Google Voice working to improve voicemail transcription, asking users for help

With its hit or miss dependability, Google Voice’s transcription feature for voicemail can manage to make an important message read like the ramblings of a friend drunk dialing you from happy hour. Aware of this, Google is launching a new initiative to improve its service, but the search giant needs your help. Now when you log into Google Voice via the web, you’ll be asked if you wish to anonymously share your voicemail messages to help make transcription better.

If you’re comfy with Google listening in, your messages will only be analyzed by automated systems and not heard by human ears. In a recent Google+ post, Google tech lead manager Alex Wiesen reinforced that this feature is completely optional and that Voice users have the option to change this setting at any time. While it’s great to see Mountain View trying to improve its services, last time we checked, Google Voice is supposed to be operating on borrowed time.