Can Google AI Call Local Businesses to Get Quotes for Searchers?

How does it work for the searcher?

Google's Search help page describes the steps:

If Google cannot reach businesses, it emails a list of providers who may offer the service instead. The feature is available in English to signed-in users over 18 in the US, on mobile and desktop. Google gives higher limits to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

What does the business hear?

Google's Business Profile help describes calls “on behalf of customers” as automated calls that are monitored and recorded for quality assurance. The same system handles three kinds of request:

• Price and availability of in-store products and services.
• Appointment bookings, where the customer has given a preferred time and service.
• Restaurant wait times.

If the business answers, the customer receives the business's quote or product details by email or text. Google says it limits the number of calls for the same information and avoids calling late at night or early in the morning. It also says that if a store already shares in-store product details through Merchant Center, Google uses that data instead of calling about inventory, as covered in whether AI Overviews can find local products from a Shopify store. The help page lists five US states where these automated calls are not available: Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana and Nebraska.

How do you switch the calls on or off?

In your verified Business Profile, open More, then Business Profile settings, then Advanced settings. Under “Google automated calls and text messages” there are three switches:

1. Bookings and inquiries from customers: the calls that collect quotes and make bookings.
2. Keep your profile up to date: calls and texts that confirm details such as hours.
3. Post to your profile on your behalf: updates Google posts using information from those conversations.

You can also say on a call, “Please stop calling my business.” Google notes that after opting out you may still get occasional manual calls to confirm your information. Unverified profiles must be verified before they can opt out.

Should you take part?

It depends on how your pricing works and who answers your phone.

Reasons to leave it on:

• The searcher has a real, current need and is comparing a small set of providers. Being left out means not being in that set at all.
• The summary carries your answer in your words, which is better than a guess from an old web page.

Reasons for caution:

• The call is research, not a lead you can qualify. There is no customer on the line and no follow-up during the call.
• Complex jobs do not reduce to one number. A move, a plumbing repair or a car repair depends on details a short request may not capture, and a quote given without them can set the wrong expectation.
• Call reporting can be skewed. If AI research calls are counted as ordinary calls from Google, the business's apparent conversion rate falls even though sales have not changed. One local marketer showed a moving request for which Google reported making 11 calls.

For businesses with simple, stable prices, such as grooming, dry cleaning or standard services, leaving it on is usually sensible. For businesses with complex quoting, the better choice is often to stay in but answer with a range and the details that change it.

How should staff answer these calls?

Treat them as a short, structured enquiry:

1. Give a real range, not a guess. For example, “Standard drain clearing is typically $120 to $180; blocked mains can cost more.”
2. Name what changes the price, such as size, access or parts.
3. Give availability honestly, such as the next open slot.
4. Say how to book, such as the phone number or booking page the customer should use.
5. Log the call in your call tracking or CRM as an AI research call, so it is not mixed with direct enquiries.

Publishing the same ranges on your website helps both the calls and AI answers. Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode can draw on clear, dated price guidance on your site, as covered in how local businesses can create cost guides for AI Overviews.

How does it fit with Google's other AI features?

Calling sits alongside other agentic features in Search. Google's May 2026 update also expanded agentic booking to local experiences and services, where Search gathers pricing and availability with links to book with the provider. For products, a similar “Let Google Call” option asks nearby stores about stock and prices. All of them draw on your Business Profile, so its categories, services, hours and phone number need to be accurate, as covered in how to optimise your Business Profile for local AI search. Whether AI answers are replacing the local pack is covered in whether AI Overviews replace local packs.

We have not measured how many quote requests turn into customers, and Google does not publish figures. This page is based on Google's July 2025 and May 2026 announcements and its Search and Business Profile help pages.

What might this look like in practice?

Consider an illustrative dog grooming salon, Thesscombe Grooming, that noticed short automated calls asking for prices. The owner checked the Business Profile setting and left “Bookings and inquiries from customers” on. The owner wrote a one-page price sheet by dog size and coat type for whoever answers the phone, and added the same ranges to the website. She tagged calls from the automated line in the salon's call log, separate from customer calls. Over two months, several new customers mentioned they had received the salon's quote in a Google email, and the owner could see how many research calls led to bookings.

What do people ask about Google's AI calls?

Is Google's AI calling available outside the US?

Google's help pages describe it as available in the US, in English, for signed-in adults. It is not available in every state.

Does Google book the appointment?

Not for price checks. The searcher receives quotes by email and contacts the business to book.

How do I stop Google's AI calls?

Turn off “Bookings and inquiries from customers” in your Business Profile's advanced settings, or say so on the call.

Are the calls recorded?

Yes. Google says calls on behalf of customers are monitored and recorded for quality assurance.