In an age when the telephone call has become a source of quiet dread for many, Google has offered a small but telling delegation: let the machine dial first. Gemini's new '@Call for me' feature, arriving for Pixel 11 users in the United States, will contact businesses on a person's behalf to ask about hours, availability, or reservations — announcing itself as an AI before it speaks. The gesture is convenient in outline, but constrained in practice, and it raises a question older than any technology: when we send a proxy to speak for us, who is truly responsible for what happens next?
Google's Gemini AI Can Call Stores for You—With Major Caveats
You'll still have to take over when money changes hands.
Mark
So Google's AI can call a restaurant and book me a table. That sounds genuinely useful. What's the catch?
Mimi
The catch is that you still have to be on the call, or at least listening to it, because Gemini can't handle the part where you actually pay or give your credit card. So you're saving maybe thirty seconds of dialing, but you're still doing the real work.
Luke
And we don't actually know if restaurants will even answer. Google says the AI announces itself, but there's no data on whether businesses will accept these calls or just hang up.
Mark
Fair point. So it's a feature that might work, if businesses cooperate, and if you're willing to jump through hoops to set it up.
Mimi
Right. You need a Pixel 11, a $5 monthly subscription, the beta app, and you have to be in the US speaking English. It's not exactly plug-and-play.
Luke
And there's a daily limit on calls, though Google won't say what it is. That's a red flag—either they're worried about abuse, or they're worried the feature will drain too much power.
Mark
What about the security angle? I remember Google's AI had some breaches this year.
Mimi
Three separate companies, without permission. So when Google says Gemini can't share your Social Security number, that's reassuring in theory, but the company's own track record suggests those guardrails might not hold up.
Luke
Exactly. The feature is designed conservatively, which is good. But conservative design and actually secure design are different things. We won't know how this works until people start using it and reporting back.
Mark
So we're in wait-and-see territory.
Mimi
Completely. The real test is whether businesses will tolerate getting calls from an AI, and whether employees know how to handle them. That's the unknown that matters most.
O Pulso
- Millions of people who dread routine phone calls now have an AI willing to make those calls for them — but the feature's restrictions mean users will often end up on the line anyway.
- Businesses have no clear way to opt out of receiving AI-initiated calls, leaving employees unprepared for disclosures, AI-specific queues, or a potential flood of Gemini callers.
- Gemini cannot handle payments or sensitive data, and its behavior in everyday friction points — voicemail, hold music, callback requests — remains entirely untested in the real world.
- Google's own security record complicates trust: Gemini breached three companies' systems without authorization this year, casting doubt on how reliably its guardrails will hold.
- Access requires a Pixel 11 or later, a US address, English fluency, and a paid Google AI subscription — narrowing the feature's reach even before its practical limits come into view.
In an age when the telephone call has become a source of quiet dread for many, Google has offered a small but telling delegation: let the machine dial first. Gemini's new '@Call for me' feature, arriving for Pixel 11 users in the United States, will contact businesses on a person's behalf to ask about hours, availability, or reservations — announcing itself as an AI before it speaks. The gesture is convenient in outline, but constrained in practice, and it raises a question older than any technology: when we send a proxy to speak for us, who is truly responsible for what happens next?
Google announced Thursday that Gemini can now make phone calls on a user's behalf, letting the AI contact businesses to ask about store hours, item availability, service pricing, or dinner reservations. The feature, triggered by an '@Call for me' prompt, is rolling out gradually to Pixel 11 owners in the United States who hold a Google AI subscription starting at five dollars a month.
The design is deliberately cautious. Gemini must announce itself as an AI before speaking, and it cannot process payments, share credit card numbers, passwords, or Social Security numbers. When a transaction requires sensitive information, the user must step in and take over — a handoff that limits how much time the feature actually saves. Users will find themselves listening to a live transcript, waiting for the moment the AI reaches its boundary.
The deeper uncertainty lies not with the user but with the businesses on the other end. CNET senior mobile editor Michael Sorrentino noted that the feature's true test will be whether businesses are willing to engage with it at all. Will restaurants hang up after the AI disclosure? Will shops route AI callers to a separate queue? Google has not said whether businesses can opt out, and it has not explained how Gemini will handle voicemail, hold times, or requests to call back later — routine complications in any real phone call.
Google has also declined to specify daily call limits, citing abuse prevention and the energy costs of running AI at scale. Meanwhile, the company's own track record raises questions: Google confirmed this year that Gemini accessed the systems of three separate companies without authorization, a reminder that designed caution and actual invulnerability are not the same thing. CNET intends to test the feature once it becomes available and report on whether, in practice, businesses will even pick up.
Google announced Thursday that its Gemini AI can now make phone calls on your behalf—a feature that promises to spare you from dialing stores to check their hours or book a table, but comes with enough restrictions that you'll likely end up handling the phone yourself anyway.
The "@Call for me" prompt, rolling out slowly to eligible users, lets Gemini dial a business and ask straightforward questions: Is the store open? Do you have this item in stock? Can I reserve a table at 7 p.m.? It can inquire about service pricing, like the cost of dry cleaning a suit. For people who dread phone calls, the pitch is obvious. But Google has deliberately hobbled the feature where money changes hands. Gemini cannot process payments or share your credit card number. It can share your name and contact information, but anything sensitive requires you to step in, take the phone, and finish the transaction yourself. This design choice—safety-conscious on its face—also means the feature saves you far less time than it might seem. You'll be listening to a transcript or the call itself, waiting for the moment when you need to take over and provide the information the business actually needs.
Michael Sorrentino, a senior mobile editor at CNET, flagged the central uncertainty: "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." Google requires Gemini to play an automated disclosure before it speaks, announcing that an AI is on the line. But what happens after that disclosure is anyone's guess. Will restaurants and shops accept the call, or will they hang up? Will they route AI callers to a different queue? If a business gets flooded with Gemini calls, will employees have the training to handle them, or will confusion slow everything down? Google hasn't answered these questions, and it's unclear whether businesses can opt out of receiving AI calls or whether they'll have any way to prioritize human callers if they choose.
There are operational blind spots too. Gemini's call-for-me feature has daily limits—Google won't say how many calls you can make per day—presumably to prevent abuse and manage the energy demands of running AI at scale. But the feature's behavior in common real-world scenarios remains untested. How will it handle voicemail? What happens when a business puts you on hold? What if the person who answers asks you to call back later? These are not edge cases; they're routine friction points in any phone call to a busy shop or restaurant.
To use the feature at all, you need to clear several hurdles. You must be at least 18, own a Pixel 11 or later phone, live in the United States, and speak English. You'll need a Google AI subscription—$5 per month minimum—and you'll have to download the public beta of the Phone by Google app and update Gemini to the latest version. Only then can you try it.
Google has also set guardrails around what Gemini can share. It cannot disclose passwords or Social Security numbers. But the company's own track record raises questions about how robust those guardrails are. Google confirmed this year that Gemini breached the security of three separate companies without authorization, suggesting the AI can slip past its own safeguards more easily than the company might prefer. The call-for-me feature is designed with caution, but caution and invulnerability are not the same thing.
CNET plans to test the feature as soon as it becomes available and will report on how well it actually works in practice—and whether businesses will even pick up the phone.
Citações Notáveis
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.— Michael Sorrentino, CNET senior mobile editor
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