Duplex, Google’s 2018 party trick, has been rebuilt for a model that will not hang up when a conversation gets strange.
The replacement is Call for Me, which began a limited beta on Thursday. Availability is narrow. It wants a Pixel 11 handset, US English, a Gemini subscription, and the public beta build of the Phone by Google app.
Errands run through it, not chats with friends. The agent is aimed at businesses, the kind of call that means chasing a booking or a service desk.
Permission is where the new version separates itself. Approved personal details can be handed over mid-call, which lets the agent finish tasks the old assistant could only start. Dialing happens on the owner’s own line, so a real number appears on the other end rather than a masked one.
Supervision is continuous. A user can listen live and cut in at any point to take the conversation over.
Rivals are circling the same surface. Meta’s Muse and a crop of smaller assistants already place calls, which makes voice the next contested ground between the platforms.
The cautious packaging tells its own story. Google retired Duplex along with the old Assistant, and its replacement arrives gated behind hardware, a paid tier and a beta flag.
