When AI Calls and Books: Getting Ready for Agentic Search in 2027

Search is starting to do things, not just list things. Agentic search means AI that monitors, compares, calls and books for a customer, and for a roofer, plumber or cleaning company the first sign may be an AI calling to ask about price and availability.

What is agentic search?

We use agentic search as shorthand for AI tools that carry out a task instead of only answering a question. At Google I/O in May 2026, Google showed search agents that monitor, track prices, book local services and call businesses, according to Ovative’s recap. It also showed a Universal Cart, an expanded Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), and said folding AI Overviews into AI Mode was “already underway.”

Forecasters expect more of this. In a Search Engine Land opinion piece on local search in 2027, Milestone’s Benu Aggarwal predicts agents completing bookings, AI recommendations replacing ranked lists and longer queries with several requirements. The piece repeats Google’s figure that AI Mode queries are 3x longer than traditional ones. Gartner predicts that by 2028, 60% of brands will use agentic AI for one-to-one interactions.

Those are predictions, not schedules. What matters for a home-service business is which pieces already exist and which are still announcements or tests.

What is live now, and what is still a test?

Monitoring is the most widely available piece. Per Search Engine Roundtable, Google checks the web, forums, social posts and real-time sources, and its examples include new nearby restaurants and price drops. The feature was previously limited to paid subscribers.

“rolling it out to everyone globally.”

Robby Stein, VP Product, Search, Google

Google’s examples are restaurants and shopping, not home services. Still, we would plan for customers asking AI to keep an eye on things for them, and that rewards businesses whose information is current.

The legal ground for agents is not settled either. Retail Insight Network reported that the Ninth Circuit vacated Amazon’s injunction against Perplexity’s Comet agent, finding Amazon unlikely to win its CFAA and CDAFA claims, but said its reasoning “does not set broader legal principles regarding agentic AI.” The case returns to the district court.

Will Google’s AI call my business?

It may. According to JobNimbus, Google announced at I/O that its AI calling feature, which phones local businesses appearing in local results to ask about pricing and availability, is expanding to home repair. The example given was a roofer. The feature first covered auto shops and nail salons. The customer gets a summary, usually within about 30 minutes.

The US rollout was described as “summer 2026.” Businesses can opt out through their Business Profile settings.

Our recommendation: don’t opt out by reflex. An AI call is a real customer asking about price and availability through a go-between, and opting out takes your business out of those calls. Get the phone ready instead.

• Give whoever answers a short script for price questions: a range, or what drives the price.
• Make sure they know the next available appointment at any moment.
• Answer during your posted hours, and keep those hours accurate.
• Note any calls that sound automated, so you can tell when this reaches your market.

An agentic search checklist for home-service businesses

Agents and AI answers lean on the same thing a good dispatcher does: accurate, specific information. These steps are our recommendations for getting ready in 2027.

1. Lock down your Business Profile. Google keeps tightening it. Search Engine Roundtable has reported that Business Profile may ask for a photo of the business for verification, an automatic-hours test, Posts restricting unverified contact information and emails to owners about a spike in spam reviews. On Oct. 20 it reported a test of verification by government ID. Check hours, services, service area and contact details now. Our post on October’s Business Profile changes has more.
2. Publish the facts an agent needs. Service area, hours, emergency availability, pricing approach, warranties and how to book, in plain text on your site. This is core answer engine optimization work.
3. Make booking easy. Click-to-call, a short form and online booking if you can staff it. A clear booking path helps people today and gives any future agent something to complete. Our conversion rate optimization service focuses on exactly this.
4. Cover the channels customers use. Search Engine Roundtable reported a WhatsApp button in Google’s local panel on Oct. 7. If you list WhatsApp, make sure someone monitors it.
5. Watch your paid leads. Local Services Ads are moving into Google Ads as pay-per-lead Performance Max campaigns. Google’s timeline puts service-area businesses without storefronts, and accounts with custom bidding or booking setups, in late 2026, with non-US accounts in 2027. Our Local Services Ads checklist covers what to save first.
6. If you sell products online, check Merchant Center. Google told merchants on UCP-supported platforms that eligible products are automatically included in native checkout, per Search Engine Roundtable, and Shopify merchants opt out under Sales channels > Agentic. That matters for golf cart dealers, parts sellers and anyone with an online store.

What can wait until 2027?

You don’t need an “agent strategy” or new software this quarter. The sources we reviewed don’t show Google agents booking home-service jobs directly yet, and the predictions that agents will complete bookings are forecasts. We would spend first on accurate information, a phone team that can quote and schedule, and a booking path that works. Then revisit in 2027 as features move from announcement to rollout.

Frequently asked questions

Related articles