’t remember the last time I answered an unnecessary call, and I can’t imagine switching to a phone without it.
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Over the years, though, Pixel call screening — now named Call Assist — has added several new tricks beyond simply keeping robocalls and other spam phone calls at bay. Here’s a look at a few things you might not have known call screening could do.
1. Hold for me
I don’t use this feature often, but it’s one of the most helpful things my flagship phone can do.
Hold for Me (which has expanded to all Google Search users) waits for a call on your behalf if someone places you on hold. When a live person answers, your phone informs them that you’ll be picking up shortly and displays an alert. If you’ve ever had to deal with being placed on a seemingly endless hold on a customer service phone call, you know how frustrating it can be to wait around.
2. Call notes
This feature is currently available for the more recent Pixel models (like the 9 and newer), but I’m eager for it to be available on other devices. Call Notes does just what the name says. It listens to your calls, extracts the important information, and creates a summary of your call.
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If you’re like me, you’re the type of person who thinks, “I’ll remember that, I don’t need to write it down,” only to scramble later to find the appointment time or meeting place. Google says Call Notes understands what’s important on a call and only saves what you need. You do need to activate Call Notes for each conversation.
3. Make any call a text
If you absolutely hate talking on the phone (or you don’t have the ability to talk), any phone call can be converted into a text with Live Captions.
Designed as an accessibility feature, Live Captions turns what a caller is saying into text on your screen. You get your own keyboard, and the caller will hear the words you type.
4. Screen calls manually or automatically
The original call-screening feature remains one of the best — and now it’s available either automatically or manually. If you have it set to manual, you tap “Screen call” when a call comes, and you’ll see a live transcription of what the caller is saying so you can decide whether to pick up or not.
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You can reply with auto-generated responses that the caller hears and even handle the whole call without actually answering. If you choose the auto option, your phone will ask who’s calling and why, and show the response to you. If your phone detects spam, the call ends.
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