Google Begins Public Testing of Duplex AI That Makes Phone Reservations
Google is launching a limited public test of its Duplex AI system, which uses Google Assistant to make real phone calls to businesses. The initial tests focus strictly on asking about holiday hours in New York and San Francisco.
Google prepares to launch public testing of its Duplex AI system, allowing Google Assistant to make actual phone calls to businesses in New York and San Francisco. The technology, which first shocked audiences at Google's I/O developer conference, features a highly realistic voice capable of conversational filler like "ums" and "ahhs." Trusted testers and select businesses experience these calls firsthand in the coming weeks as the company gathers real-world data.
Despite its human-like conversational abilities, the Duplex system operates under strict limitations during this testing phase. The AI currently handles only a small handful of specific tasks, such as inquiring about business hours, making restaurant reservations, and booking hair appointments. For this initial summer rollout, Google limits the AI to calling businesses solely to ask about their holiday hours, preventing users from engaging the system in general chit-chat or broader assistant functions.
To address privacy concerns, Google builds clear disclosures into every Duplex interaction. At the beginning of each call, the AI identifies itself as Google Assistant and explicitly informs the recipient that it is recording the conversation for AI training purposes. Additionally, business owners who want to avoid these advanced robocalls have the option to opt-out entirely, though Google is still finalizing exactly how it delivers this opt-out mechanism to users.