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 | |
Type of site | search |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Dissolved | November 12, 2010; 15 years ago (2010-11-12) |
| Owner | |
| Created by | |
| URL | google.com/goog411 |
| Registration | No |
| Launched | April 6, 2007; 18 years ago (2007-04-06) |
| Current status | Discontinued |
GOOG-411 (orGoogle Voice Local Search) was atelephone service launched byGoogle in 2007, that provided aspeech-recognition-based businessdirectory search, and placed acall to the resultingnumber in theUnited States orCanada.[1] The service was accessible via atoll-free telephone number. It was an alternative to4-1-1, an often-expensive service provided bylocal andlong-distancephone companies, and was therefore commonly known asGoogle 411. This service was discontinued on November 12, 2010.[2]
GOOG-411 had been assisting people with obtaining phone numbers since 2007. On November 12, 2010, GOOG-411 shut down its service. While Google did not provide an official reason for the shut down, many believe that Google had simply gathered enough voice samples for its research purposes.[3][4] Google also operated a similar service from SMS number 466453 which has also been discontinued.
Users who called thetoll-free telephone numbers 800-466-4411 or 877-466-4411 (800-GOOG-411 and 877-GOOG-411) or the local number425-296-4774[5] were asked for the city and state of the sought business. Users were also able to search for by business name or category, which generated a list of up to eight search results. Search was also invoked by using thekeypad if the user preferred. This worked in a similar manner topredictive text input on acellular phone. Users were able to select the destination by speaking or pressing the number that corresponded to the desired result. Once the destination was selected, the service placed a call to the business or returned atext message with the phone number. Alternatively, users were able to listen to thestreet address and phone number by saying "details". U.S. users could narrow search results byZIP code or streetintersection.
Although Google'sFAQ stated that users were able to prevent their phone number from being saved by blocking theircaller ID, this was ineffective when calling the 800 number (due toANI) and only worked when calling the other two.[6]The service would announced to the caller that thecall could be recorded for the purpose of service improvements.
Google advised users not to use the service foremergency calls, recommending instead that they call9-1-1.[7]
Google stated that the company originally implemented GOOG-411 to build a largephoneme database from users' voice queries. This phoneme database, in turn, allowed Google engineers to refine and improve the speech recognition engine that Google uses to index audio content for searching.[8]
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