What is the TCPA?
Calling a buyer's cell with an AI voice, without their consent first, can break US law, even on a B2B list.
Want to see it first? Book a demo
TCPA — The TCPA is the United States law restricting calls and text messages made with automated dialers or prerecorded and artificial voices. It requires prior express consent for most marketing contact to mobile numbers. AI-generated voices count as artificial under the FCC's 2024 ruling.
Why it matters
The TCPA limits how businesses can call and text mobile numbers with automated tools. It covers calls placed with an automatic telephone dialing system, prerecorded or artificial voice messages, and texts sent the same way. It generally requires prior express consent from the person before that kind of marketing contact is made. The rule follows the number, not the industry. If your sales team calls B2B contacts, it's still bound by the rule whenever the number it reaches is a mobile line.
One detail matters more now that AI voice tools are common. The FCC's 2024 ruling made clear that AI-generated voices count as artificial voices under the TCPA. Calls placed by an AI voice agent face the same consent rules as an old-style prerecorded message. Many sales teams assume the TCPA only covers consumers and that B2B contacts are exempt. But the law's limits attach to the number being called. Many business contacts now use a mobile as their main line, and that brings them inside the rule, whatever the business setting.
What the TCPA requires before automated contact
- 1
Identify the contact method
Find out whether the call or text uses an autodialer, a prerecorded voice, or an artificial voice.
- 2
Check the number type
Check whether the number you're calling is a mobile line.
- 3
Confirm prior express consent
Make sure the person agreed to this kind of automated contact before it happens.
- 4
Apply the same standard to AI voice
Treat AI voice calls the same as prerecorded messages, per the 2024 FCC ruling.
- 5
Honour revocation immediately
Stop contact as soon as the person takes back consent.
The mistake to watch for
Questions
- How is the TCPA different from the National Do Not Call Registry?
- The TCPA is a federal law that limits automated and prerecorded calls and texts and requires consent. The National Do Not Call Registry is a list of numbers that live telemarketing calls must avoid. Both target unwanted contact, in different ways.
- Does the TCPA apply to AI voice agents?
- Yes. Under the FCC's 2024 ruling, AI-generated voices count as artificial voices. Calls placed by an AI voice agent face the same TCPA consent rules as an old-style prerecorded call.
- Does the TCPA apply to business contacts?
- Often, yes. The limits generally attach to the number being called, not the industry. A business contact reached on a mobile number can fall under the same rules as a consumer number. This is not legal advice.