In short
US call-recording law varies by state: most require one party's consent, but several, including California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Washington, generally require all parties to consent. AI voice agents that record or transcribe calls should open with a clear notice, offer a way to continue without recording and log consent with the call.
One-party and all-party consent
Federal law and most states allow a call to be recorded if one party consents. A group of states generally requires the consent of everyone on the call, including California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Washington. Rules and court interpretations change, so check current statutes for the states you serve.
Why AI voice agents raise the stakes
An AI voice agent usually transcribes every word to understand the caller. That transcription, and any stored audio, can count as recording. When callers dial in from many states, the safest design meets the strictest rule.
A design that works everywhere
- Notice first: the agent states that the call is recorded and transcribed before collecting any details.
- A real choice: callers can continue without recording, for example with live transcription discarded after the call, or by transfer to a person.
- Consent logged: the notice and the caller's choice are stored with the call record.
- Retention rules: audio, transcript or neither, each with its own retention period.
Where the data lives matters too
If speech recognition, the model and synthesis run on your infrastructure, recordings and transcripts never leave your environment. That keeps the consent question separate from a vendor-processing question.
See also our voice agents page and US compliance page.
General information, not legal advice. Questions? Write to sales@deepvox.ai.