What does google voice do

To get the best possible experience please use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to view this website. Google Voice is a popular virtual phone number provider that works together with your existing mobile or landline setup. It allows you to forward calls you receive over the internet to your device. It also lets you choose and adopt phone numbers from nearly any area code in the U. Google Voice is popular among solopreneurs and freelancers due to the fact that it offers a free personal number and unlimited domestic calling and texting.

Business plans are affordable, too. Best of all, setting up a Google Voice number is easy and takes just a few simple steps. To get started with Google Voice, you will need to visit the official website. If you already have a Google Account, then you should be able to pick a number and get started right away.

Otherwise, you will need to create a Google account. Setting up a Google account is easy: Simply follow the step-by-step guide where you will be asked to enter your name and contact information.

You can either use your existing email address or create a new one. You will be asked to choose between a personal account or one specifically designed for business. Once you have your account set up, you are ready to get started with getting your number and making calls with the service.

Google Voice will ask you to search for a number by area code. While you can simply choose your local prefix, area codes from all over the U. This is especially useful if you do the majority of your business in a different city than where you live. You must use a U. Once you enter a number, you will either be sent a text message or receive a phone call to confirm that number. All you have to do is get a new cell phone number and forward your Google Voice number to it, or forward it to your old existing phone number.

Though this feature comes at an added cost, it may be worth it for you. Not only does Google Voice come with voicemail, but it takes things one step further and uses its advanced speech recognition technology to transcribe your voicemail into a text. You have the option to either read the text or listen to the voicemail. This is a great feature for those who need to determine whether a voicemail is important enough to leave a meeting or for people who hate listening to voicemails.

One neat feature about this telephone service is that you can listen to voicemails as someone is leaving them. Not only that, but you can also decide mid-voicemail to answer the phone by simply pressing the star key.

This service lets you forward all your numbers and calls to one single Google Voice number. You can set up specific rules for the calls to determine what calls go where and when. Another option is to set the order of importance with phones if you need to make sure you get a call. Or you can have all the numbers ring simultaneously, which is a great feature for small business owners or independent contractors. Google Voice allows you to record calls easily and enables you to start and stop recording with the touch of a button.

You can easily access the recordings online at any time. This is an excellent feature for important meetings and interviews that occur over the phone. They can be saved and referenced whenever necessary. A unique feature of this service is that you can switch phones mid-call. You can literally pick up where you left off with a good chance that the person on the other end of the phone will never know anything changed.

This technology allows you to use a broadband internet connection to make calls instead of a phone line.

What happens when you make a call with your Google Voice number is that it converts your voice into a digital signal that travels over the internet. All you need to set up Google Voice is a valid Google account and a U. That phone number is what Google uses to verify your identity and as the forwarding number.

However, if you want more features and more access, you will want to look at the different pricing options. Here are the features and costs of the different plans.

This price plan costs nothing and allows one user in one domestic location U. The Starter plan is best for small businesses and entrepreneurs with 10 employees or fewer. Subscriber Account active since. Google Voice is a free internet telephone service that allows you to combine all your cellular services, and forward calls to several devices at a time. If you have a landline at home, as well as a business phone and your personal smartphone, rather than bouncing between three different numbers and devices, you can give out one simple Google Voice number and when someone calls, you'll be notified at all three numbers.

You can also use Google Voice on a computer to place and receive calls. But before you can use any of Google Voice's features, you'll need to have a Google account first. You'll also need to have an existing U. For the user who simply has too many phones and numbers to manage, Google Voice is a great resource for merging multiple communication channels. It's also good for regular travelers who are forced to bounce between carriers. If you find yourself changing phone numbers and paying a fortune for international calls, or for those users who are looking to record incoming calls for free , it's also a great option.

Go the Google Voice website. You'll then be prompted to verify your existing phone number. Click "Verify" on the page that loads. Once you receive the code either via text or phone call, enter it into the box. To confirm that this is the number you want your calls forwarded to, click "Claim. Get that code and input it here. Click Verify. Once your phone number has been verified, Google requires you to tap Claim to officially take control over the number.

In the world of cloud-based phone systems, Google Voice is among the best. Don Reisinger. Topics Smartphones.