Tuesday April 10, 2007

Google Labs has launched an experimental voice search facility called Goog-411 to make local-business search accessible over the phone. It works in the US and covers businesses only.

Google does not charge for either the lookup or for connecting you directly to the business, though regular phone charges may apply based on your telephone service provider. Dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) to try the service.

I've tried it several times and it generally worked very well, though in one instance when it couldn't find an exact match for the business, it presented me with a truly bizarre list of alternate businesses that 1) were not in the city I had specified, 2) had names that sounded nothing at all like the business I was trying to call.

Listen carefully to Goog-411's version of the liquid "beep beep beep" sound made by automated voice systems. It made me smile.