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Google’s AI Wants to Call Stores for You — Here Are the Problems With That

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Google’s AI Wants to Call Stores for You — Here Are the Problems With That

Hate talking on the phone? Gemini's got an answer, but you'll still need to be in charge.

Google on Thursday announced an expansion of its mobile Gemini AI capabilities, a new agentic feature built to handle everyday phone calls for you. Introverts of the world, rejoice — but also pay attention to the fine print, because there are limits to what Gemini can do for you.

This technology, which starts with a “@Call for me” prompt when using Gemini on your phone, is slowly rolling out to eligible users. Gemini could call a store to verify business hours or ask about product availability. With the right prompt, it could call a local restaurant and make a reservation for a specific time. Or it could ask about pricing for a specific service, such as dry cleaning a suit.

Gemini’s new feature is intentionally limited when it’s time to close the deal. It’s designed not to make any payments or share a credit card number, though it can share your name and contact information.

That means, for many tasks you may want Gemini to handle, you’ll have to follow along with a transcript or listen in to the call, then use the “take over” option to sub in for the AI and provide sensitive data. This limits how much time the call-for-me feature can really save.

CNET senior editor and mobile guru Michael Sorrentino has questions about the new feature.

“While I’d like to test this out, the real measure of this feature will be both its transparency of being an AI assistant and whether businesses themselves will be willing to talk to it,” he told me.


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