AT&T customers can now see why a business is calling

Customers on AT&T’s network are getting one more tool to help them decide when to pick up the phone: an indication of why a business is calling you, right from the incoming call screen. It’s a continuation of the branded calling feature that AT&T and TransUnion introduced last year, and only works on Android phones.

This feature starts with the business making the call, which can choose to display a message like “refill reminder” or “delivery service.” The message will also show up in the call details page. There’s nothing that the receiver needs to do in order to see the message; it’ll just pop up the way verified number badges do now.

In theory, it’ll let you know whether your pharmacy is calling to let you know about a refill or if your DoorDash driver is standing outside your apartment building. Sounds pretty nice.

The feature works with the STIR/SHAKEN protocol responsible for helping carriers label potential spam calls as such, and it’s actually part of Android’s Verified Calls feature that Google first tested in Brazil a few years ago. Now it seems, this capability is being put to use by at least one US carrier.

But being limited to Android means a lot of AT&T customers in the US won’t see the message since we’re a notoriously iPhone-carrying people. That might not always be the case; James Garvert, senior vice president of TruContact Communications Solutions at TransUnion tells The Verge “we expect that capability to become standard on all mobile devices over time.”