Google Assistant-powered speakers now support inbound calls

Google Assistant has always had the support to make phone calls. The feature, however, was limited to only making the calls, not receiving them. It is now going to change as Google is rolling out support for receiving calls on Assistant-powered speakers.

The feature is not widely available as yet. According to reports, Australian telecom major and internet service provider Telstra currently supports the inbound phone calls on Google Assistant-power speakers. The feature has come almost one year after the telco added support for outbound calls on such smart speakers, reports 9to5Google.

The report adds that the carrier is notifying users through text messages about how they can get started with the feature.

“Your Voice-activated Calling (VAC) service has a new feature available. Inbound calling is now available to Telstra mobile services at no additional charge to your mobile plan. Up to 10 Google Nest, smart speakers and smart displays in your home can now make and receive calls along with your mobile phone. The inbound caller’s name or number will be announced by your Google device, to answer you can just use touch or your voice, just say, ‘Hey Google, Answer Call’,” reads the message.

Up to 10 Google Assistant speakers or smart displays can receive calls in the same home. This is of course when the service has been activated. Users can set aside which speaker in their home will have the inbound calls support through Google Home application.

The interface is very much basic – once a user receives a call, the speaker announces the caller name aloud before playing a ring tone. To answer, just say “Hey Google, answer call”. Users can also physically respond to the call using the speaker’s touch panel.

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Step-by-step process

To enable, open Google Home’s Settings on your phone.

Select voice and video calls.

Here, choose mobile calls and then select Telstra (the supported carrier in this case).

Tap on inbound calling button and hit save.

Choose the Google device you want to support the calls.