Tell your phone to ring the hardware store and ask whether it stocks a particular tool, and a voice that is not yours will do it. That is the pitch behind Call for Me, an experimental feature Google announced on Thursday for its new Pixel 11 phones.
It is limited for now. Call for Me works only on Pixel 11 devices in the US, in English, and owners need a Gemini subscription and enrollment in the public beta of the Phone by Google app.
How it works
The calls are aimed at businesses. Gemini can book a haircut with a barber or check stock at a shop. After the user gives the instruction, it may ask follow-up questions, then introduce itself and hold a back-and-forth conversation with whoever answers. It can work through an automated phone menu and wait on hold. The user sees a live transcript on the Pixel and can take over at any point.
Some numbers are off limits, such as emergency services. If a tattoo artist has little web presence, Gemini will try to find a number, but users can supply one, a Google spokesperson told WIRED. The voice is the one from Gemini Live, even when the user’s preferred Gemini voice has an accent.
An old idea, second try
Google has chased this for almost ten years. Duplex let the old Google Assistant call restaurants to book tables, and that service was shut down a few years ago. This version runs on modern large language models.
It sits alongside other calling tools on Pixel and Android. The Phone app screens incoming calls and blocks robocalls and telemarketers. Hold for Me alerts the user when a live person comes on the line. Direct My Call shows the options in an automated menu before they are spoken. Real-time Scam Detection warns when the caller may be a scammer.
WIRED raised the obvious doubts. Calls are unpredictable, and a clerk may hang up assuming it is spam. Would Gemini cope with a strong accent, or trap someone in a loop of requests to repeat themselves? And would it end the call gracefully if the shop lacked the item? Google says it will “politely” hang up. “That is exactly what we want to continue testing,” the spokesperson said, adding that Google wants users to try a variety of cases so it can improve the feature across accents and noisy environments.
Businesses are experimenting on their end, too. California pizza chain Pizza My Heart lets customers text a chatbot called Jimmy the Surfer to order.
