Short answer: An outbound call that uses an AI-generated voice is a call using an “artificial or prerecorded voice” under the TCPA. The FCC settled that in a February 2024 declaratory ruling (FCC 24-17). So an AI voice agent calling a consumer needs the consumer’s prior express consent, and prior express written consent if the call is telemarketing. The FCC’s separate proposal to add AI-specific definitions and disclosures (FCC 24-84, August 2024) has not been adopted, and the most recent federal regulatory agenda lists its next action as “undetermined.”
That leaves AI voice operators with a clear obligation (consent) and an unsettled one (disclosure). This post separates the two.
Is an AI voice an “artificial voice” under the TCPA?
Yes. The TCPA, 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1), restricts calls made “using any automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice.” In FCC 24-17, adopted February 2 and released February 8, 2024, the Commission stated:
“we confirm that the TCPA’s restrictions on the use of ‘artificial or prerecorded voice’ encompass current AI technologies that generate human voices. As a result, calls that use such technologies fall under the TCPA and the Commission’s implementing rules, and therefore require the prior express consent of the called party to initiate such calls absent an emergency purpose or exemption.”
The ruling followed AI-cloned robocalls imitating President Biden’s voice before the January 2024 New Hampshire primary. It applies to voice cloning and to conversational AI agents alike: the question is whether the voice is artificial, not whether a script is fixed.
One caveat: since the Supreme Court’s June 2025 decision in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson Corp., district courts are not bound to follow FCC interpretations of the TCPA and decide the statute’s meaning for themselves. A court could reach its own view of “artificial voice.” Few lawyers expect a court to decide that a synthetic human voice is not artificial, but plan around the statute rather than around the ruling alone.
What consent does an AI voice call need?
The same consent as any other artificial or prerecorded voice call under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a):
| Call type | Consent required |
|---|---|
| Telemarketing or advertising to a wireless or residential number | Prior express written consent: a signed written agreement (e-signature counts) that clearly authorizes artificial or prerecorded voice calls from the seller, discloses that consent is not a condition of purchase, and identifies the number. |
| Informational call to a wireless number (no advertising) | Prior express consent, which can be oral or implied from the consumer giving their number for that purpose. |
| Emergency purpose | No consent required. |
Prerecorded and artificial voice calls also have content rules today. Under § 64.1200(b), the message must identify the business at the start and give its phone number, and telemarketing calls must offer an automated, interactive opt-out (voice or key-press) during the call.
What has the FCC proposed but not adopted?
FCC 24-84, adopted August 7 and released August 8, 2024 (89 FR 73321), proposed three things:
- A definition. An “AI-generated call” would be “a call that uses any technology or tool to generate an artificial or prerecorded voice or a text using computational technology or other machine learning, including predictive algorithms, and large language models, to process natural language and produce voice or text content to communicate with a called party over an outbound telephone call.”
- Consent disclosure. Where written consent is required, the agreement would have to include a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the consumer “specifically authorize[s] the caller to make calls containing AI-generated content.”
- In-call disclosure. Callers using an AI-generated voice would have to “at the beginning of each call, clearly disclose to the called party that the call is using AI-generated technology.”
Comments closed October 25, 2024. The Fall 2025 Unified Agenda lists the rulemaking under “Long-Term Actions” with “Next Action Undetermined.” We found no FCC order adopting any of the three proposals as of October 2026. Several states have their own disclosure laws for automated or AI calls, so check the states you call into.
What should an AI voice-agent operator record on every call?
The consent rules already in force decide most AI calling disputes, and the questions in those disputes are factual. Was there written consent that covered artificial-voice calls from this seller? Did the call identify the seller? Was an opt-out offered, and was it honored? An AI agent’s own call log rarely answers those questions in a form a court accepts.
For each call, keep:
- The consent record you are relying on, with the disclosure language the consumer agreed to, the date and source. For telemarketing, make sure the language covers artificial or prerecorded voice calls.
- The pre-call check. Whether the number was on your internal do-not-call list or had a revocation on file at the moment of dialing.
- The audio and transcript, with a hash taken at capture so you can show they were not edited later.
- The identification and opt-out moments in the transcript: where the agent named the business, and where it offered the opt-out.
- Any revocation during the call and when it was processed. Under the FCC’s revocation rules it must be honored within a reasonable time, not to exceed 10 business days. See our post on FCC 26-67 for the rule that replaces revoke-all.
- Whether you disclosed AI use, even though the federal rule is only proposed. If FCC 24-84 is adopted, your history will already comply, and a disclosure is useful evidence that the consumer was not misled.
eConsent Voice does this in the call path: a pre-call check before dialing, verbal consent capture with transcript markers during the call, and a signed certificate with audio and transcript hashes after it.
Sources
- FCC 24-17, Declaratory Ruling, CG Docket No. 23-362 (adopted Feb. 2, 2024; released Feb. 8, 2024): docs.fcc.gov
- FCC 24-84, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry, CG Docket No. 23-362 (adopted Aug. 7, 2024; released Aug. 8, 2024; 89 FR 73321): docs.fcc.gov
- Unified Agenda, RIN 3060-AM12 (Fall 2025): reginfo.gov
- 47 U.S.C. § 227: law.cornell.edu
- 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200: eCFR
This article is general information, not legal advice. Talk to TCPA counsel about your own program.