Call recording consent basics for a business answering calls with AI

Recording a phone call requires consent under federal law from at least one party to the call, and under the laws of roughly a dozen states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington, from every party. Because the caller may be in any state, the practical rule for a business is to announce recording at the start of every call and to treat continuing the call as consent, which is how all-party states generally treat it. An AI that answers or transcribes calls is recording, and the same rule applies. This is a summary, not legal advice.

One-party and all-party

Federal law and most states allow recording if one participant consents, and the business is a participant. A minority of states require all participants to consent. Because the caller's state is what matters for them, and you do not know where they are, businesses that take calls from the public assume all-party rules apply. The cost is one sentence in the greeting.

The greeting

"This call may be recorded for quality and training." That sentence, or one like it, at the very start, before anything else. If an AI answers the call, add the AI disclosure in the same breath: "You have reached Northside Dental. I am an automated assistant, and this call may be recorded." A caller who continues after hearing it is generally treated as having consented; a caller who objects should be offered an unrecorded option, which may mean a callback from a person.

What counts as recording

Storing audio, obviously. Also real-time transcription that is kept, and AI systems that process the audio to produce a summary or a transcript. If the words of the call are being captured in any durable form, announce it. Some states' laws are written broadly enough to cover interception as well as storage; the announcement covers both.

Outbound calls

The same rule applies when your business calls a customer and records. The person making the call, or the system, announces it at the start. For automated outbound calls, additional telemarketing rules apply on top.

Text messages and chat

Texts and chats are written records by nature and the recording laws are about audio. Consent to text (the TCPA rules) covers the channel; there is no separate "recording" consent for a text conversation. Say in your privacy notice that conversations are kept.

What to do with recordings afterwards

Store them securely, with access limited to the people who need it. Keep them for a defined period and delete them after. Do not share them outside the business without a reason and, where required, consent. Transcripts are records too and get the same treatment. For medical and dental practices, recordings that contain patient information fall under HIPAA as well.

The AI voice agent specifically

An AI that answers calls is recording and processing every one. The greeting must disclose both the AI and the recording. The system should store audio and transcripts with access controls, keep a log of who listened to what, and let you set retention. Ask the vendor how recordings are stored, who can access them, and how they are deleted.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the announcement if a person answers and we only take notes?

Notes are not a recording. The rules are about capturing the audio or a verbatim transcript. Once a system is transcribing, announce it.

What if a caller says they do not consent?

Stop recording, or if the system cannot, offer a callback from a person on an unrecorded line. Record the objection on the customer's record so it is honoured next time.

Does "this call may be recorded" cover AI transcription?

Generally the announcement of recording covers capture of the conversation. Adding "and transcribed" costs nothing and removes the question.

What Frontiva does here

Frontiva's phone features are built but not yet available, because phone number provisioning has not shipped. When they are, call recording is off by default and cannot be switched on without an announcement playing first: one switch, so there is no state where recording runs without the announcement. The missed call text back page tracks it; AI disclosure laws covers the disclosure side.