WTF. Google has just set up a chatbot to call businesses for you, meaning LOTS of extra AI calls for them to answer.

[highplainsdem]

https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/30/googles-ask-for-me-feature-calls-businesses-on-your-behalf-to-inquire-about-services-pricing/

Google is testing a new “Ask for Me” feature that uses AI to call local businesses on your behalf, for information about availability and pricing. The feature is available on desktop and mobile for users who have opted into the company’s Search Labs experiments.

The idea is to help users access information without having to actually pick up the phone and talk to someone.

No, no need at your end - but this may force small businesses to get a chatbot to answer calls from chatbots, which will mean humans calling the business will also have to deal with a chatbot first, unless the humans at the business deal with all the chatbot calls instead of resorting to AI themselves.

Judging by the screenshots with the article, it's impossible to tell whether Google's bot will automatically call every local business offering a particular service (the example shown was oil changes near Ridgeway NJ) or force users to choose specific businesses offering oil changes to call...and maybe set a limit on how many to call.

Google is testing a new “Ask for Me” feature that uses AI to call local businesses on your behalf, for information about availability and pricing. The feature is available on desktop and mobile for users who have opted into the company’s Search Labs experiments.

The idea is to help users access information without having to actually pick up the phone and talk to someone.

Chatbots are notorious for getting things wrong. You really can't depend on them to get correct information, and two chatbots communicating will not lead to more accuracy.

But this will make for a lot more phone calls....

[Voltaire2]

1. I have zero problem with my ai calling their ai.

In fact this is great.

[Jerry2144]

4. Especially if it gets you past the computer screener

And only connects you once a real human connects. I hate calling some company and having to talk to a computer that fails to properly understand what I want, then connects me to the wrong group.

[highplainsdem]

5. That isn't what these bots do. They get pricing and availability and hang up, leaving the business employees

or owner with no idea if someone wants an appointment. The bot reports the info to the AI user later.

[Jerry2144]

9. Right. I meant the only way I'd use it is if

It helps me get a person

[highplainsdem]

10. They do have that through another feature. Look at the article I linked to and skim down to

what it says about "Talk to a Live Rep" - first paragraph of that section:

Google is testing a new feature that will place a call to a business on your behalf, wait on hold and then give you a call once a live representative is available, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The new feature, called “Talk to a Live Rep,” would get rid of the need for users to wait countless minutes, and sometimes hours, listening to hold music trying to get connected to a customer service agent.

[Think. Again.]

2. and this will make for a lot more trackable, sellable info about you.

[highplainsdem]

6. Yep.

[femmedem]

3. For small businesses who can't afford a chatbot this will make retail work a hellscape. n/t

[highplainsdem]

8. Exactly.

[SheltieLover]

7. No ty.

[highplainsdem]

11. Same here, SheltieLover.

[SheltieLover]

12. I detest all things ai.