Yes, an AI can make a phone call for you. In our test of 11 AI voice models placing the same real call on 12 October 2026, Gemini 3.8 Live did it best, and Grok Voice 2.0 came second. Both answered in about a second, held a natural conversation and hung up on their own once the job was done.
Idea Maker AI has a tool called Call for me: you write who the call is for, the number, what the AI should know and what it should get done, and the AI rings that number while you listen in. Every voice model we offer could, in principle, make that call. We wanted to know which ones actually should.
How did we test the AI voice models?
Every model got the same brief and rang real phones, several different US mobile numbers, with a person on the other end. The brief had three parts on purpose: ask a friend whether he is coming to badminton on Friday; if yes, ask him to bring a racquet to lend; and offer a carpool to Saturday's rematch.
- The same words for every model. Nothing was tuned per model, so a model that needed special handling to behave showed it.
- A real phone line. Calls ran through Twilio Media Streams to an ordinary handset, not a simulator.
- Measured, not just listened to. For every call we logged how long audio took to reach the phone, how late the person's voice reached the AI, how long the model took to start answering, how the call ended and what it cost.
- The person interrupted. On purpose, at least once per call — a model that cannot be interrupted is not having a conversation.
Which AI voice model is best for phone calls?
Gemini 3.8 Live. It answered each turn in about 1.2 seconds, stopped talking the moment it was interrupted and ended the call itself, at $0.07 to $0.10 for a call of about a minute. Grok Voice 2.0 was a close second: just as natural, a little more expensive at about $0.15 a call.
| Model | Verdict | What we saw |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini 3.8 Live (Google) | Best | About 1.2 s to answer; natural turn-taking; ended the call itself |
| Grok Voice 2.0 (xAI) | Runner-up | 0.6-0.8 s to start answering; just as natural; about twice the cost per call |
| Grok Voice 1.0 (xAI) | Works | About 1 s to answer; completed the call |
| GPT Realtime 1.5 (OpenAI) | Works | Fast (0.7 s), but assumed an answer it never got |
| Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking | Too slow | 11-14 s of silence before replies while it thought |
| GPT Realtime 2.1 | Did not listen | Read the whole brief in one breath and said goodbye without waiting for answers |
| GPT Realtime 2 | Stopped short | Introduced itself, then said nothing more |
| GPT Realtime | Wrong language | Held an English brief's call in Chinese |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash Native Audio | Too slow | 3-7 s before each reply |
| GPT Realtime Mini, GPT Realtime 2.1 Mini | Not kept | Fast in the lab (0.7-1.2 s); left off the shortlist |
After the test, Call for me in Idea Maker AI offers four of them: Gemini 3.8 Live, Grok Voice 2.0, Grok Voice 1.0 and GPT Realtime 1.5. The others can still hold a voice conversation in the chat, where you, not a stranger, are on the other end.
This was a one-shot test, on purpose. Every model had a single attempt per call, the same brief and only a minimal set of call rules: say who you are calling for and that the call may be recorded, don't talk over people, and end politely. No per-model prompt tuning, no retries. That shows how each model behaves in its purest form, which is what you get on the first call you make.
What can an AI call for you?
Anything a short phone call with a clear goal can settle. These are the five kinds of call people hand to an AI most, with the examples you would write into the goal:
1. Book a table or a reservation
Can AI make reservations? Yes, and a restaurant is the classic AI phone call. "Book a table for four at 7:30 on Friday, ask for somewhere quiet, and say one guest is gluten-free." The same works for a hotel late check-in, a tee time or a court booking.
2. Make or change an appointment
Have the AI make an appointment where there is no online booking: "Book a slot this week to replace two car tires; ask the price for both and how long it takes." Or a haircut, a dentist's check-up, a vet visit, a plumber. It can also move one: "Change my Thursday 3 pm to any time next Monday."
3. Ring ahead and ask
Questions that only get answered on the phone: "Are you open on the holiday Monday, and until when?", "Do you have the 27-inch monitor in stock, and can you hold one until 6?", "What is the wait for a table right now?" The AI asks, and you read the answer in the chat.
4. Chase what you are owed
Follow-ups nobody likes making: "Ask when my refund for order 4471 will arrive", "find out why my delivery is two days late", "check whether the deposit has been returned." It keeps the call polite and on point, and the transcript is your record.
5. Pass on a message you would rather not deliver yourself
Some calls are easier when you are not the voice on them: "Tell the band I can't make Saturday's rehearsal, and ask if Sunday works", "remind Alex that the $40 for the concert tickets is still outstanding", "let the landlord know the kitchen tap is leaking again." The AI says it is calling on your behalf, and you can listen in and take over at any moment.
Can an AI make phone calls for you safely?
It can, if it is honest about what it is. In Idea Maker AI the AI says at the start that it is your AI assistant calling on your behalf and that the call may be recorded and transcribed. You hear both sides as it happens, can join in by turning your microphone on, and can hang up whenever you like.
What a call costs. Two charges run while the call is live: the AI by the second and the phone line by the minute. On our test calls, a call of about a minute cost $0.07-$0.10 in AI on Gemini 3.8 Live and about $0.15 on Grok Voice 2.0.
A call nobody answers costs only the attempt.
Which model should you pick?
Pick Gemini 3.8 Live for most calls: it was the most natural on the phone and the cheapest of the good ones. Pick Grok Voice 2.0 if you prefer its voice or want a second opinion on a call that did not go your way. The model docs are public if you want to dig in: Gemini Live API, xAI voice and OpenAI Realtime.
New to the app? Start with what Idea Maker AI is. It is in private testing on iPhone and Android; email us and we will tell you the day it opens.
