When Google rings your business: what it asks, and how to switch it off
In the United States, Google now makes automated calls to businesses to check their details and, in some trades, to ask about availability on a customer's behalf. How to tell a real one from a scam, what to have ready, and where the setting is.
The short version
Google's help page says it “might occasionally use automated calls or texts” to the number on your Business Profile, to confirm your details or to help customers with enquiries (Google Business Profile Help). Google describes the calling features as US only. Google never asks for money or a password, so a caller who does is not Google. If you keep the calls on, have prices, hours and availability ready, because the answer goes back to a customer. If they waste your time, turn them off under Advanced settings.
If a robot rings your shop and asks whether you have a slot on Saturday, it may be Google. At its developer conference in May 2026 Google said that “for select categories like home repair, beauty or pet care, you can ask Google to call businesses on your behalf,” and that the capabilities “will roll out to everyone in the U.S. this summer” (Google, The Keyword, May 2026).
This is a United States feature. Google’s page describes it as US only and does not say whether the switches show on profiles elsewhere, so if you are in India, Ireland or the euro area the rest of this article is worth reading only so you recognise the thing if it arrives.
For a US plumber, salon, groomer or clinic there are three things to sort out: how to tell a real Google call from a scam call, what to have ready when a real one comes, and whether you want the calls at all. The switch that turns them off is near the end.
Google rings for two reasons: to check your details, and to ask on a customer's behalf.
Google's help page puts it plainly: “Google might occasionally use automated calls or texts to contact the phone number on your Business Profile. We do this to confirm your business details are up-to-date or to assist customers with inquiries” (Google Business Profile Help).
The first kind is housekeeping. Google asks whether your hours are still the same, whether you still offer a service, whether you are still open. The second kind is the one announced at Google I/O on 19 May 2026: in “select categories like home repair, beauty or pet care,” a customer asks Google to call businesses for them, and Google rings you with the customer's question (Google, The Keyword, May 2026).
How often a given business hears from Google is not something its pages say, so treat the calls as occasional, which is Google's own word. What is documented is that the calls go to the number on your profile and that they “are monitored and recorded for quality assurance”.
| Setting name | What Google asks | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Keep your profile up to date | Whether your hours, services or status have changed | The change is marked Pending and reviewed, which might take up to 5 business days |
| Bookings and inquiries from customers | Availability, prices or services, on behalf of a customer who asked | Your answer goes back to that customer |
| Post to your profile on your behalf | Something to publish on your listing | Available only to businesses with a verified Business Profile |
Google never asks for money. A caller who does is not Google.
The most useful line on Google's help page is this one: “Google will never ask for payment, credit card information, or account passwords. If a caller asks for money to keep your business on Google, it is not a call from Google” (Google Business Profile Help).
That gives you a clean test. A real automated call asks about your hours, your services, or a customer's request. It does not ask you to pay to keep your listing, to claim it for a fee, or to give up a password. The moment money, card details or a password comes up, hang up.
Asks whether your Saturday hours are still right
Asks for a card number to keep the listing live
Asks if you have a slot on Thursday for a customer
Says the listing will be removed unless you pay today
Says the call is recorded for quality assurance
Asks for the password to your Google account
Ends when you have answered the question
Keeps you talking about a fee or an upgrade
A real call may ask you to confirm something. Answer the question and nothing more. If you are unsure afterwards whether a call was genuine, do not act on it over the phone: open your Business Profile yourself and look. Updates made from these calls are marked “Pending” and the review “might take up to 5 business days”, so there is time to check what it is about to change.
If the calls stay on, keep three answers ready: price, availability and hours.
A customer's question through Google is a live enquiry, and your answer goes back to the person who asked. If a groomer says “no idea, ring back later” to a robot, that is what the customer hears. The trades Google named at I/O were home repair, beauty and pet care (Google, The Keyword, May 2026), which is to say plumbers, electricians, salons, barbers and groomers, and the questions will be the ones those customers always ask.
- A price or a starting price for the things you are asked about most. A callout fee, a cut and colour, a full groom. “It depends” is true, but it sends the customer to the next business on the list.
- Availability this week. Whether you can take a job on Saturday, or fit a walk-in on Thursday afternoon. If whoever answers the phone cannot see the diary, the answer will be a guess.
- Hours, plainly. Including the exceptions: the half-day, the bank holiday, the week you are closed.
- What you do not do. A plumber who does not do boilers saves everyone time by saying so at once.
The same answers belong on your profile, so Google has less to ask. Keep the hours, services and description current and the housekeeping calls have nothing to check. The Business Profile guide goes through each field.
