Call 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-4664-411) toll free from your phone. You will be asked the name of city and state where the business is. Next, you will be asked what type of business, or name of the business, and depending on the number of results, you will be connected right away, or given a list to choose from. For example, I wanted to make an appointment for an eye exam. I called the number, stated the city and state, and then the name of my optical store. I was connected right away. If I need the number, I say DETAILS. The voice recognition capability of this service seems to be better than any other system I have tried so far, but in the event of the system not hearing you right, or if you just changed your mind about what you want, say START OVER.

If you are calling from a cellphone, you also get the option of having a text message sent to you with the details. Or, if your phone is web enabled, you may get a map link sent to your phone. Here‘s a list of all the voice commands you can use, and here’s a short (one and a half minute long) video from Google demonstrating the service:

I figured one could also use the service to save long distance charges in some cases. Let’s say you want to call the hotel you will be staying in, in another city. Use GOOG-411 instead of calling long distance.

Looking at the comments to the above video, it seems there are concerns raised by people over the nature of this service – one being that Google is using the voice samples to better their voice recognition capability. Well, I for one don’t care. They also talk about another service, which they claim is better: 1-800-411-SAVE. Gotta try that one too.