There’s a particular kind of phone call almost nobody enjoys making. Moving a haircut appointment. Asking a hardware store whether it has a part in stock. Checking a shop’s hours before driving over.

On Google’s newest Pixel phones, you can now hand those calls to Gemini, which dials the business, does the talking and tells you how it went.

Google announced the feature, called Call for Me, on September 24. Google’s help page says Gemini can call businesses to get “business hours, product availability, service quotes, and other information,” to “book, confirm, and manage appointments and reservations,” and to “navigate phone menus and wait on hold.”

How it works

You tell Gemini what you want in ordinary language. Before anything is dialed, you see a summary of the task, “including the number it will call and details it will share, like your name and contact info.” You then tap “Call for me.”

Gemini places the call from your phone, over your mobile network and using your own number, so standard carrier rates apply. It doesn’t pretend to be you. According to Google, “Gemini starts every call by disclosing that it’s an AI assistant from Google calling on a recorded line on your behalf, stating your name.”

Droid Life shared an example opening: “Hi, I’m Gemini, an AI assistant calling on behalf of Kristine M. with an update to her order.”

While the call is running, your microphone stays muted by default. You can follow along through a live transcript or listen to the live audio. If you tap Take over, Google says your microphone is unmuted, and “Gemini will announce that you’re taking over and then leave the call.”

When the call ends, you get a notification and can review Gemini’s summary of the outcome. The full transcript and the recorded call are saved in your call history in the Phone app.

What it won’t do

Google’s help page is specific about the limits. Gemini cannot call emergency services such as 911. It cannot make payments or complete other financial transactions. It won’t share sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers, financial details, passwords or health information. And it can’t be used for telemarketing.

There are also daily limits on how many calls it will make for you, and for now it can only call US phone numbers. Businesses and individuals who would rather not receive these calls can opt out through a form Google links from the same page.

The catch: who can use it

Few people know about this yet because very few people can use it. You need to be 18 or over and in the US, using a Pixel 11 phone with a US SIM card. You need a paid Google AI subscription. Your phone’s language has to be set to English. And you need the public beta version of Google’s Phone app, which you can sign up for through the Google Play Store.

Google also notes that it is “gradually making this feature available to eligible users,” so even people who tick every box may not see it yet.

Google has been building toward this for years

Call for Me isn’t Google’s first attempt at an AI that makes phone calls. In May 2018, Google announced Duplex, a system for “conducting natural conversations” over the phone. Google said it would begin testing the technology in Google Assistant “to help users make restaurant reservations, schedule hair salon appointments, and get holiday hours.”

In 2025, as noted by TechCrunch, Google rolled out a feature called Ask for Me, which let Gemini call local businesses to ask about pricing or services. Call for Me goes further, because it can act, not just ask: booking, confirming or changing an appointment rather than only gathering information.

What to watch for

The obvious question is how well it copes with real conversations.

Droid Life points out that the feature works only if Gemini gets the conversation right, and that busy small businesses may not have much patience for an AI caller that misunderstands them. A misheard date or a wrong booking is more than an inconvenience when someone else is acting in your name.

That’s why the pre-call summary, the live transcript and the option to take over matter. Low-stakes calls, like checking stock or opening hours, are probably the sensible place to start.

If it works as described, it could save a lot of people from a lot of small, awkward phone calls. For the moment, though, it’s a Pixel 11 perk for paying US subscribers willing to run beta software, and a preview of where phone assistants are heading.