AI for Sales Calls: Consent, Scripts and Rules for Outbound AI Calling

An AI sales call is legally an artificial-voice call. In February 2024 the FCC ruled that voices generated by AI count as "artificial" voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, so an AI that calls a lead's cell phone to sell needs that person's prior express written consent, must say who is calling at the start, and must offer a way to opt out during the call (FCC Declaratory Ruling 24-17). With consent in place, typical jobs for an AI caller are calling back new inquiries, confirming or rescheduling appointments, and checking in with leads who went quiet.

Out Nurture's AI calling is in beta and not yet available; this guide covers outbound AI calling in general.

The rules every outbound AI call has to meet

Each rule below is in the FCC's TCPA regulations, 47 CFR 64.1200. The cell phone rules apply even when the number belongs to a business owner, because they cover any number on a wireless service.

Rule	What it means for an AI caller
Consent	Sales calls with an artificial voice to a cell phone or a home line need prior express written consent: a signed agreement (an electronic signature valid under federal or state law counts) that names your business, authorizes these calls to that number, and says agreeing isn't a condition of purchase.
Identify yourself first	The message must state, at the beginning, the name your business is registered under, and give a phone number during or after the message.
Opt-out on the call	Telemarketing calls with an artificial voice must offer an automated voice or keypress opt-out within two seconds of the identification, and it must add the number to your do-not-call list and hang up.
Speak within 2 seconds	A call to a consenting person isn't counted as abandoned only if the message begins within two seconds of their "hello."
Let it ring	Don't hang up an unanswered sales call before 15 seconds or four rings.
Calling hours	No telephone solicitations before 8 AM or after 9 PM, the called person's local time.
Revocation	A person can revoke consent by any reasonable means, and you have at most ten business days to honor it. "Stop calling me" said to the AI counts.

States add their own limits. Florida's telemarketing law, for example, bars commercial telephone sellers from calling before 8 AM or after 8 PM and from making more than three calls to a person in 24 hours on the same subject (Florida Statutes 501.616). Set your AI's calling window to the strictest state you call into.

Breaking the federal consent rules lets the person sue for $500 per call, and a court can triple that for willful or knowing violations (47 U.S.C. 227(b)(3)).

Consent language for your forms

Put this next to an unchecked box that isn't required to submit the form, so the person is signing an agreement that names your business, the call type and the number:

By checking this box, I agree that Acme Home Loans may call and text me at the number above about my inquiry, including with automated technology and AI-generated or prerecorded voices. I understand this consent is not required to buy anything. Reply STOP to texts or tell us on any call to opt out.

Keep a record of each opt-in: the form version, the timestamp, the number entered, and the page it came from. If you text as well as call, the texts also need an approved A2P 10DLC registration; see A2P 10DLC registration: cost, timeline and rejections.

Do Not Call: when the registry applies

A number on the national Do Not Call registry can't get telephone solicitations unless you have the person's signed, written permission to be called by your business at that number, or an established business relationship: a purchase in the last 18 months or an inquiry in the last three months (47 CFR 64.1200(c) and (f)(5)). A business relationship lets a person call, but it doesn't replace written consent for an AI voice, so for AI calls the consent form is what matters.

Scrub anyone you call without that written consent against a copy of the registry no more than 31 days old, and check your internal do-not-call list on every dial, whatever the consent. The FTC gives the first five area codes of registry data free; as of October 2026, each further area code costs $85 a year, up to $23,425, and violations can cost up to $53,088 each (FTC Do Not Call Q&A).

State laws on telling people it's AI

Federal rules require your business name, not the words "I'm an AI." The FCC proposed an AI-call disclosure rule in August 2024, which is a proposal, not a rule (FCC 24-84). Three states have rules that reach AI callers:

• Utah: a business using generative AI with a consumer must disclose that it's AI, not a human, when the person clearly asks. People in licensed occupations must disclose it up front, verbally at the start of the call, when the call collects sensitive data such as financial or health information (Utah SB 226, 2025).
• Maine: you may not use a chatbot, including a voice one, in a way that could make a reasonable consumer think they're talking to a person unless you clearly tell them it isn't one (Maine Public Law 2025, chapter 294).
• California: calls placed with an automatic dialing-announcing device must start with a live, natural-voice announcement that asks permission to play the recorded message and says whether it uses an artificial voice (California Public Utilities Code 2874). Ask counsel whether your AI dialer counts as such a device.

