This is new and we have been researching it to better understand impacts.
What we know… as of now:
The business-calling feature of Google uses AI to call the business to gather information about pricing and availability, this allows the leads to access information without phone interaction [and likely to several companies a the same time].
We also know pricing conditioning and local SEO is more important than ever.
“Google’s AI will call businesses that appear in local search results : prioritizing those with strong SEO rankings to collect information and relay it back to the user.”
From what we gathered, when AI calls, it will avoid calling during late night or early morning hours. And Google will only call you when:
There is an opt out feature from getting these calls and there does not appear to be a controlled method of questions we can outline. I recommend we stay with the auto opt-in feature and assess from there since these are not a price per click / call budget item; these will be SEO driven. If you are on ServiceTitan, I can only assume at this point the calls will come in from the Google Business Profile tracking number and display in that Marketing Score card but we will have to follow these to see the call in tracking.
Important Note:
These will likely sound like spam calls initially. Letting the CSRs be on alert for this is key to capturing these opportunities.
Given the main prompt will likely be price gathering with ” Have AI check pricing.” After they answering a few questions about the services they are looking for, we will likely want an adjusted script to provide some price ranges for price conditioning / prepping as this evolves… its too new to know the impacts but just future planning here.
For more information, Contact us to do a review of your Local SEO to ensure you are maintaining your presence. We also have amazing coaching support for CSRs and Call centers if you are in need of assessing your current call taking and dispatching setup.
This article was written by Dr. Anissa Villegas, co-owner of Marketing with a Flair and a data-driven strategist with a Doctorate in Business. Her research on marketing to Millennial consumers has influenced strategies nationwide, and she currently serves on research committees focused on expanding knowledge in strategic, results-driven marketing for the trades. Marketing with a Flair is a full service marketing agency focused on serving the home service industry.