Google News

Wasted time is a drag. It’s anyone’s guess as to how much the average person wastes a year on all of our “wasted time” activities, like being on hold.

One estimate says Americans spend 26 days per year waiting on hold. And guess who thinks it can get that time back for us? Google.

The company has rolled out an experimental feature named "Talk to a Live Representative," which its imagineers have developed to streamline the process of contacting customer service by phone.

The feature takes its cue from the "Hold for Me" feature on Google Pixel phones but takes it a step further. Google will handle the process and then call the user once a live customer service representative is available to talk.

The "Talk to a Live Representative" feature is currently being tested within Google Search Labs and is available to users in the United States. And the company is playing fair, too. Instead of making the app work only on its own Android systems, it can do its work on Apple/iOS devices, as well as desktop Chrome browsers.

How it works

9to5Google’s test run of the app came off pretty impressively, but it’s not a total fix-all. To begin, the company is sticking with major retailers, airlines, and other brands that have call centers consumers might engage with. 

In instances where you’d call an airline, it would play out like this: 

“Request a call”: You first specify a reason for why you’re calling. In the case of airlines, it’s: Update existing booking, Luggage issue, Canceled flight, Other issue, Flight check-in, Missed my flight, and Delayed flight.

“You then provide your phone number, with Google sending SMS updates. The Request page will note the estimated wait time. After submitting, you can cancel the request at any time,” 9to5Google’s Abner Li said.

So far, the supported business partners include the following according to Li:

Airlines: Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United

Telecommunications: Assurance Wireless, Boost Mobile, Charter Communications, Cricket Wireless, Samsung, Sprint (which probably means T-Mobile, too)

Retail: Best Buy, Costco, Gamestop, The Home Depot, Walmart, Services

Services: ADT, DHL, Fedex, Grubhub, Instacart, Securus Technologies, Stubhub, UPS, and Waste Management, Zelle

Insurance: Esurance, State Farm 

If someone asks you what internet browser you use, you’re likely to say Google Chrome. It is – by a large margin – the most used browser on the planet, with more than 60% of us using Chrome to surf the web.

But when artificial intelligence (AI) came along, Google was forced out of its comfort zone and had to adapt quickly. Now, the company says it’s full speed ahead and is introducing new generative AI features.

On top of things like the existing ability to add real-time captions to videos, detect malicious sites and annoying permission prompts, and generate the key points of a webpage, Chrome users will see rolling updates over the next few days that are packed with three new experimental generative AI features to make it even easier and more efficient to browse.

Tabs can be arranged in a smart way

Chrome’s “Tab groups” have been around for a while, but their organization is manual and dependent totally on the user. Now, with AI in the mix, Chrome will automatically suggest and create tab groups based on your open tabs. 

A Google spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs that this feature can be particularly helpful if you’re working on several tasks in Chrome at the same time – like if you’re planning a vacation or shopping.

To use this feature when it rolls out, just right-click on a tab and select “Organize Similar Tabs.” Chrome will even suggest names and emojis for these new groups so you can easily find them again when you need them next. 

Create your own themes with AI

After getting comfortable with introducing generative AI wallpapers to Android 14 and Pixel phones, Google is now giving Chrome users the freedom to personalize their browsers.

For example, if you’re a Baltimore Ravens fan, you should be able to quickly generate custom themes based on football, the team, the team’s colors and maybe even Lamar Jackson’s stealth-like moves, all courtesy of AI.

If this interests you, visit the “Customize Chrome” side panel, click “Change theme” and then “Create with AI.” You can go animated, you can head in a “serene mood” direction, whatever you like. For more inspiration, check out this collection of the Chrome team’s favorite theme creations.

As a bonus to AI-generated themes, you can also customize Chrome with photos you’ve uploaded or themes from Google’s collections in the Chrome Web Store. 

Anyone who writes anything may get the most from the new features

Web writing can be intimidating, especially when you want to express yourself publicly. As part of Chrome's next release, Google will add another AI-powered feature to help you write better reviews, RSVP to someone’s party, or ask about an apartment that’s for rent. 

To get started, right-click a text box or field on any site you visit in Chrome and select “Help me write.” Type in a few words and our AI will jumpstart the writing process for you. 

Technical notes you need to know

Google says that Chrome users will be able to try out these new features in Chrome on both Macs and Windows PCs over the next few days.

If this piques your interest, the best advice is to sign into Chrome every few days, select “Settings” from the three-dot menu, and navigate to the “Experimental AI” page. The company spokesperson said that because these features are early public experiments, they’ll be disabled for enterprise and educational accounts for the time being.