AT&T customers will soon start seeing the reason businesses are calling them
Summary
- AT&T, partnering with TransUnion, is expanding its branded call display feature. Now, in addition to a business’s name and logo, AT&T users will also see a short prompt explaining the reason for the call (e.g., ‘Appointment Reminder,’ ‘Customer Inquiry’).
- A TransUnion survey showed 73% of users are more likely to answer calls with the business’ name and logo displayed. Adding the reason for the call is expected to further boost answer rates, giving consumers more confidence in accepting legitimate business calls.
- You, as an AT&T customer, don’t need to download any additional apps or take extra steps — the feature is automatically integrated into the AT&T network.
The fight against robocalls rages on. Just last week, Google Search Labs started rolling out a new ‘Ask for me‘ experimental feature that uses AI to call local businesses on your behalf. Especially useful when you need to probe around for pricing and availability, all without you having to speak a single word, or wait listening to horrendous hold music.
Similar Call Assist features like Hold for Me and Call Screening have already proven to be game-changers, while major carriers have utilized the STIR/SHAKEN protocol to offer robocall transparency.
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AT&T, for example, partnered with TransUnion in January last year to bring branded business logos to incoming calls. This allowed users on AT&T’s network to easily differentiate between robocalls and legitimate calls originating from a business. Now, in an attempt to do more of the same, AT&T and TransUnion are offering businesses the option to highlight the reason for their call.
This means that regular users on AT&T’s network will now not only see the calling company’s brand name and logo, but also the reason they’re calling you in the form of short prompts. These can include “Appointment Reminder,” “Customer Inquiry,” “Customer Service,” “Refill Reminder,” “Delivery Service,” “Patient Callback,” “Upcoming Visit,” and more.
No action needed on your part
It’s worth noting that you, as an AT&T customer, don’t need to download any additional apps or take extra steps — the feature is automatically integrated into the AT&T network. Businesses, on the other hand, need to opt in and register via TransUnion to leverage the trust-building feature.
Businesses have a tremendous opportunity to improve customer experiences and business outcomes with this iteration of branded calling.
For reference, the results of a recent TransUnion survey indicate that 73 percent of users feel more confident in answering calls if the name and logo of the caller/business is highlighted. Add the reason of calling to that and the percentage is likely to shoot up. From a business’ perspective, there’s a much higher likelihood of their calls being answered if they’re a part of AT&T and TransUnion’s program, especially if they want to set themselves apart from competitors.
