Google ‘Talk to a Live Representative’ now in testing in the U.S.

Google Search Labs is testing a ‘Talk to a Live Representative’  functionality that will help users place calls, wait on hold, and then give you a call when a live representative becomes available.

For users testing the feature, when they search for a business, Google’s Knowledge Panels might have a ‘Talk to a live representative’ prompt.

To request a call, you’ll need to specify why you’re calling; for example, if you’ve called United Airlines, you might need to specify that you’re trying to check in or that you missed your flight. Following that, you’ll provide your phone number and receive an estimated wait time. Further, you will be able to cancel the request if needed.

According to 9to5Google, these are the supported businesses:

Airlines: Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United
Telecommunications: Assurance Wireless, Boost Mobile, Charter Communications, Cricket Wireless, Samsung, Sprint (presumably T-Mobile)
Retail: Best Buy, Costco, Gamestop, The Home Depot, Walmart, Services
Services: ADT, DHL, Fedex, Grubhub, Instacart, Securus Technologies, Stubhub, UPS, Waste Management, Zelle
Insurance: Esurance, State Farm

Google already has the feature ‘Call me back,’ which is quite different as you’d need to set up the call yourself before getting off the line. It’s also similar to ‘Hold For Me,’ a Google Pixel Phone app feature that allows you to put any call on hold, and the Assistant will play a sound when someone comes to the phone.

Talk to a Live Representative is only available for U.S. Search Labs users on the Google app for Android, iOS, and Chrome.

Source: 9to5Google