The next time a San Francisco bike shop or dentist's office picks up the phone, the caller may not be human. As AI assistants learn to place calls to book reservations, appointments and price checks, a local startup tried to measure how businesses handle them. Most hang up.

The experiment

During SF Tech Week in early October, the mapping startup VOYGR used its PlaceCall service to have an AI agent call 848 San Francisco businesses across 13 categories, including vets, dentists, bars, cafes and salons. The company says the agent identified itself as an AI on every call and asked one short question, such as whether a dentist was taking new patients. Calls were made only during business hours, and chains and mobile numbers were skipped.

About 1 in 3 businesses kept talking after hearing it was an AI. VOYGR says 79% of veterinary offices stayed on the line, the highest of any category, while bars and dry cleaners were the most likely to hang up. Most people who hung up didn't say anything; they listened to the intro and disconnected about five seconds later. About 1 in 25 businesses that answered already had their own AI on the phone, mostly restaurants, bars and dental offices. Two AI receptionists asked VOYGR's agent to say "zebra" to prove it was a person.

Co-founder Yarik Markov told The San Francisco Standard that businesses were "more willing to answer questions than we anticipated." The company says it is building a Google Maps competitor that gathers information about businesses directly.

Mixed reviews from shop owners

The Standard found that small business owners are split. Jason Ford of The New Wheel, an e-bike shop with locations in San Francisco, Oakland and Marin, said he answers one or two AI calls a week. He finds them quick and responsive but wishes they would say which company built them. The owner of Warm Planet Bikes, whose shop got one of VOYGR's test calls, said it "smacks of trying to get between business and the customer."

Colleen Booth, COO of the group behind Lazy Bear, True Laurel and Jou Jou, told the Standard that as far as she knows, no AI agent has successfully made a reservation at those restaurants. She said the agents often get stuck at the payment step, try to book at the last minute and misunderstand human replies. She worries the calls will keep staff on the phone instead of with real guests.

Why it matters

Big AI companies are pitching personal assistant agents that can make calls and send messages for users. VOYGR argues that the businesses that answer these calls will be the ones that get the bookings. For now, if your neighborhood bar hangs up on your AI assistant, you're not alone.