Avoid Bill Shock With AT&T's Personalized Video Bills

Understanding your wireless bill can sometimes be a confusing and frustrating task. But now AT&T is aiming to help customers make sense of what they owe.

The carrier has launched a new video bill service for wireless customers offering a personalized video with a computer animation and voice narration that explains the user's monthly charges. The video, emailed directly to customers each month and available through the carrier's myAT&T online account service, will include a user's name, phone numbers, and other account information.

"The video bill is not a generic overview, but a line-by-line visual and audio tour of your individual charges," John Donovan, senior executive vice president for AT&T technology and network operations, wrote in a blog post Tuesday.

The video provides a summary of a user's overall charges, including the totals for all the lines tied to the account. It then breaks down the charges, going into some detail about potentially confusing aspects of the bill like plan change and one-time fees. It also calls out any discounts a user has received thanks to their employer or organization.

AT&T initially made the video bill service available to its U-verse customers, and determined that almost 80 percent opened and watched the three-minute video. The service has resulted in a "significant reduction in bill-related calls," the company said.

AT&T has now launched the service to several thousand wireless customers in the Mountain Time Zone. The carrier is aiming to expand it nationwide for all wireless customers by early next year.

The move comes more than a year after AT&T and other wireless carriers joined with the Federal Communications Commission and agreed to on voice, data, text messages, and international roaming. The effort was meant to help consumers avoid the dreaded "bill shock."

In other AT&T news, the carrier today also launched a location-based text messaging service that provides users with alerts about nearby deals. To opt-in, text "JOIN" to ATTAlerts (288253787). After signing up, users will receive discounts via text message when near participating retailers like Gap, Staples, Zales, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Duracell, Motorola, and Discover.

For more, on AT&T's new wireless video bill service, check out the video below.