Is AI calling legal? TCPA, FCC rules, text consent and AI disclosure

The short answer: AI calling is legal, with conditions

Calling people with an AI voice is not banned. It is regulated the way robocalls are regulated. The questions that matter are who you are calling, why, and whether the person agreed in advance.

This page covers the federal rules for a business that uses AI for outbound calls and texts, such as an AI lead follow-up callback after a web form, plus two state laws and a checklist. This is not legal advice. Laws change, and a lawyer who handles telephone and privacy law should review your forms and scripts before you start.

One distinction runs through the article. A call or text that only informs (an appointment confirmation, a reply to a request the customer made) is treated more leniently than one that advertises or sells. We call those informational and marketing.

What the FCC decided in February 2024

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA, 47 U.S.C. 227) restricts calls made with an autodialer or with an “artificial or prerecorded voice.” The statute never defined “artificial.” In FCC 24-17, adopted on February 2 and released on February 8, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission confirmed that these restrictions cover current AI technologies that generate human-sounding voices.

Three points from the ruling matter for a business owner:

• Consent comes first. A caller must have the called party’s prior express consent before making a call that uses an AI-generated voice, unless there is an emergency or an exemption. If the call includes an advertisement or telemarketing, the FCC’s rules require prior express written consent.
• No exception for a convincing voice. The FCC said the TCPA allows no carve-out for technology that claims to be the equivalent of a live agent. It also noted that a live agent selecting recorded messages does not take a call outside the rule.
• Identification still applies. Artificial-voice messages must state the identity of the responsible business at the start and give a callback number (47 CFR 64.1200(b)(1) and (2)). Marketing messages must offer an opt-out (64.1200(b)(3)).

Courts are not strictly bound by FCC readings: in McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson (June 20, 2025), the Supreme Court held that the Hobbs Act does not bind district courts in civil enforcement cases to an agency’s interpretation of a statute. But the FCC cited a Ninth Circuit decision, Trim v. Reward Zone USA (2023), that already described an “artificial voice” as a sound resembling a human voice that is originated by artificial intelligence. Plan as if the FCC reading applies.

Two levels of consent: prior express vs prior express written

The consent rules sit in 47 CFR 64.1200(a). This table covers AI calls to consumers’ phones.

Prior express written consent has a definition in 64.1200(f)(9). It is a signed agreement that names the phone number and clearly authorizes the seller to deliver advertisements or telemarketing messages using an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice. It must also say signing is not a condition of buying anything. An electronic signature counts if valid under federal law or state contract law.

So a “tick here” box on a web form is not enough unless its wording follows that definition. Ask your lawyer to approve the sentence next to the phone field.

Informational vs marketing: where service businesses get stuck

Many small-business calls sit in a gray area. Use this as a framework for a talk with counsel, not as a ruling.

• Informational: a reminder for a booked appointment, a “your technician is on the way” call, a callback the customer asked for.
• Marketing: a call or text that offers a discount, promotes a new service, or tries to sell to a past customer.
• Mixed: a callback to a web lead that also pitches an upsell. The FCC defines telemarketing as a call or message meant to encourage the purchase of goods or services (64.1200(f)(13)). Treat a mixed call as marketing unless your lawyer says otherwise.

AI answering your calls vs AI calling out

The FCC ruling says its requirements apply to any AI technology that initiates an outbound call using an artificial or prerecorded voice. An AI receptionist that answers calls customers place to your business does not initiate the call, so this ruling does not address it.

Inbound answering is not rule-free. Recording a call can trigger state consent laws (see call recording laws and two-party consent), and callers should know they are talking to an AI (see what callers notice on AI calls). And when the AI calls back, as with a missed-call callback or an instant call to a new lead, the call is outbound and the consent rules above apply.

Text messages and TCPA consent

Does the TCPA apply to texts? The answer has layers.

• The FCC’s revocation rule applies to “robocalls and robotexts” and covers calls and text messages made under 64.1200(a)(1) through (3).
• The do-not-call rules in paragraphs (c) and (d) apply to text messages to wireless numbers, to the extent the FCC described in its 2003 order (64.1200(e)).
• Under Facebook v. Duguid (2021), the Supreme Court held that an autodialer must be able to store or produce numbers using a random or sequential number generator. That narrowed the federal autodialer definition. It does not remove state laws that cover texts directly, such as Florida’s.
• Carriers expect opt-in for business texting numbers too (A2P 10DLC registration). That is a carrier rule, not the TCPA, but it points the same way.

The practical rule: get consent before you text, say what the texts are for, honor STOP, and record when and how each person opted in.

Calling hours and the do-not-call list

For telephone solicitations to residential subscribers, 64.1200(c) bars calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the called party’s location, and bars solicitations to numbers on the national do-not-call registry. Two details matter:

• The established business relationship exclusion. A call to someone you have an established business relationship with falls outside the rules’ definition of a telephone solicitation. The rules define that relationship as a purchase or transaction within the past 18 months, or an inquiry or application within the past three months. That helps with the registry and calling hours in paragraph (c). It does not replace the consent rules for AI voices in paragraph (a).
• Your own do-not-call list. Telemarketers must keep a record of people who ask not to be called and honor the request for five years (64.1200(d)).

