Google has introduced a new feature called Verified Calls in the Google Phone app. Verified Calls is a feature on Google’s Phone app, which comes pre-loaded on many Android phones and will be available for download starting later this week on even more Android devices.
Verified Calls is initially rolling out in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Spain and India, with more countries to come. Businesses often rely on phone calls to reach out to new customers and serve existing ones. But customers often don’t answer the call if they don’t recognize the number.
Verified Calls aims to solve this problem by showing the caller’s name, logo, reason for calling and a verification symbol indicating the business has been authenticated by Google. This is done in a secure way, Google doesn’t collect or store any personally identifiable information after verification.
In a blog post, Google says that a wide range of businesses and institutions have been using Verified Calls during the pilot. For instance, banks calling to alert a customer about a possible fraudulent transaction can increase answer rates by stating the call reason. A food delivery or logistics company can do the same to make sure customers are available to receive their deliveries.
Based on last year’s launch of Verified SMS, which confirms the identity of the business that’s texting you, we learned that verified communication is valuable to both businesses and consumers. A study in the U.S. and Brazil found that Verified SMS increased consumer trust in brands, which significantly improved performance on metrics like likelihood to purchase, brand satisfaction, and likelihood to recommend.