If you own or have ever worked in a small business, you know how stressful it can be to juggle day-to-day tasks while also managing the ever-ringing phone line. According to research we conducted, nearly half of calls to local businesses go unanswered. And when calls do get picked up, conversations are often rushed, and follow-up details get lost in a pile of sticky notes.
This May, my team within Area 120, Google’s workshop for experimental products, launched CallJoy, a virtual phone agent for small business owners. Today, we are greatly expanding our capabilities and releasing a smarter, more intuitive agent that can assist callers by asking a simple question: “How can I help you?” Then, the agent intelligently responds based on the caller’s answer.
