As a Google-certified Premier Partner, we have the pleasure of helping clients from a wide variety of industries thrive with Google Cloud. From real estate brokerages to government entities to orthodontists, institutions trust us to ensure that they are getting the very most out of their Google subscriptions. Among these subscriptions is Google Voice (sometimes called G Voice).
Our clients love Google Voice in particular for its simplicity and scalability. As a VoIP (voice over IP) solution, the platform reduces overhead needs. For organizations using Google Workspace (previously known as G Suite) for collaboration, Voice is especially powerful. Voice integrates beautifully with Google Workspace on both the Admin and end user sides. Google Admins are always pleased by how easily they can manage user provisioning and management for Voice as it is done very similarly to Google Workspace.
Voice’s scalability is well-appreciated by our clients. However, many fantastic features are underutilized by the teams we work with. We’ve compiled the top 7 features for Google Voice users, including several which were recently released. Read on to learn about these highlights.
Top 7 Features for Google Voice Users
1. Use Google Voice in Gmail
Did you know you can use Google Voice directly within the Gmail interface? Available to all Google Workspace (G Suite) customers with Google Voice licenses, this feature streamlines workflows for busy users. Make, accept, and transfer calls directly within Gmail without the need to switch tabs.
How to Use Google Voice in Gmail: Open Gmail. Click the Google Voice icon in the sidebar on the right as shown above.
2. Manage Google Voice and Google Fi in one account
Google Fi is becoming an increasingly popular telecommunications service for individuals and organizations. With many customers opting to use it in addition to Google Voice, Google’s development team has made things easier by enabling management of both on one account.
How to manage Google Voice and Google Fi in one account: To get started, set up call forwarding. You can do this by opening the Google Fi website or app. Next, click Account > Phone settings > Call forwarding > Add or edit a number. Follow the onscreen steps to verify the phone number.
3. Record custom greetings and audio prompts for your automated attendant
Much to the delight of our Google Voice customers, Google developers have recently made custom recorded greetings and audio prompts available for automated attendants. You can now leave behind robotic text-to-speech attendants and add a more human touch to your Voice answering system.
How to add custom greetings and audio prompts: Navigate to the Workspace Admin console. Click Apps > Google Workspace > Settings for Google Voice > Service Management > Auto Attendants > Sales Attendant. Under each message, click the “+ ADD A MESSAGE” button and select Add your own audio from the dropdown menu. Here, you’ll be able to upload your own recorded greeting.
4. Set up voicemail for the Google Voice auto attendant
Save time and effort by setting up a voicemail for your Google Voice auto attendant! This will enable you to:
1) Send incoming calls to voicemail,
2) Offer callers the option to press a key to send themselves to voicemail, and
3) Send calls received at a certain day or time of day directly to voicemail.
How to set up voicemail for your Voice auto attendant: Within the Admin console, go to Apps > Google Workspace > Google Voice > Service management. Click Auto attendants. Under Call handling, click Send to Voicemail.
5. Ring groups
Google has launched Ring Groups, allowing multiple members of your team to make and receive calls from the same Google Voice number! You can set up automatic call routing rules that will ensure that the correct person/team receives calls on the correct device. Administrators can also configure random call routing, limit who can place outbound calls, decide what happens to unanswered inbound calls, and more.
How to use Ring groups for Voice: For instructions on how to set up ring groups, see this article.
6. Missed Call Reason
Voice users can easily troubleshoot calls that fail to ring. Within Voice, navigate to the Missed Call details section (or Voicemail section if applicable). You will see information about why your device didn’t ring and how to resolve the issue. For example, you may be advised to set up your device to receive Voice calls, or to turn off Do Not Disturb mode.
7. Call Drop Reason and Redial
Finally, similar to the Missed Call Reason feature, Call Drop Reason and Redial easily tells you why a call dropped and gives you the option to immediately call back. If a call drops due to poor internet connectivity, you will be offered the choice to call back using your mobile carrier network.
That wraps up our top 7 features for Google Voice users! Have questions? Need to obtain Voice licenses? Submit your contact information using the contact form below and we’ll be in touch soon.
