Google’s Call for Me feature takes AI convenience to the next level. It’s designed to make general calls to businesses on your behalf and converse with the person at the other end, ready to make it so you don’t have to speak to another person, if you don’t want to.
Equally, shop staff will have the joy of talking to an AI instead of a human, the lucky things.
If you own a Pixel 11 phone, you may be able to try it out from today. Here’s what Call for Me is about.
Ready to reclaim your time
Joins the Hold for Me and Direct My Call feature
Google knows this feature is going to be a challenge to get right, and to make sure it functions correctly, Call for Me is being released as an experimental feature in the public beta version of Google’s phone app on the Pixel 11 series, and only for US users at this time.
The idea is, by using Call for Me, Gemini will handle routine calls such as changing appointments or reservations, checking stock levels, or asking a store to hold on to an item for you.
According to Google, Gemini will place the call, navigate those annoying automated menus, wait on hold, and then introduce itself and handle the task you’ve set it by conversing with the person at the other end.
It joins Google’s other AI-based call features Hold for Me and Direct My Call.
Watch Gemini work
Supervised interactions
Call for Me is powered by Gemini Intelligence, but it doesn’t seem like Google expects you to leave Gemini to take care of business all on its own.
During the calls placed by the feature, you’ll be able to view a live transcript and also take over the call at any time, just in case things are going horribly wrong, and Gemini is changing your haircut appointment from next week to next year instead.
This is an essential part of the trial, but it’s still strange to imagine watching Gemini make the call as you sit and observe. Hardly freeing up much time.
Will it come to other phones?
Only those with Gemini Intelligence
While it’s possible Call for Me will come to other Android phones with Gemini Intelligence in the future, Google has not indicated it will.
The existing Hold for Me feature is available on Google Pixel phones from the Pixel 3 onwards, but because Gemini Intelligence has strict hardware requirements, Call for Me will probably not be available on phones older than the Pixel 10 series.
To try Call for Me now, you must have a Pixel 11 series phone and be enrolled in the public beta program for the Phone by Google app. Also, it’s only going to be available for Gemini paid subscribers.