The simplest way to meet all three is to say it's an AI in the first sentence of every call.

Recording the call

Federal law lets one party to a call record it (18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d)), but several states require everyone's consent, including California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Washington. If your AI system records or transcribes calls, announce it in the opening, wherever the lead lives.

The first ten seconds

This example opening gives the business name, the AI disclosure, the recording notice, the reason for the call and the opt-out in about 15 seconds:

"Hi, this is an AI assistant calling for Acme Home Loans. This call is recorded. You asked about refinance rates on our website yesterday, so I'm calling to answer questions and set up a time with a loan officer. If you'd rather not get these calls, say 'stop calling' or press 9 at any time. Is now a good time?"

Give your callback number before the call ends. If the person says no, the AI should ask once whether a later time works, then end the call.

"Are you a robot?"

Answer yes, plainly, and offer a person. Example: "Yes, I'm an AI assistant for Acme Home Loans. I can answer basic questions and book a time, or I can have a loan officer call you back. Which would you prefer?" Never let the AI claim to be human or dodge the question; in Utah a clear question legally requires a clear answer.

When the AI should hand off to a person

• The lead asks for a person.
• They're ready to act: wants to apply, sign, see the property, or talk price.
• Anything regulated or personal: loan terms, a medical or legal question, a complaint, a dispute about a bill.
• The lead is upset, confused, or the AI has misheard twice in a row.
• The conversation goes outside what the AI was set up to discuss.

Warm transfer when someone is free, and pass a three-line summary (who, what they want, what was promised). When no one is free, book a callback at a specific time and send the rep the summary.

Questions the AI should be ready for

• "How did you get my number?" Name the form and date: "You requested a refinance quote on acmehomeloans.com on Tuesday."
• "What's your rate?" Give only what you've approved it to say, then offer the loan officer for a real quote.
• "I'm busy." Offer two specific callback times and stop.
• "I already have someone." Thank them, ask whether they want future calls, and record the answer.

Checking the calls

• Read a sample of transcripts every week, and every transcript where the lead said stop, asked for a person or sounded upset.
• Test that "stop calling," "take me off your list" and the keypress all add the number to your do-not-call list.
• Log consent source, call time in the lead's time zone, and outcome for every call, so you can answer a complaint with records.

For what happens after the call, see AI sales follow-up automation.

Voicemail

• A voicemail left by an AI voice is an artificial-voice message. It needs the same consent, must open with your business name, and must give your number (47 CFR 64.1200(b)).
• For telemarketing voicemails, include a toll-free number that connects to your automated opt-out and records the number on your do-not-call list.
• Ringless voicemail is a call too. The FCC ruled in 2022 that dropping a message straight into a cell phone's voicemail requires consent (FCC 22-85).
• Answering-machine detection makes mistakes. Twilio's own documentation says it "will not always return the right answer" and can mistake a short voicemail greeting for a person (Twilio AMD docs). Write the voicemail so it still makes sense if a person picks up midway.

Example: "Hi Dana, this is an AI assistant for Acme Home Loans about the refinance quote you asked for. Call or text us back at 555-0142. To stop these calls, call 800-555-0199. Thanks."

Where AI outbound calls fit

Call	Good fit for AI?
Calling back a web inquiry within minutes	Yes, if the form collected written consent for AI calls
Confirming or rescheduling an appointment	Yes
Re-engaging an old lead who opted in	Yes, if their consent hasn't been revoked
Purchased or scraped lists	No: the consent was given to someone else, if at all
Negotiating price or terms	No: hand to a person

If you use Out Nurture

Out Nurture texts leads today (how the texting works); AI calling is in beta and not available yet.