Amazon Group Calling and Captioning

 Had just heard of this, ways to make group calls more efficient is very useful.  About to try.

Amazon’s Echo devices gain group-calling and call captioning features  By Kelly Hodgkins in DigitalTrends

Can’t get together with your family this year for Christmas? You are not alone. Instead of gathering for a large holiday celebration, many people are opting to meet virtually. To help people stay connected while apart, Amazon added new audio and video calling features to Alexa and its Echo devices starting today.

With Amazon’s group-calling feature, people can connect to seven friends and family members on a single hands-free video or audio call. All it takes is a single person to create and name a group using Alexa. Once the group is formed, other friends and family members can join by telling Alexa to “Call my (Group Name).” This group-calling feature is available on compatible Echo devices, including the Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show.  

Amazon also added a new closed captioning feature that is available in both audio and video calls. During the call, Amazon will convert the other person’s voice to text in near real time. Captioning works with U.S. English and is available on all Echo Show devices.  ... ' 

Turn Your Echo into a Phone

Been placing calls via Alexa for some time, this seems to close the loop.  This seems to open the loop for new kinds of skills that direct, handle, record, manage incoming calls.   A little like Google Duplex?  New abilities for business assistants?  I have an AT&T number so may try this as part of my smart home capabilities.

I saw there are a number of posts here about how Google Duplex links with the Google Assistant ....  so examining that as well.  See the 'Google Duplex Tag' for those posts.

Amazon’s new Alexa partnership lets you link your AT&T number to turn your Echo into a phone

‘Alexa, answer the phone’

By Chaim Gartenberg   @cgartenberg in TheVerge

Amazon is rolling out a new partnership with AT&T today that will let customers link their phone numbers to their Alexa account, allowing them to both make and receive phone calls via their Alexa devices. ... "

About AI and Call Centers

How much will AI and chatbots replace call centers?  Will they ultimately carry on a complete and specific conversation that will solve a service problem most of the time?    Will there be trust and carry through and follow up?  And complete satisfaction?    Will people prefer automatons to people? Some of this is already here,  but there is  a long way to go.   A discussion.

The Truth About AI in the Call Center in 2020
By Thomas Laird  in Customer Think.

The role of AI in the contact center has been a topic that has been brewing in the industry over the past year. The trend I have been seeing is senior executives, senior management, or even the people in charge of budgeting saying, “Let’s just hand this over to AI” or “I want a bot to do this”. They try to take the human aspect out of the call center completely. Sure, saving money is important, but when it comes down to that bottom dollar, you need to be able to guarantee good service, and that only comes from humans. The call center is evolving rapidly and with the introduction of new technology, and the landscape is going to look extremely different in five years from now.  .... " 

Making Calls with Google Home

I just complained about this, and to be clear it has still not rolled out to me.  But apparently is on its way.    Some of the apparent differences are described.    Have been using the Amazon Echo for this since the start of this year,  most often using it as an in-house intercom, which it does well. This for me most useful aspect of Echo calling is not mentioned in the article below.  GHome does not permit specific device intercom or two way service,  just outgoing  phone calls.     The Verge talks the specifics of trying this, will be doing that:

How to make phone calls with Google Home
It’s more flexible than making calls with Amazon’s Alexa  by Chris Welch 

Google’s smart speaker can now pull double duty as a phone for voice calls. The company just confirmed that it’s rolling out Google Home’s calling feature in the US and Canada beginning today. Users can dial anyone in their contacts and local businesses for free — so long as the call recipient is in one of those two countries. The calling feature was first announced back in May.

In turning its speaker into a phone, Google is taking another step to challenge Amazon and its Echo devices, which introduced calling and messaging features earlier this year. But the two companies take a significantly different approach in how the feature actually works and who you’re able to communicate with.   ... " 

See also: Google Home calling support page.