Google’s AI Is Now Calling Local Businesses. Will Yours Pick Up?

For two years the AI story in local search was about who shows up in the answer. This summer it took a turn: the AI is now picking up the phone. At Google I/O in May, Google announced that “Ask for Me” — the feature that calls local businesses on a customer’s behalf to check pricing and availability — is expanding to home repair services across the U.S. after earlier runs in categories like auto shops, salons, and pet care. If you’re a plumber, roofer, electrician, or HVAC company, the next caller asking for a price might not be a person at all.

How an “Ask for Me” call actually works

1. 1A customer searches something like “water heater replacement near me” and taps an option to have Google check pricing and availability for them.
2. 2They answer a few short questions about the job, then choose text or email for the results.
3. 3Google’s AI calls several nearby businesses — identifying itself as an automated system calling from Google — and asks about price, availability, and timing.
4. 4The customer gets back a tidy comparison summary, often within about half an hour, and decides who to contact for real.

Two details matter here. First, the AI only calls businesses that already rank in local search — if you’re not visible in the map pack, you’re not in the comparison at all. Second, the call itself becomes a mini-audition: a phone that rings out, a confused answer, or “uh, someone will have to call you back” reads as a blank row in the customer’s summary while a competitor’s clear answer sits right above it.

Why this raises the stakes on your phone line

We’ve written before about how most searches now end inside an AI answer. This is the same shift reaching your front desk. The customer never hears your hold music, never gets charmed by your receptionist’s small talk — they see a summary built from whatever happened on one short call. Industry estimates have long suggested small businesses miss a large share of their inbound calls, and every one of those was already money walking out the door. Now a missed call can also mean being silently dropped from a comparison you never knew you were in.

Your phone answering just became part of your search ranking. The businesses that pick up, and answer clearly, are the ones the AI can recommend.

How to be ready

• Answer every call — even the robotic-sounding ones. These calls identify themselves as automated calls from Google. Hanging up on them is hanging up on a real customer standing behind them.
• Make sure whoever answers can quote ballpark pricing and availability. “We’d have to see the job” is fine for a human conversation; on an AI comparison call it can come back as an empty field. Give your team (or your agent) a simple price-range script.
• Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current. Categories, services, hours, and phone number are what decide whether the AI calls you in the first place.
• Keep reviews flowing. Ranking in local results is the entry ticket to these calls, and steady reviews remain one of the strongest signals.
• Know your settings. You can turn automated calls on or off in your Business Profile’s advanced settings — but think hard before opting out. Declining the call usually means the customer’s summary simply features your competitors.

The bigger picture

Google won’t be the only one doing this. As AI assistants get better at acting on a customer’s behalf, more of your first impressions will happen in conversations between their AI and whatever answers your phone. An always-available, well-briefed answering setup stops being a nice-to-have and becomes the thing standing between you and an empty row in someone’s comparison list.