Try this now
Ask a friend to ring the business number tomorrow and ask, as a customer would, whether you can do a job on Saturday and roughly what it costs. Listen to how long it takes to get a straight answer. That is the answer a Google call would carry back.
The next step is a customer's own phone doing the calling.
The calls above come from Google's search and Maps side. On 24 Sept 2026 TechCrunch reported that Google is also testing “Call for Me”, which lets Gemini, its AI assistant, ring a business on a person's behalf, initially for Pixel 11 owners with a Gemini subscription in the US, through the beta Phone app (TechCrunch, 24 Sept 2026).
The uses named are ordinary ones: checking whether a product is in stock, making a restaurant reservation, moving an appointment, placing items on hold. In TechCrunch's words, “The AI can call a business and introduce itself, navigate automated phone menus, wait on hold, and then handle the conversation on the other end,” while the person watches a live transcript.
For a business this is the same situation with a different caller. The assistant introduces itself, so you will know it is not a person, and the transcript means your exact words reach the customer. The advice does not change: answer the question, quote a price if you have one, and do not give anyone, human or otherwise, payment details or a password.
It is a test, limited to one phone model and one subscription tier in one country, and tests change. It is worth knowing about because it shows where the first contact with a customer is heading: more of it made by software that has already read your website and your listing. The article on AI answers is the longer version of that.
The off switch is under Advanced settings, and it has three parts.
If a robot call wastes your time, or there is nobody free to answer it well, turn it off. Google's instructions: “Go to your Business Profile... Select More > Business Profile settings > Advanced settings. Under ‘Google automated calls and text messages,’ you can turn these features on or off: Bookings and inquiries from customers; Keep your profile up to date; Post to your profile on your behalf” (Google Business Profile Help).
Three switches, three decisions. Bookings and inquiries is the one that carries customer questions; if you want work from it, leave it on and be ready to answer. Keep your profile up to date is the housekeeping call, harmless if your details rarely change. Post to your profile on your behalf lets Google publish to your listing from what you say on a call, and is “available only to businesses with a verified Business Profile”. Turn that one off unless you are comfortable with a post going up from a phone conversation.
Not every US business will see the calls. Google's page says: “In the US, the feature is available in all states except Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, and Nebraska”. Google’s page describes the feature as US only and does not say whether the switches show on profiles elsewhere.
- You have opened Advanced settings yourself and decided which of the three switches stay on.
- Whoever answers the business phone knows Google never asks for payment, card details or a password.
- A price or starting price for your most common jobs is written down beside the phone.
- Whoever answers can see this week's diary, or knows who can.
- Hours on the profile match the door, including the exceptions.
- Any change marked Pending on the profile has been checked against what you know to be true.
- Your website has a page where a customer can find availability and prices without anyone ringing.
0 of 7 checked
A booking page on your own site answers the same three questions, price, availability and hours, for everyone, whether they arrive from Google, from an AI assistant or from a neighbour's recommendation, and it does not ring during the lunch rush. It also sits well with the other changes to the listing this autumn, which are in the listing changes article.
A few common questions.
Is it really Google on the phone, or a scam?
A real automated call from Google asks about your hours, your services, or a customer's request, and says it is recorded. It never asks for payment, card details or a password. If money or a password comes up, hang up; Google's own help page says such a call is not from Google.
Does this happen outside the United States?
Not at the moment. The calling feature is US only, and Google's help page lists five states where it is not available: Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana and Nebraska. Google’s page does not say whether the switches show on profiles in India, Ireland or the euro area.
How do I turn the calls off?
Open your Business Profile, select More, then Business Profile settings, then Advanced settings. Under Google automated calls and text messages there are three switches: bookings and inquiries from customers, keep your profile up to date, and post to your profile on your behalf. Turn off whichever you do not want.
What should I say when Google asks about prices?
Give a plain figure or a starting price, because the answer goes back to the customer who asked. ‘It depends’ sends them to the next business. Keep a short price list beside the phone so whoever answers has it to hand.
Can Google change my listing from a phone call?
Only as a pending update. Google's help page says updates made from these calls are marked Pending and that review might take up to five business days. Check your profile after any call you were unsure about and correct anything wrong.
Will Gemini's Call for Me ring my business?
Possibly, if you are in the US. TechCrunch reported on 24 September 2026 that Google is testing it for Pixel 11 owners with a Gemini subscription. The assistant introduces itself and the customer watches a transcript. Treat it as any customer call: answer the question, and never give payment details or a password.
