Optus will soon transcribe your phone calls for you

Optus today announced that its mobile customers will soon be able to receive transcripts of their phone calls via the My Optus app. Dubbed Call Notes, the feature seems to very much do what it says on the tin.

If during a call you decide you'd like a transcript, you can say "Hey Optus, take notes" to start transcription. Anyone else on the call will also need to consent. The quality of transcription will naturally determine how useful it actually is. 

With regards to privacy, Optus says the transcripts are fully encrypted, and then deleted from Optus servers after a customer opens a transcript in their My Optus app.

This feature is launching soon in beta, and will initially be available to a select number of Optus postpaid mobile customers.

In addition, the telco announced that it will soon start selling smart home devices from Google and Amazon (including Ring and eero sub-brands). On top of selling individual products, Optus plans to sell packages of devices designed to work together.

While there are plenty of places to buy smart home devices from, Optus will differentiate by offering support specialists dubbed O Team. These are said to be experts who will help customers get their smart home up and running, either remotely or in person.

Optus has yet to confirm whether an O Team visit will incur an additional cost.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

Read full bio