The Telephone Consumer Protection Act has been generating litigation for over three decades. TCPA violations can result in statutory damages of $500 to $1,500 per call or text. For businesses using automated phone systems or AI calling features, understanding what TCPA requires isn’t optional.
This guide covers the TCPA rules most relevant to small and medium businesses using AI phone answering and outbound calling features, what’s permitted without prior consent, and what requires explicit written authorization.
What TCPA Covers
The TCPA, enacted in 1991 and significantly updated since, restricts certain types of telephone communications. For businesses using AI phone technology, the most relevant provisions cover:
Autodialed calls and texts to mobile phones. Using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) to call or text a mobile number without prior express consent is prohibited, with narrow exceptions.
Prerecorded or artificial voice calls. Playing a prerecorded message or using an artificial voice (including AI-generated voice) to make calls to residential or mobile phones without prior express consent is restricted.
Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketing calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry are prohibited without an established business relationship or explicit consent.
Calling time restrictions. Calls to residential lines for telemarketing purposes are restricted to 8 AM to 9 PM in the recipient’s time zone.
The FCC has been actively updating TCPA guidance around AI and automated technologies. In 2024, the FCC ruled that AI-generated voices in robocalls fall under TCPA’s artificial voice restrictions, confirming that AI does not create a workaround to the law’s requirements.
Inbound AI Answering: Generally Lower Risk
The TCPA’s most significant restrictions apply to outbound calling. If your business deploys AI to answer incoming calls, the TCPA compliance picture is generally simpler:
- A business answering a call a consumer placed is not using an ATDS to initiate a call
- Consumers calling your business have initiated the contact
- Recording disclosure requirements still apply under state law (see below)
- Consent obtained during an inbound call can support outbound follow-up, depending on how it’s obtained
For most small businesses using AI purely for inbound call handling, TCPA is not a significant barrier. The risks increase when you add outbound calling features.
Outbound AI Calling: Where TCPA Gets Specific
If you use AI for outbound calls, such as appointment reminders, follow-up calls, or campaign calling, the consent requirements become important.
What’s permitted without explicit consent
Calls to landlines using a live human voice. A staff member or live agent calling from a business line to a landline does not trigger TCPA’s automated calling restrictions.
Informational calls to established customers. Calls that are purely informational, not telemarketing, to existing customers with whom you have an established business relationship have more flexibility. Appointment reminders, delivery notifications, and account alerts to consenting customers generally qualify.
Emergency calls. TCPA provides exceptions for calls made for emergency purposes.
What requires prior express written consent
Telemarketing calls to mobile phones using an autodialer or AI voice. If you’re using AI to place marketing calls to mobile numbers, you need documented prior express written consent from each recipient before making that call. This consent must be obtained separately and cannot be bundled into general terms of service.
Telemarketing calls to residential landlines using a prerecorded or AI voice. Same requirement: prior express written consent.
The FCC’s 2024 guidance makes clear that AI-generated voices fall under the “artificial voice” restriction. Using an AI to make outbound marketing calls without prior express written consent is a TCPA violation, regardless of how natural the AI sounds.
What Prior Express Written Consent Looks Like
“Prior express written consent” under TCPA has a specific meaning. It requires:
- A written agreement (digital agreements count)
- A clear and conspicuous disclosure that the person is authorizing autodialed or prerecorded calls or texts
- The specific phone number to which calls may be placed
- The person’s electronic signature
A checkbox buried in terms of service does not constitute valid TCPA consent. The consent must be clear, specific, and unambiguous.
For businesses collecting consent on a sign-up form or contact form, a specific consent checkbox for AI calling is the right approach. Something like: “I agree to receive automated phone calls and texts from [Business Name] at the number provided. I understand that consent is not required to purchase goods or services.”
That last sentence matters. Under TCPA, you cannot make consent to automated calls a condition of purchasing your product or service.
