Google Search adds Gemini 2.5 Pro, deep research, and AI phone calls

Google is finally letting AI do the one thing most people dread: calling local businesses.

On Wednesday, Google rolled out an agentic AI-powered calling feature to all Search users in the United States. Alongside the local agent, the company also brought its powerhouse Gemini 2.5 Pro model and a new Deep Search research tool to Search's AI Mode for top-tier subscribers.

Let the robot make the awkward phone calls

If you have ever needed a quote from a local pet groomer or dry cleaner, you know the drill: nobody lists their actual prices online, which means you have to pick up the phone and ask.

Now, searching for something like "pet groomers near me" on Google shows a new button: "Have AI check pricing." You answer a few quick intake prompts about your pet, the services you want, and your preferred dates. From there, Google's AI places the calls, gathers availability and rates, and organizes the options in your search results.

To avoid a repeat of the backlash from its human-sounding Duplex demos years ago, Google confirmed that its AI starts every call by explicitly announcing itself as an automated system calling on behalf of a user. Local business owners can also opt out through their Business Profile settings. The tool is available to all U.S. users, with higher usage caps for Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers.

Heavy-duty research in AI Mode

For desk research, Google is beefing up its AI Mode interface by adding access to Gemini 2.5 Pro through a drop-down menu for AI Pro and AI Ultra members in the U.S. Google says the model excels at tough math, coding, and multi-step reasoning.

Subscribers also get Deep Search, a research capability designed for high-stakes tasks like buying a home or running financial analysis. Google claims Deep Search can fire off hundreds of individual queries, stitch disparate findings together, and hand you a fully cited comprehensive report in minutes. The moves follow a steady drumbeat of upgrades to AI Mode, including real-time voice conversations last month and expanded shopping features in May.

Why it matters

We think this phone-calling rollout is one of the most practical demonstrations of consumer AI agents to date. Most tech companies talk about agents booking entire vacations, but taking over mundane phone calls to local shops solves an everyday annoyance right now.

That said, the friction may shift to the merchant side. If local front desks get flooded with automated robotic inquiries every afternoon, business owners might quickly turn the feature off or simply stop answering.

On the desktop side, rolling out Deep Search and Gemini 2.5 Pro is Google's direct counterpunch to Perplexity and OpenAI's ChatGPT Search. By bundling complex automated phone tasks with exhaustive cited research, Google is trying to ensure that users have zero reasons to open another browser tab.