State rules can be tighter. Oklahoma bars commercial telephone solicitation calls before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. in the called person’s time zone. A simple, safe window is 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the recipient’s local time.

When someone says stop: the 2025 revocation rules

The FCC adopted its consent-revocation rules in 2024, with an effective date of April 11, 2025. The rules say a person can revoke consent to calls and texts by any reasonable method that clearly says they want no more. A reply to a text with stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe counts automatically. Requests made in any reasonable way must be honored within a reasonable time that does not exceed ten business days (64.1200(a)(10)).

One piece is on hold. The “revoke-all” requirement would make a stop request to one type of message apply to all future robocalls and robotexts from that sender on unrelated matters. The FCC first delayed that piece to April 11, 2026. Its Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau then extended the waiver to January 31, 2027, in an order dated January 6, 2026 (DA 26-12), while the Commission considers changing it. The order says it does not alter any other rules or rulings on revocation. We found no later change as of October 2026, so check the FCC’s docket (CG Docket 02-278).

Build it so a stop request works across your systems anyway, including a caller who tells the AI to stop calling.

State laws that go further

Several states have their own telemarketing laws, sometimes called mini-TCPAs. Two we checked in the statutes:

• Florida (Fla. Stat. 501.059). Bars unsolicited telephonic sales calls that use an automated system for selecting and dialing numbers or a recorded message without the called party’s prior express written consent. “Telephonic sales call” includes text messages and voicemail. A person can recover actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, and up to three times that for a willful or knowing violation. Under the current text, a person who wants to sue over sales texts must first reply STOP to the sender and wait 15 days.
• Oklahoma (Telephone Solicitation Act of 2022, 15 O.S. 775C.1 and following). Requires prior express written consent for commercial sales calls that use an automated dialing system or recorded message. It limits commercial solicitation calls to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the called person’s time zone, and to three calls in 24 hours on the same subject. Damages are the greater of actual damages or $500, with up to three times that for willful violations. It exempts some solicitors, including those calling people with whom the same business has an existing business relationship. The act took effect November 1, 2022. We read the enrolled bill as passed in 2022, not the current codified text, so confirm it has not been amended.

A June 2022 Morrison & Foerster alert compares the Oklahoma law to Florida’s. We did not verify other states, which may have rules too. If you call or text across state lines, ask a lawyer to check the states where your customers live.

Do you have to say the call is AI?

Federal law does not, as far as we found, require a call to say the words “this is an AI.” It does require an outbound artificial-voice call to identify the responsible business at the start and give a number (64.1200(b)).

In August 2024 the FCC proposed, in FCC 24-84, to define an “AI-generated call” and require disclosure of AI use at the start of each call and in the consent agreement. That is a proposal. We found no final rule.

Some states act separately. According to a Davis Polk summary dated April 4, 2025, Utah’s Artificial Intelligence Policy Act, as amended in 2025 (effective May 7, 2025), requires a business to disclose generative AI use when a consumer clearly and unambiguously asks, and to disclose up front in “high-risk” interactions, which involve sensitive personal information and personalized advice. Clear and conspicuous disclosure at the start and throughout an interaction earns a safe harbor. The summary says the state’s consumer protection division can impose administrative fines of $2,500 per violation, and that the law gives consumers no private right to sue.

The honest default costs nothing: open with “This is an AI assistant for [business]” and offer a person or a message.

What it costs to get this wrong

The TCPA lets the person who got the call sue. For autodialed and artificial-voice violations, the statute provides actual loss or $500 in damages for each violation, whichever is greater, and a court may increase the award up to three times for willful or knowing violations (47 U.S.C. 227(b)(3)). For do-not-call violations, a person who gets more than one call in 12 months from the same entity can sue for actual loss or up to $500 per violation, also with up to three times for willful or knowing violations (227(c)(5)). That provision gives a defense to a business that set up and followed reasonable practices, with due care, to prevent such calls. The amounts are per call or text, so a small list can become a large claim. State laws such as Florida’s and Oklahoma’s add their own damages, listed above.

A practical checklist for AI calling

1. List every outbound call and text your tools send, and mark each informational or marketing.
2. Write consent language for each. For marketing, use a signed agreement that names the number, covers automated or artificial-voice messages, and says signing is not required to buy.
3. Store proof: timestamp, form version and the phone number.
4. Call only between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. in the person’s local time.
5. Scrub marketing lists against the national do-not-call registry and your own list.
6. Open each outbound AI call with the business name, say it is an AI assistant, and give a callback number.
7. Honor stop requests everywhere within ten business days, sooner if you can.
8. Add a one-line check for state rules where your customers live, starting with Florida and Oklahoma.
9. Decide how you handle call recording before you turn it on.
10. Have a lawyer review the forms and scripts, and keep a dated copy.

Where Magnet Mint fits

We set up AI follow-up with consent capture and opt-out handling in the written scope before anything calls or texts a customer. The legal review is yours to arrange, and we can send your lawyer the exact wording and flow. For a speed-to-lead callback tool, see LeadCallback. Texting is covered in AI replies for SMS and messengers, costs on the pricing page and common questions in the FAQ. Not sure where to start? Ask for a free demo.

Published October 26, 2026. Updated October 26, 2026.