Google's automated calls: the setting to check and what to say

Picture the phone ringing at your front desk in the lunch rush. A recorded voice says it is Google. What your staff member says next can end up on your Google listing. In the US, it can also reach someone searching on Google as a written quote, next to your competitors' prices.

Google publishes a sample of what its automated caller says: "Hi! I'm calling from Google Maps to update your business hours. This is an automated service..."

Google's help page on automated calls says the answer "will be added to your Business Profile on your behalf, subject to our content policies". Your Business Profile is your listing on Google Maps and Search. So whoever picks up the phone is editing it.

In the US, Google now rings around for people searching

A newer kind of call is made for someone searching on Google, comparing you with other businesses. In July 2025 Google said Search "can now call businesses to get pricing and availability information on your behalf", starting in the US (Google, 16 July 2025).

On 19 May 2026 Google said this would extend to "select categories like home repair, beauty or pet care", for everyone in the US over the American summer (Google, 19 May 2026). As of September 2026 we could not find Google confirming the rollout was finished, so treat it as announced, not done.

Home repair includes plumbers. On price, the help page says: "If you share this info with Google, the customer receives an email or SMS text that includes your business's product details or service quote." Say a plumber mentions a call-out fee from the van. That figure becomes a written quote in a stranger's inbox, beside what other plumbers said.

What has reached Australia so far

Google describes these calls for people searching as US-only, and its help page does not name Australia. Nor does it say which countries get the opening-hours calls. We won't guess a launch date.

What is already here is Google's AI answers. AI Mode, where Search answers a question in writing, launched "in Australia in English" on 8 October 2025 (Google Australia). Google's guidance on its AI features recommends keeping your Business Profile up to date. On our reading, your listing feeds those answers.

If the calls do reach you, Google says "You'll hear that the call is from Google and why they're calling", and "You won’t be asked to sign up for a service, pay money, or give personal info." So a real Google call says it is automated, and a caller who asks for money is not Google.

The setting that controls the calls

The help page gives the path in your Business Profile: More → Business Profile settings → Advanced settings. Under "Google automated calls and text messages" there are three switches:

• "Bookings and inquiries from customers": whether Google can ring you for someone searching.
• "Keep your profile up to date": whether phone answers can change your listing.
• "Post to your profile on your behalf": whether Google can post on your listing. Google says it emails you when it does.

Your profile must be verified before you can switch these off, and Google says "you may still occasionally get manual calls from Google to confirm your business information." Google doesn't say whether this section shows in every country, so check your own profile.

Neither choice is free. Leave customer enquiries on, and a machine may report whatever your staff say as your answer. Turn it off, and on our reading you are left out of that comparison. Google doesn't say what the person searching sees instead.

A plumber with a fixed call-out fee has little to lose by being asked it. A cosmetic clinic that prices only after a consultation, or a mortgage broker who can't quote a rate without knowing the borrower, may prefer a firm "we quote after an appointment" to a number made up on the spot.

Give the same answer everywhere

A person who hears "we're open Saturdays, well, most Saturdays" asks a follow-up question. A text message summary records one answer. If your listing says 8 am, your website says 7.30 and your staff say "from about eight", one of those reaches a customer as fact, in writing, next to a competitor's cleaner answer.

Missed calls matter too. Google says it "limits the number of calls for the same info and avoids calling during late night or early morning hours". Our reading is that it won't keep ringing until someone answers, so a plumber under a house may simply be missing from the comparison.

The fix is boring. Write one page of phone facts: hours including public holidays, fees you are happy to state, services you do and don't offer, suburbs you cover, languages spoken, and how bookings work. Make your listing, website, voicemail greeting and front desk all match it. If an AI voice agent (software that answers calls and takes bookings) ever answers your phone, it should use that same page.

What to check this month

You may be offered special files to "get into AI search", such as one called llms.txt. Google's guidance (last updated 10 December 2025) says: "You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features."

1. In your Business Profile, go to More → Business Profile settings → Advanced settings and look for "Google automated calls and text messages". If it's there, set each switch on purpose.
2. Decide which prices you'll give over the phone and which only after an appointment. Tell everyone who answers.
3. Write your page of phone facts. Fix your listing, website and voicemail greeting to match it.
4. Brief your staff: a real Google call says it is automated, and a caller asking for money is not Google.
5. Each month, compare the Calls number in your Business Profile Performance report with your phone's missed-call list. Calls counts taps on your call button, not answered calls.
6. If someone offers to add llms.txt or other "AI files" for Google Search, you can say no.