AT&T will now inform its users why a business is calling them, right on the incoming call screen. The feature is a continuation of the branded calling feature that AT&T introduced in 2024 in partnership with TransUnion and currently only works within the telecom carrier’s network and on Android phones.
No action is required from the customer to get the information to show up on their phone. As long as the business is calling via AT&T and the receiver has an Andriod phone, they’ll see the business’ logo, name, and reason for the call on their phone’s incoming call screen. The impetus is placed on the company here, which chooses what message to display on the recipient’s screen. The messages can be anything from a refill reminder, delivery service, appointment reminder, customer service, and more. These messages will also show up in the recipient’s call logs to remind them of the purpose of the call even after it’s over.
The feature works using the STIR/SHAKEN protocol that helps carriers label potential spam calls and is a part of Android’s Verified Calls feature. We haven’t seen the feature in use by carriers since it was first tested in Brazil in 2020, but it seems at least one US carrier is putting it to good use.
That said, considering the feature is currently only available to Android users, a majority of AT&T’s 100 million customers in the US will be missing out on these alerts. However, given the US population’s preference for the iPhone, it won’t be long before the future arrives for Apple’s devices as well.
This can also be a step forward in combating spam calls and hence driving down cybercrime and scams running rampant because of the issue. According to a TransUnion survey, 73% of consumers said they’d be likely to answer calls if the business name and logo were shown. Adding the purpose of the call to the incoming call screen as well would be a welcome addition to just about every smartphone user.
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