How to Get or Stop Google Ask for Me

US shoppers get Google Ask for Me by searching Google Search or AI Mode for a product with "near me", and Google then calls nearby stores for them. A business stops the calls by saying "Please stop calling my business" on the call, or by turning off "Google automated calls and text messages" under Advanced settings in its Business Profile.

At Layer3 Labs, we build customer-service automation for small and mid-sized businesses, and a stock or price call from Google comes on behalf of a real shopper.

How Google Ask for Me Works, and How Businesses Opt Out

Shoppers in the US trigger Google Ask for Me with a "near me" product search in Google Search or AI Mode, and Google calls nearby stores for them. A business stops the calls by saying "Please stop calling my business" on the call or by switching off "Google automated calls and text messages" under Advanced settings in its Business Profile.

For shoppers in the United States, the feature activates during product searches in categories such as toys, health and beauty, and electronics. When looking for items near you, Google prompts you with an option to check local availability. You answer a few questions about specifications. Google places calls to nearby retailers on your behalf. It delivers the gathered answers by text message, email, or both.

• Shopper activation: Search for a product with 'near me' in Google Search or AI Mode, tap the check stock prompt, specify product details, and receive updates by text or email.
• Merchant verbal opt-out: Tell the automated caller 'Please remove my business from your list' or 'Please stop calling my business' during an active call.
• Merchant profile opt-out: Open Business Profile settings, go to Advanced settings, locate Google automated calls and text messages, and turn the toggle off.

Origins and Mechanics of Agentic Calling

Google began testing Ask for Me as a Search Labs experiment in January 2025 for nail salons and auto repair shops, according to reporting by Search Engine Journal.

The system expanded under the label of agentic calling, first documented in November 2025 and updated in July 2026.

Google's how-to post describes the flow. A shopper chooses the option to have Google confirm an item is in stock, answers a few questions, and Google calls local stores. The shopper gets the results as a summary by text, email or both.

Call Scripts and Security Boundaries

Press reporting from Android Police indicates that each automated call opens by stating it is an automated system calling from Google on behalf of a user.

Google's Business Profile help page says Google places automated calls on behalf of customers to book appointments, check restaurant wait times, and ask about product or service prices and availability. Google also calls to confirm business details such as your hours.

Google explicitly states that its automated calls will never ask for payment details, credit card numbers, or account passwords. If a caller asks for these, hang up. Call back on a number you already have for that company.

Complete Opt-Out Methods for Business Profiles

Google provides four official channels for merchants to decline automated communications, covering voice calls, Short Message Service (SMS) text messages, and phone-tree indexing.

Staff can say the phrase on active calls. Turning off the Business Profile setting stops calls before the next one rings.

• Say verbal opt-out phrases: State clearly 'Please remove my business from your list' or 'Please stop calling my business' during any live automated call.
• Turn off profile permissions: In your Google Business Profile dashboard, navigate to Settings, choose Advanced settings, select 'Google automated calls and text messages', and turn the settings off.
• Stop text messages: If your business receives automated text inquiries from Google, reply with the word STOP.
• Deregister interactive voice menus: For automated calls that map out your business phone tree or interactive voice response system, leave a voicemail requesting removal with your business name and phone number at +1-650-206-5555.

Business Trade-Offs and Local Visibility Considerations

For a store that sells in person, leaving the calls on is the better default, because Google places them on behalf of a customer asking about your stock, prices or appointments.

Opting out stops those calls, so Google can no longer ask your store about an item on a shopper's behalf.

Google's official documentation does not state whether opting out of automated calls affects your local map pack ranking or search visibility.

Who should opt out: a business whose staff cannot answer stock, price or booking questions by phone. Those are the questions Google's calls ask.

What would change our answer: Google publishing whether opting out affects how a business appears in Search or Maps. Its help page does not say either way today.

Best Practices for Handling Automated Inquiries

Front-desk staff can process Google automated inquiries smoothly by treating them like routine customer phone calls.

Keep product availability, standard pricing sheets, and current holiday hours visible near the main phone terminal. Google's caller asks about stock, prices, and availability. A sheet your staff can read answers it without putting the call on hold.

Train employees to answer factual questions directly. They should not attempt to collect extensive customer information from the agent. When Google's caller books an appointment, confirm the time and take a name and a way to confirm it, such as a callback number or your normal booking channel.

If you want to evaluate how other systems interact with your phone lines, explore our analysis of whether AI calls are spam to set clear workplace rules.

Other Calling Agents and Industry Precedents

Google is not the only company deploying automated agents to phone local retail storefronts and service businesses.

Meta announced its personal AI agent named Muse on September 8, 2026, rolling out a public beta for phone calls to US businesses on September 16, 2026, as reported by TechCrunch. According to a Reuters exclusive reported by BNN Bloomberg, Meta tested trained human contractors in call centers placing some Muse calls. Internal tests reportedly found those human-placed calls succeeded 95% to 98% of the time. Meta rolled the human-placed calls back. A Meta vice president said starting them without proper disclosure was "a miss."

Instinct launched Instinct Concierge in early access on September 16, 2026. Instinct Concierge covers phone calls, service bookings, and billing issues such as a cable bill. For deeper comparisons, read our guides to automated calling assistants, our guide on handling incoming Meta Muse calls, our overview of Meta Muse, and our Instinct Concierge guide.

Google's agentic calling does the job Google Duplex was demonstrated doing at Google I/O in May 2018. Google's agentic-calling post does not name Duplex. Google shut down Duplex on the Web in December 2022. Google said it would focus on Duplex voice features, including calls to check store hours and product inventory, 9to5Google reported.

Legal Framework and Regulatory Rules

Under federal regulations, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued FCC Declaratory Ruling FCC 24-17 on February 8, 2024, confirming that AI-generated voices qualify as artificial voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The TCPA requires prior express consent for artificial or prerecorded voice calls to mobile phones and residential numbers.

Violations carry statutory penalties of $500 per incident. A court can treble that penalty up to $1,500 for willful or knowing violations. Commercial business landlines, however, fall largely outside these consumer-oriented consent requirements.

In August 2024, the FCC proposed formal rules defining AI-generated calls and requiring callers to disclose AI usage. That notice was published in the Federal Register on September 10, 2024. We have not verified that it was finalized as of September 27, 2026, so treat it as a proposal.

The National Do Not Call Registry is for personal phone numbers, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says business-to-business calls are generally not covered. Businesses facing deceptive callers can report fraud to the FTC or file an informal complaint with the FCC.

Call recording depends on your state's consent rule. Our guide to whether AI phone calls are legal covers the rest of the law. Review our breakdown of two-party consent states to verify local recording rules, and consult our comparison of AI voice detectors if you need screening software.

The legal points above provide general information rather than legal advice. For questions about telephone compliance or state regulations, consult a qualified attorney.

To protect your store operations while capturing legitimate customer demand, review your Google Business Profile settings this week. Establish clear front-desk protocols for answering automated inventory calls.