Google’s Call Screen remains one of the most impressive additions to the Pixel 3 — and it’s set to become even better with the rollout of a new feature.
Call Screen, which was built into the Pixel 3 phone app and eventually also released for the Pixel 2 and Pixel, uses Google Assistant to answer calls. It can be activated by tapping on the “screen call” option that appears whenever someone is calling.
Upon activating Call Screen, Google Assistant asks the caller the purpose of the phone call. Users will then be able to see a live transcription of what the caller says. The transcription’s quality may vary from call to call, but it should give users a good idea whether the incoming call should be answered — and let them block unwanted spam callers.
To make the feature better, Google has started rolling out a new transcripts option for Call Screen. Transcripts disappear after a call ends, but with the new feature, users will be able to save them to use however they wish.
To access saved Call Screen transcripts, users will need to go to the Recents tab of the phone app, select the call they want to look at, and then choose Call Details. Users should then see a See Transcript option.
In addition to showing the conversation between Google Assistant and the caller, the feature also allows users to submit simple feedback (a thumbs up or down) regarding the quality of the transcription.
Call Screen transcripts is not a surprising addition, as the original support documentation for the feature contained references to it. Google previously mentioned that Call Screen transcripts would arrive before the year ends; it seems Pixel owners are gaining access to the feature right on time.
It remains unclear how widely Call Screen transcripts is being rolled out, but Pixel owners may check by using the “screen call” option for an incoming call, then going through the process of retrieving the transcripts.
The purpose of Call Screen is to stop users from wasting time picking up calls from unknown numbers. The saved transcripts will make it easier for users to look back and remember if they made the right choice in answering a call.
