Google is adding a new AI-powered feature to Search that can call local businesses on behalf of users. The tool can check things like pricing, service availability, or appointment times, without the user having to pick up the phone.

This is part of Google’s plan to make Search more “agentic” by performing real tasks for users, not just providing links. Robby Stein, VP of Product at Google Search, described the update as “a new, agentic capability directly into Search.”

How the business-calling feature works

When a user enters a search query like “pet groomers near me,” a new option will let them select “Have AI check pricing.” From there, Google will automatically call multiple businesses, ask their questions, and pull together the responses into a short summary. This lets users compare services without making multiple calls or visiting several websites.

Google’s system could call several businesses to gather current prices and availability. It then returns a summarized comparison, giving users a clearer view of their options. This feature is rolling out across the U.S. It’s available to all Search users, but AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers will get higher usage limits.

Gemini 2.5 Pro and Deep Search are now available in AI Mode

Google is also rolling out the Gemini 2.5 Pro model in AI Mode. This model is designed to handle more advanced questions, including complex reasoning, math problems, and coding queries. Users can switch to the 2.5 Pro model in the AI Mode tab via a dropdown menu.

Google is also launching Deep Search in AI Mode for Pro and Ultra subscribers in the U.S. This feature aims to support deeper research requests. It can give expanded answers when users want more context or source material around a query.

Both Gemini 2.5 Pro and Deep Search are only available to AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. who have opted into the AI Mode experiment through Google Labs.

AI Mode continues to grow with more features

The company has previously said it will continue to add more features to AI Mode. In April, the company added image search in AI Mode through Google Lens. In May, it introduced a visual shopping experience where AI provides product images and recommendations based on real product data. More recently, Google added Search Live, a voice-first feature for Android and iOS. With this, users can talk directly to Search and receive real-time spoken answers.

These updates are part of Google’s effort to keep Search relevant as it faces rising competition from AI-first platforms like OpenAI and Perplexity already attracting users with their conversational, AI-first approaches to search. 

These companies now provide direct, synthesized answers to queries in a conversational format. OpenAI is also focused on "agentic search" with tools like "OpenAI Operator," designed to act as a digital assistant capable of understanding natural language queries, retrieving information, and performing structured tasks directly.

There are strong indications that OpenAI is developing its AI-powered web browser to challenge Chrome. Perplexity recently launched its own web browser called "Comet."

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