Lead Capture · New this week
Google’s AI may call your business for a customer. Will you pick up?
Google can phone local businesses to check prices, availability and bookings for the people searching. Here’s how to answer, and how to switch it off if you’d rather not.
By Jimmy Thomas, founder · · reads
1. Google may call you for a customer
Google’s help center says it may place automated calls to the number on your Business Profile on a customer’s behalf: to book appointments, check restaurant wait times, or confirm the price and availability of products and services. Google says the calls are monitored and recorded for quality.
Google first described calling businesses for searchers in 2025 for select categories such as home repair, beauty and pet care. If you run one of those businesses, you may already have had one of these calls.
Google: automated calls and texts from Google to your business
2. How to answer one
- Answer like it’s the customer, because the answer goes straight back to one. Clear and short wins.
- Know your three facts: your next available opening, your price or price range, and what affects it.
- Give the next step: “Book online at our website” or “They can text this number.”
- Write the answers down by the phone so whoever picks up says the same thing.
3. If you’d rather not get them
You can turn these calls off. In your Business Profile, open More &rsarr; Business Profile settings &rsarr; Advanced settings, and under Google automated calls and text messages switch off “Bookings and inquiries from customers.” Your business must be verified. You can also tell a caller “Please stop calling my business.”
Think before you switch it off. A call you don’t answer is a customer the AI moves past, and switching off means Google sends them somewhere else.
4. What happens when nobody picks up
Tick what is true for your phone today. Your answers stay in this browser.
5. Answer every caller, person or AI
A customer, an AI calling for one, or a number you don’t know: each is a lead.
The fix is the same for all three: one business number that logs every call, texts back the ones you miss, and puts the conversation on a contact so someone follows up.
Related reads: missed-call text back and should AI answer your business phone?