While Google Hangout is great for chatting with groups of friends or holding a video conference, what if you needed some expert help on something? While there are plenty of tutorials on a variety of topics available online, there’s nothing quite like face-to-face feedback and that’s where Google Helpouts come in. The service was pegged for a launch on the 5th of November and sure enough it has since been launched. For those unfamiliar, Google Helpouts is like Google Hangouts, with the main difference being that Helpouts will include “experts” on a variety of topics that will be able to help you out for free or charge you for their time, in which you can be charged using Google Wallet where Google will take a cut of 20%.
Once you are done with your Helpout, you can then leave a rating and a review, thereby informing future users as to whether that particular expert is good or not. The service is also expected to launch as a HIPAA-compliant and secure product for health care professionals. It is also not expected to offer adult content, but inappropriate content can be reported and with parties having the ability to block one another. Google Helpout will launch in English and French in the UK, Ireland, US, and Canada and will start by offering a handful of categories before expanding, depending on how users respond to it.