Hate calling people on the phone? Google will do it for you.
Google is testing out a new tool that allows artificial intelligence to make calls to businesses to ask questions for you.
“Ask for Me” is a feature that will get information on details such as pricing and service availability.
However, for now, it’s only available for nail salons and auto shops, Google product lead Rose Yao said in a post on X.
Once you opt into the experiment on Google Search Labs, when you search for nail salons or auto shops you might be prompted with an “Ask for Me” prompt.
From there, you’d select it and answer a series of questions — such as what kind of car you have, what service you need to get done and when you would want the appointment to be. You’ll also provide your email and phone number to receive updates about the request.
Google spokesperson Craig Ewer told The Verge that with “Ask for Me,” “every call begins by announcing that it’s an automated system calling from Google on behalf of a user.”
Ewer told The Verge that there are call quotas in place to ensure that businesses don’t get automated calls from Google too much. He said that any information collected on the call “can be used to help with similar requests from other users.”
Businesses that don’t want to receive these automated calls can opt-out in their Google Business Profile settings or by telling Google when they receive a call.
Users who enable the feature might hit a waitlist since capacity is limited during the experiment, Yao clarified.
She added that “Ask for Me” is built using the same Duplex tech that uses AI to make restaurant reservations via Search or Maps as well as help businesses keep details, like store hours, updated on Maps.
