Google Auto Opting Businesses Into Google Assistant Calls Over Duplex

Google has a setting in Google My Business to allow or disallow hone calls from Google Assistant to your business. It launched as a beta last October and became a setting around then as well in the Google My Business dashboard. Now it seems that all old and new business have the setting checked on by default.

I checked my business's setting and it is on and checked off:

A lot of local SEOs have noticed this over the past few days and are kind of upset that this feature is not opt in, but rather Google is automatically checking it off and making businesses then opt out if they don't want robots calling them.

Yes, even took a screenshot of the new default setting. Unreal, considering the backlash following the Google IO announcement of the new product. pic.twitter.com/U3y0E638zo

— Brad Brewer (@Brad_Brewer) February 10, 2019

@brad_brewer Me too.... pic.twitter.com/xrbUiupOxx

— Matt McGee (@mattmcgee) February 10, 2019

Does this upset you? It doesn't really bother me too much. I am looking forward to talking to machines over humans anyway...

Forum discussion at Twitter.