AI Calls 1,000 San Francisco Businesses to Test Readiness for Voice Agents

Summary

An experiment conducted during San Francisco Tech Week examined how local businesses respond when contacted by an AI voice agent. The system called 1,000 businesses across categories including veterinary clinics, bars, cafes, dentists, and hair salons, identified itself as AI on every call, and asked a question relevant to the business, such as whether a dental practice was accepting new patients. Calls were made during business hours. Overall, only one in three businesses continued speaking after answering the phone. The differences by category were substantial: 79% of veterinary businesses and 61% of dentists continued talking, while bars and dry cleaners were around 20%. Most people did not openly object; instead, they silently hung up after hearing the introduction. One in 25 businesses already had an AI receptionist answering the phone. The organizers caution that the results cover only one city and one week, so neighborhood-level differences may have introduced noise. The experiment is an early indication of how businesses may respond to AI assistants that call on behalf of people, rather than a representative measure of readiness across regions or industries.