What Is Google's Call Screen Feature and How Does It Work?

Google call screening lets you see who is calling and why. Call screening allows Google Assistant to answer your phone calls and provides a transcript of the request in real time. You can choose to tell the caller you aren't available, ask for more information, or pick up the call once you know it's a legitimate caller with whom you want to speak.

What Is Google Assistant Call Screening?

To use Google call screening, make sure you have the latest version of the Phone app installed.

The call screening feature rolled out with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL in October 2018. It's an automatic feature that gives you the option to have Google Assistant screen calls from numbers you don't know.

When a phone call comes in, you see an option to screen calls. When you tap this, it launches Google Assistant to answer the phone for you. A screen appears showing what Google Assistant says to the caller and the caller's responses.

After the person calling you answers Google Assistant, you see prompts at the bottom of the screen. These include things like "Is it urgent?" or "I can't understand you" to prompt the caller for more information. You can also choose "I'll call you back" or "Report as spam" to end the call without speaking to the person calling.

This feature appeared after robocalls and spam calls become persistent. It's an easy way to answer a call from a number you don't recognize without interacting if the caller is spam or a scam call.

Google Screen Call Transcripts

Google saves the transcripts from screened calls, which can be handy if you want to review information from a call. You'll find this transcript inside the call details of a screened call. If you prefer not to have a record, delete the transcript by removing the call log entry for that phone number.