Table of Contents
Google's AI Is Calling for a Quote. Here's What to Say.
The rest of the week, in bite-sized pieces
"Should I just turn off Google's automated calls? My front desk has enough to do."
Epic Web Studios
Epic Insights
Edition 39  ·  Sep 29, 2026

When Google Calls Asking for Your Price

Google will now phone your business for a customer who's shopping around, ask what you charge, and put your answer in a side-by-side comparison. Last week it started testing a version that makes the call from the customer's own phone number. The first caller asking your price this fall might be software, and what your team tells it ends up in writing.
The Big Story

Google's AI Is Calling for a Quote. Here's What to Say.

Here's how it works. Someone searches for a local service, taps the option to have AI check pricing, and answers a few questions about the job. Google then calls several nearby businesses, asks about price and availability, and sends the customer a summary by text or email. Google has told reporters it picks who to call from its regular local rankings, so the businesses it phones are the ones already showing up on the map.

Google has made automated calls to businesses since 2018, and price-check calls opened to everyone in the U.S. in July 2025. What's changed this year is the reach. In May, Google said customers could have it call businesses in categories like home repair, beauty, and pet care. On Sept 24 it started testing a Gemini feature on its newest Pixel phones that calls from the customer's own number, so your caller ID shows a regular person. The customer follows along on a live transcript and can jump in any time.

A geography note. This is a U.S. rollout for now, so Canadian clients aren't in it yet. Inside the U.S., Google's help page lists five states where these calls aren't available: Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, and Nebraska. Everywhere else is in.

Here's why it matters. The customer sees every business's answer lined up together. A clear price range reads as an answer. A missed call shows up too, since results can list the businesses Google couldn't reach. "We'd have to come out and look" is an honest answer for a lot of jobs, and it still reads thin next to a competitor who gave a range.

You can turn these calls off in your Business Profile settings. Before you do, think about who's on the other end: somebody ready to hire, comparing you with the shops down the street. If you sell a service people shop around for, that's a lead worth answering.
What this means for your site
What your team says on the phone can now end up in writing, next to your competitors' answers. A clear starting price or range, given the same way every time, makes your business look easy to hire.

Your move: Before Friday, tell whoever answers your phone that an automated caller may ring on a real customer's behalf, and agree on a starting price or range for your three most common jobs.
Quick Hits

The rest of the week, in bite-sized pieces
Google's Fourth Spam Update of the Year Is Rolling Out
Google started its September spam update on Sept 24 and says it could take up to two weeks to finish. It goes after sites breaking Google's spam rules, but rankings tend to wobble for a lot of sites while one of these runs.
Your move: If your traffic dips this week, give it until mid-October before changing anything, then reply and we'll look at it together.
Phone Numbers in Google Posts Now Get Checked
Google updated its Business Profile help pages to say it may remove posts with contact details it can't verify, including phone numbers, emails, and social handles. A number in a post that doesn't match your verified profile is now a reason for that post to disappear.
Your move: Send people to your site or phone with the post's button, and keep any number you type into a post identical to the one on your profile.
See Who Found You by Searching With a Photo
Search Console started rolling out a filter on Sept 24 for people who searched with an image, through Google Lens, Circle to Search, or an uploaded photo. It shows clicks and which pages they landed on, though Google isn't sharing the photos or search terms.
Your move: In Search Console, open Performance, click Search type, and pick Web: multimodal to see if anything's showing yet.
If Your Site Runs on WordPress, Update This Week
WordPress fixed a critical flaw on Sept 22, and attackers started trying it the same day. It only leads to a full takeover with certain themes and server setups, but the fix is free: version 7.1.2, or 7.0.6 or 6.9.9 on older versions.
Your move: Check Dashboard, then Updates, for the new version number, or reply and we'll confirm it for you. If your site's on epicPlatform, this one doesn't touch you.
Ask Epic

"Should I just turn off Google's automated calls? My front desk has enough to do."

Please don't, at least not yet!

I get it. A robot asking about prices sounds like one more interruption on a busy morning. But think about who sent it. Somebody searched for what you do, found you in the map results, and asked Google to get them a price. That's a shopper with their wallet halfway out.

Turning the calls off takes you out of that comparison. The customer still gets answers, just from everyone else.

What helps more is making the call easy. Pick a starting price or a range for the jobs you do most, write it on a sticky note by the phone, and let whoever answers read it off. It's a one-minute call.

If you give it a month and it's truly a nuisance, the switch is under Advanced settings in your Business Profile, and we'll help you flip it.
What Epic's doing for you this week
This week we're checking that the services, hours, and phone numbers on the Business Profiles we manage match what's on your website, since that's the information Google leans on when it decides who to call. We're watching traffic across the sites we report on while the spam update runs, so nobody makes changes in a hurry. And we're confirming every WordPress site we maintain is on the patched version. Anything that needs you will land in your Client Center.
Your 15-minute self-audit

Call Yourself for a Quote

1. What would someone hear if they called right now and asked what your most common job costs? A number, a range, or "we'd have to see it." Put yourself in the customer's seat, comparing three businesses back to back. Would your answer keep them on the line?

2. Open your Business Profile. Do the services, hours, and any pricing shown line up with the answer from step 1?

3. Write one sentence anyone answering your phone can use on every price call: a starting price or range, plus what makes it go up. Tape it next to the phone, or save it in your notes app so anyone else who picks up has it too.

Thanks for reading! Got questions? Ideas? I'm all ears. Share your thoughts with me and help shape future editions of Epic Insights.

— Kristy Freeman
Epic Web Studios
k.freeman@epicwebstudios.com
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