I didn't even know this Pixel feature existed, but it's changed how I use my phone

11 May 2026, 10:00 by Mark Jansen · Android Police

Gone are the days when your phone's features were nestled obviously within your app drawer.

Today, there can be dozens of helpful features tucked away in obscure settings menus and pre-installed apps, and it can be hard to keep on top of everything that's available — even if your job is doing such.

You know what, I'll admit it. Somehow, the buzz around Take a Message passed me by entirely. I have absolutely no idea how, either, as it was very obviously always something I was going to love.

And now that I've finally discovered it, it's become a feature that's changed how I use my phone, and very much for the better.

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Take a Message is fuss-free and convenient

Take a Message is essentially a replacement for the voicemail service your carrier provides.

Powered by Google's AI, Take a Message is triggered when you miss or decline a call. Like voicemail, it'll offer the caller the chance to leave a message, and if they do, Take a Message will save the recording and transcribe it too.

The transcription is available in real time, so you can grab the call at that point.

All of this happens on your device. It doesn't use any Wi-Fi or cell data to run, which is a big win for privacy. It does have limited availability, though, being available only in the US, UK, Australia, Ireland, and Canada.

And don't worry about what happens if you end up outside a signal, because your usual voicemail service will kick in.

Setting it up is easy, too. Just follow these steps:

Open your Phone app.
Tap the More menu in the upper-left corner, then tap Settings.
Select Take a Message, and then toggle on Take a Message.

It's that simple. After it's turned on, it should trigger for any of the calls you miss or decline.

I love that it's removed voicemail from my life

I hate voicemail. I always have, I always will.

No matter how excited I was to get my hands on my first phone, a Nokia 5110, I was never excited by the idea of voicemail. It sucks, and it always has.

The notification itself is annoying, and it doesn't go away. At least, not unless you actually listen to the message.

Half the time, I know who the voicemail is from and have already called them back, so I don't need to listen to the voicemail. Only, I do if I want the notification to go away.

That would be fine if the process were painless. But it isn't. There are lengthy menus with buttons to press, and when you get to it, the message quality is always awful.

And you'll inevitably have to listen to it twice if you've been left a phone number to note down.

And even after you've gotten rid of the notification, waited through the lengthy menus, and listened to the message twice, you have to ring that person back.

Not only is it a bad experience, it also gives me extra tasks to do. Ugh, no wonder I hate it so much.

Phones have evolved enormously since they became common. But voicemail? It's still exactly the same. It's ancient, it's annoying, and I hate having to use it.

Now, I don't have to. It's been replaced by Take a Message, a thoroughly modern and useful replacement.

The Pixel's AI features are growing on me for a very specific reason

I am not a fan of AI. I admit that freely, and I do not disguise my antipathy toward what I see as an industry that has been blown out of proportion by enormous amounts of PR and circular funding.

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I tend to avoid using AI where I can. It's been handy in a few niche areas of my life, and some of the technology is great for areas like medical research, but on the whole, I'm not a big user of the usual chatbot-type of AI.

But how AI has been handled on Google's Pixel phones? I must say, I'm becoming a fan.

Take a Message is, obviously, one I'm happy to rave about. But there are others, too.

Magic Cue, though it had a shaky start, has grown into a really useful feature. Call Screen is used almost daily to filter out nuisance callers and spam, and Scam Detection runs in the background to help keep me safe.

The Pixel's AI lets me be me

There are other AI features that I've used and enjoy, like Magic Editor and Best Take, but on the whole, the AI features I love the most have one thing in common: They're all about being useful, without trying to change who I am or how I function.

As I've said before, the best AI features exist in a way that enriches my life and makes it easier.

Whether that means stopping scam calls or just taking voicemails out of my life, they're all just helpful little additions to my life as it exists now. And that's all I want from AI.