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TCPA and Florida call rules for agents using AI
AI voices count as artificial voices under the TCPA. What federal law and the Florida mini-TCPA say about AI calls, texts, calling hours, recording and opt-out.
By AetherFL Team. . 5 min read.
The short version
AI can answer your phone, call back a lead and send a text. Each of those runs into rules written long before AI voices existed.
This post covers the rules Florida agents ask about most. Each one links to the text of the law.
AI voices count as artificial voices
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, limits calls made with an artificial or prerecorded voice. In February 2024, the FCC ruled unanimously that AI technologies that generate human voices fall under that rule.
That settled the main question for AI calling. If software speaks on a call you place, the TCPA's artificial voice rules apply.
What the TCPA requires
These are the federal rules that matter most when you place calls or send texts.
- Consent for calls to cell phones. No call with an artificial or prerecorded voice to a cell phone without the person's prior express consent, except in emergencies.
- Written consent for marketing calls. Telemarketing calls with an artificial voice need prior express written consent: a signed agreement that names the phone number.
- Say who is calling. An artificial voice message must identify the caller at the start and give a callback number. Telemarketing messages must offer an automated opt-out within 2 seconds.
- Calling hours. No telephone solicitation before 8 AM or after 9 PM, in the called person's time zone. Numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry are off limits for solicitations, with narrow exceptions.
- Opt-outs. People can revoke consent in any reasonable way, including a reply of stop to a text. You have 10 business days to honor it.
Damages are $500 per violation, and a court can triple that to $1,500 if the violation was willful or knowing. Every call or text can count as a separate violation.
Two recent changes
The FCC's one-to-one consent rule for lead generators never took effect. The Eleventh Circuit, which covers Florida, struck it down in January 2025.
Part of the newer revocation rule is also on hold. The part that makes one stop apply to all of your unrelated messages is waived until January 31, 2027.
Florida's own rules
Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act, often called the Florida mini-TCPA, adds its own layer. It covers calls, texts and voicemails made to sell something.
- Written consent for automated sales calls. An unsolicited sales call that uses an automated system to select and dial numbers, or plays a recorded message, needs prior express written consent.
- What counts as consent. A signed agreement that names the phone number and says clearly which calls the person agrees to. Checking a box counts as a signature, and consent can't be a condition of any purchase.
- What is not unsolicited. A call made at the express request of the person called is not an unsolicited sales call. Neither is a call to someone with a prior or existing business relationship.
- Give your name. A person making an unsolicited sales call must give their true first and last name and the business they call for, right away.
- Do not call. Florida keeps its own no-sales-solicitation list. Anyone who has told you they don't want your calls or texts is off limits too.
- Texts and stop. Before suing over sales texts, a person must reply STOP. You then have 15 days to stop texting, and you may send one confirmation.
Florida's list has one exception for agents. It doesn't apply to a licensed agent calling a seller or landlord about a yard sign or ad they placed themselves.
Damages match the TCPA: $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if willful or knowing, plus attorney fees for the side that wins.
Calling hours and call limits in Florida
Florida's cutoff is an hour earlier than the federal one. Under the Florida Telemarketing Act, no commercial solicitation call may be made before 8 AM or after 8 PM, in the called person's time zone.
The same section allows no more than 3 solicitation calls to a person in 24 hours on the same subject, from any number. Real estate licensees are exempt from most of that act, but not from these two rules.
Recording calls in Florida
Florida requires the consent of all parties to record a phone call. Recording without it is a third-degree felony in most cases.
The civil side costs money too. A person recorded unlawfully can recover at least $100 a day or $1,000, whichever is higher, plus punitive damages and attorney fees.
That is why the recording notice belongs in the first sentence of the call, before the caller shares anything.
Answering a call is different from placing one
The consent rules for artificial voices and automated dialing cover calls and texts you place. When someone dials your number, they started the call.
The recording rule still applies to calls you receive. So does being clear about who is answering.
A text you send after the call is a message you place. Check that you have the consent it needs, and ask your attorney where the lines fall for your business.
A checklist for Florida agents
- Put clear consent language on every form. Name calls and texts, AI voices and the phone number.
- Say that consent is not a condition of buying anything.
- Keep a record of each consent: the form, the exact wording, the date and the number.
- Call Florida numbers only from 8 AM to 8 PM, and no more than 3 times in 24 hours on the same subject.
- Honor stop and do-not-call requests quickly, and write them down.
- Check numbers against the federal and Florida do-not-call lists before any sales call.
- At the start of each call, say who you are, who you work for and that the call is recorded.
- Have a Florida attorney review your forms and scripts once a year.
How Sarah handles these rules
Today, Sarah only answers calls to your numbers. Every call opens with your name, the words 'virtual assistant' and a recording notice.
Callbacks to website and lead portal sign-ups are (coming soon). They will only go to people who ticked a box agreeing to calls, including from an AI voice.
Those callbacks will run from 8 AM to 8 PM, at most 3 times in 24 hours, and saying stop ends them for good. Our TCPA compliance page has the details.
For how fast to reply to new leads, read our speed to lead guide.
To hear Sarah take a call, have her call you. To start your 30-day free pilot on Pro, set up Sarah, or compare the plans on the pricing page first.
Set up Sarah, hear a live call or see pricing.
Sources
- Federal Communications Commission. Declaratory Ruling FCC 24-17, AI-generated voices under the TCPA. February 8, 2024.
- The Florida Legislature. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 501.059, Telephone solicitation. checked September 2026.
- The Florida Legislature. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 501.616, Unlawful acts and practices. checked September 2026.
- The Florida Legislature. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 934.03, Interception and disclosure of communications. checked September 2026.
- Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute. 47 U.S. Code 227, Telephone Consumer Protection Act. checked September 2026.
- eCFR. 47 CFR 64.1200, Delivery restrictions. up to date as of September 24, 2026.
- Venable LLP. Eleventh Circuit Overrules FCC's One-to-One Consent Rule. January 2025.
- Hunton Andrews Kurth. FCC's TCPA Global Revocation Rules Now Effective January 2027. January 15, 2026.
- The Florida Legislature. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 501.604, Exemptions. checked September 2026.
- The Florida Legislature. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 934.10, Civil remedies. checked September 2026.