Do I have to tell customers they're talking to an AI?

Is it legal to not say it’s an AI?

It can be, depending on the law where that customer is. California is the clearest example. Section 17941 of its Business and Professions Code makes it unlawful to use a bot to communicate with someone in California online, “with the intent to mislead the other person about its artificial identity,” for the purpose of knowingly deceiving them about the content of the communication in order to incentivize a purchase or sale of goods or services, or to influence a vote in an election. It then says a person using a bot “shall not be liable under this section if the person discloses that it is a bot,” and that the disclosure must be “clear, conspicuous, and reasonably designed to inform” the person.

The statute defines a bot as “an automated online account where all or substantially all of the actions or posts of that account are not the result of a person.” Whether a particular assistant meets that definition is a question for your attorney.

That’s one state, and this page doesn’t cover the others.

Do I need consent to record calls in Florida?

Forward Dawn is based in Miami, so we read Florida’s rule. Section 934.03 of the Florida Statutes prohibits intentionally intercepting a wire, oral or electronic communication, except as the chapter provides. One of the exceptions says it is lawful to intercept one “when all of the parties to the communication have given prior consent to such interception.”

The statute’s definitions section defines “intercept” as “the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic, or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device.” How that applies to the way your phone system records, and what counts as consent, is worth settling with your attorney before you switch recording on.

Does this apply to chat and texts, or only phone calls?

The California law is about bots online. It defines “online” as appearing on “any public-facing Internet Web site, Web application, or digital application, including a social network or publication.” Whether a phone call or a text message falls inside that is a question for your attorney.

The federal ruling in the next section is about calls. We didn’t read a primary source on AI-written text messages, so this page leaves them out.

Are there rules about AI voices on outbound calls?

Yes. In FCC 24-17, adopted in February 2024, the FCC confirmed that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s restrictions on “artificial or prerecorded voice” cover current AI technologies that generate human voices. Calls made with them “require the prior express consent of the called party to initiate such calls absent an emergency purpose or exemption.” If such a call introduces an advertisement or contains telemarketing, the rules call for prior express written consent.

That ruling is about calls a business places, and the consent needed to place them.

What does Forward Dawn tell people about its own AI?

That it uses AI, and where. The How we use AI section of our terms says Forward Dawn “uses AI in our own business and in the businesses of our clients.” It lists what the AI may do: answer phone calls, text messages, website chat and social media messages, and draft social media posts, Google Business Profile content and replies to reviews.

The same section says that when you call, text, chat with or message Forward Dawn or a business that uses our services, you “may be talking with an AI and not a person,” and gives an email address for reaching a person at Forward Dawn. It also says replies in live calls and conversations are generated by the AI as they happen and aren’t reviewed one by one before they’re sent.

This is general information, not legal advice. Ask your attorney what applies to your business.