State-Level Wiretapping Laws: The Two-Party Consent Issue
Beyond TCPA, most states have their own wiretapping laws governing call recording. These fall into two categories:
One-party consent states. Most US states only require one party to a call to consent to recording. If your business is recording calls and you know about the recording, that satisfies the requirement.
Two-party (or all-party) consent states. States including California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and others require all parties to consent to call recording. If you record calls without disclosing this to callers in these states, you face state law liability separate from TCPA.
Practical approach: Disclose call recording at the start of every call, regardless of state. A standard disclosure in your AI greeting, “This call may be recorded for quality and service purposes,” handles the consent issue across all states and costs nothing to implement.
Do Not Call Compliance
If your business makes any outbound marketing calls, you’re required to:
- Maintain an internal do-not-call list
- Honor removal requests within 30 days
- Check numbers against the National Do Not Call Registry before calling (for telemarketing purposes)
- Maintain a written do-not-call policy
AI outbound calling systems should integrate with or support these requirements. If you’re evaluating a platform with outbound calling features, confirm that DNC list management is built in.
TCPA and AI: A Practical Compliance Checklist
For small businesses using AI phone technology:
Inbound AI answering:
- Call recording disclosure in opening greeting
- Any consent obtained during inbound calls documented properly
- No condition of service imposed on consent to receive automated follow-up calls
Outbound AI calling:
- Prior express written consent documented for each recipient of AI voice or autodialed calls
- Consent records maintained with date, method, and specific phone number
- Internal do-not-call list maintained and honored
- Outbound calls limited to 8 AM–9 PM recipient’s local time
- National DNC Registry checked for telemarketing calls
- Opt-out mechanism in place and processed within 30 days
General:
- Staff understand which types of calls require consent
- Vendor terms reviewed for how AI voice features work
- State law recording requirements addressed through universal disclosure
Frequently Asked Questions
Does TCPA apply to appointment reminder calls?
Appointment reminders to existing customers using a prerecorded or AI voice to their mobile phone require prior express consent, though this is typically obtained during the appointment booking process. If a patient or client provides their mobile number and agrees to receive automated reminders when booking, that covers the consent requirement for reminders. Keep records of how and when consent was obtained.
We only call people who have already contacted us. Are we still subject to TCPA?
Having an established business relationship does not exempt you from TCPA’s consent requirements for automated or AI voice calls to mobile phones. An established relationship reduces some telemarketing restrictions for residential landlines but does not substitute for prior express written consent for autodialed or prerecorded calls to mobile numbers.
Can we use AI for outbound calls if we disclose it’s an AI?
Disclosure that a call is from an AI does not satisfy TCPA’s consent requirement. You still need prior express written consent to make autodialed or AI voice telemarketing calls to mobile phones, regardless of disclosure. The FCC’s 2024 ruling reinforced this: disclosure and consent are separate obligations.
What are the penalties if we get this wrong?
TCPA provides statutory damages of $500 per violation for unintentional violations and up to $1,500 per violation for willful violations. With volume calling, these damages add up quickly. TCPA is also frequently the basis for class action lawsuits, which have produced multimillion-dollar settlements.
Using AI Phone Technology Compliantly
TCPA compliance for AI phone systems is manageable. For most small businesses using AI for inbound call answering, the requirements are straightforward: disclose recording, document any consent obtained, and don’t add conditions to that consent.
The complexity increases with outbound AI calling for marketing purposes. If that’s part of your plan, build your consent collection process before you build your calling program.
For AI phone answering built for US businesses that accounts for compliance requirements, explore Dialbox’s AI phone answering for the USA and see how the platform approaches outbound calling features.
Try Dialbox for your business and deploy AI phone answering with the compliance groundwork already in place.
This article provides general information about TCPA and how it applies to AI phone systems. It is not legal advice. TCPA law is complex and frequently updated through FCC rulemaking. For specific compliance questions, consult a telecommunications attorney.
