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Will AI assistants call or contact businesses on a customer's behalf?

Ascent Vision · Published October 15, 2026

Some already do. In July 2025 Google said Search can use AI to call local businesses for pricing and availability on a customer's behalf, for needs from pet grooming to dry cleaning. Google's help pages say its automated calls can also book appointments and check restaurant wait times, and that businesses can opt out. For an owner, it means answering the phone and having clear answers on prices and availability ready.

What Google has announced

In a post dated July 16, 2025, Google's Robby Stein described "AI-powered calling to local businesses" in Search. A customer searches for something like "pet groomers near me", picks an option to "Have AI check pricing", and Search calls businesses and gathers what it learns into a range of options.

Google said the feature was starting to roll out to all Search users in the U.S., with higher limits for its paid AI subscribers, and that businesses "are always in control via their Business Profile settings".

What the calls can be about

• Booking an appointment, using details the customer gave, such as preferred time, service type and party size.
• Checking a restaurant's current wait time.
• Confirming the price and availability of services and in-store products. If you share that information, Google says the customer gets an email or text with your details or service quote.
• Google's help page says these calls are offered only in select regions and languages, are monitored and recorded, are limited for the same information, and avoid late night and early morning hours. The same page says the feature is not available in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana or Nebraska.

How to recognize the call, and how to opt out

Google says that on a genuine call "You'll hear that the call is from Google and why they're calling." It also says it will "never ask you for payment information over the phone", so a caller who asks you to pay is not this feature.

To stop the calls, Google says you can tell the caller, for example: "Please stop calling my business." You can also turn off "Bookings and inquiries from customers" under Advanced settings in your Business Profile. You need a verified profile to opt out there, and Google may still occasionally call by hand to confirm your details.

What it means for an owner

• Answer the phone during the hours you list. An unanswered call means that customer gets no answer from you.
• Have short, honest answers ready for the two questions a pricing call asks about: what a job usually costs, and when you can fit someone in. The related answer on what to say when a lead asks for the price first can help.
• Assume any caller could be an automated system, and give the same accurate answer you would give a person.
• If a booking follows, record it as an inquiry with its source, so you can see over time whether these calls bring in work.
• Think before opting out. It stops the calls, but it may also mean customers using the feature do not hear from you.

What is not known yet

Features like this change often, and it is too early to say how many customers will use them or whether other assistants will make calls in the same way. Google's help page on automated calls is the place to check the current list.

Sources

1. Google, "More advanced AI capabilities are coming to Search" (Robby Stein, July 16, 2025)
2. Google Business Profile Help, "About automated calls and texts from Google to your business"
3. Google Business Profile Help, "Help protect against fraudulent calls and texts"

Related answers

• How do you track leads that come in by phone?
• What should you say when a new lead asks for the price first?
• How do customers find businesses through AI assistants?