The Pixel Phone app may soon let you respond to calls with AI messages
- An AI upgrade for Call Screen has been spotted
- It is likely powered by Gemini Nano AI
- More advanced AI responses could be offered
If you have one of the best Pixel phones in your pocket, you can use the Call Screen feature to have a Google bot answer incoming calls and ask what the call is about – and it looks like there’s even more AI deception afoot has also been added.
The team of 9to5Google did some research on the Phone app for Pixels and found code that indicated advanced AI responses would be available in the future. These would most likely be powered by Google’s Gemini AI chatbot.
You already benefit from an extensive experience with Call Screen as it works today: the caller hears a voice message asking him to tell his business, and you get a transcription of what he said. You can then join the conversation or send some basic responses (such as “call me back” or “thank you”) if you’re not available to talk.
This new upgrade would make those answers more varied and complex, powered by a large language model. It appears you’ll still be given the option to choose from a selection of on-screen responses, rather than starting from scratch.
Updates ahoy
Call screen was only updated last month, with more context-aware quick answers – answers that aren’t just generic answers (so if the call is about an appointment, for example, you might see the ‘confirm’ or ‘cancel’ options).
It’s not clear exactly how the more detailed answers might work, as the 9to5Google team couldn’t dig out any screenshots or enable the feature, but the new answers will most likely be along the same lines as a typical Gemini AI chatbot answer.
Another set of Pixel updates should be announced very soon, which Google is calling Pixel Drops, although this particular new feature may not be included. Google may need more time to refine the way it works, and it’s worth noting that the hidden code already includes the standard disclaimer about the unreliability of AI responses.
If the feature requires built-in AI processing from the Gemini Nano model, it will only work on the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 9 phones (Gemini Nano is also on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, although it’s not currently enabled).
