Artificial or Prerecorded Voice

An artificial or prerecorded voice is any call voice that is not a live human speaking in real time, which under the TCPA includes AI-generated voices.

The TCPA has restricted calls using an artificial or prerecorded voice since 1991. For years, that meant recorded messages and robotic text-to-speech. In February 2024, the FCC issued a declaratory ruling confirming that voices generated by AI, including cloned voices that sound like a real person, are artificial voices under the law.

What that means in practice:

• Telemarketing calls using an AI voice need prior express written consent from the person called.
• The call must identify the business at the start and provide the business's phone number during or after the message.
• Telemarketing calls using an artificial voice must offer an automated way to opt out, and the opt-out must be honored.

The ruling also gives state attorneys general another tool to go after deceptive voice cloning.

For honest teams, the takeaway is to treat AI calls exactly like prerecorded calls when it comes to consent. Be open about it, too. A good AI agent never claims to be human and says it is an AI when asked. That honesty is the right thing to do, and it builds more trust than trying to pass as human. If someone asks the agent to stop, it should end the call and record the request.

Sources

• FCC, AI voices under the TCPA (Feb 2024): https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-confirms-tcpa-applies-ai-technologies-generate-human-voices (accessed October 17, 2026)
• 47 CFR 64.1200 (eCFR): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200 (accessed October 17, 2026)

This entry is general information, not legal advice.