Google's AI is calling your shop for quotes. Who picks up?

What Google announced

At Google I/O in May 2026, Google announced that for select categories, including home repair, people can ask Google to call businesses on their behalf. Google brings together pricing and availability, with links to finish booking, and said the feature would roll out to everyone in the US this summer.

It is part of a bigger shift. BrightLocal's 2026 survey found 45 percent of consumers now use AI tools to find local businesses, up from 6 percent a year earlier.

What that call needs from your shop

• Someone answers. Google brings back pricing and availability from the businesses it reaches. A voicemail gives it neither.
• A straight answer on price. A range for common jobs, a diagnostic fee, what a tune-up costs. "We'd have to come out and look" is an answer, but it is the weakest one in the comparison.
• A real opening. The next time a tech can be there, not "someone will call you back."
• A way to book. The homeowner is ready to decide while the options are in front of them.

This is a front office problem, not a marketing problem

Ranking on Google gets your shop called. Answering is what gets you into the comparison, and following up is what wins the job. Most shops have spent years on the first part and have nobody in the seat for the other two.

That seat is the one owners cannot hire for. The calls come in while you are on a roof, at 7 p.m., and on Saturday. Hiring one person covers one shift of the week, and the AI does not wait for business hours.

What to fix this month

1. Check your Google Business Profile: hours, service area and the services you list should match what you actually do.
2. Decide the price ranges you are willing to give on the phone for your ten most common jobs.
3. Make sure every hour you list as open has someone, or something, that answers with those prices and your real openings.
4. Follow up the same day on anything you quoted. The homeowner has other options in front of them.

Where Rivvet fits

Rivvet is a full front office, run by AI, under your rules. It answers your line with your prices, hours and service area, holds the visit, follows up on the quote, and brings anything outside your rules to you. You set the rules. It does the work.

A full front office. No payroll.

Questions owners ask

Which businesses does Google call?

Google says the calling feature covers select categories, including home repair, beauty and pet care, rolling out to people in the US.

Do I need to do anything to be included?

Show up in local results for your services and answer the phone with real information. An accurate Google Business Profile and live answering in the hours you list are the basics.

What should I say when an AI calls?

The same thing you would tell a homeowner: your price range or diagnostic fee, your next available opening, and how to book. Clear answers are what land in the comparison.