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Whether your AI agent may call someone depends on three questions: who you call, why you call, and where they live. Inbound calls and service calls work almost everywhere, as long as your AI agent says it’s an AI. Outbound marketing calls by an AI agent need the prior consent of the person you call in most countries, often for businesses too. This section has a page for each EU member state, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This page summarizes the law as of October 2026 to help you plan AI phone calls. It isn’t legal advice. Laws and how regulators apply them change, so check your use case with a lawyer before you start a campaign.

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How the rules work in the EU

Every EU country page builds on the same layers. The EU rules set the floor, and national laws add their own rules on top.

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AI agents as automated calling systems

Most likely yes, so treat AI marketing calls like automated calls. The ePrivacy Directive requires consent for automated calling systems that work without human intervention. An AI agent that runs the whole conversation fits that description, even though it holds a real conversation. The Croatian telecommunications regulator has banned sales calls by voice automatons, and the Italian telemarketing code of conduct treats automated lead qualification as automated marketing. No court has ruled on a conversational AI agent yet, and in Germany lawyers disagree. A human who presses Dial, listens in, or can take over doesn’t change the answer, because the AI agent still conducts the call. In Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland, the question doesn’t matter: every marketing call needs consent there, whether a human or an AI agent calls.

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Compare countries

The table compares cold marketing calls, where the rules differ most. Most countries allow service calls without marketing.
  • Allowed. You may call until the person or company objects or joins the do-not-call register.
  • Consent required. You need prior consent before the first call.
  • Depends. The rule depends on the sector or the situation. The country page explains it.
  • Unclear. No court or regulator has settled it, so we recommend consent.
When a rule differs within a column, labels show who each icon covers. In Croatia, for example, your AI agent may call companies without consent, but sole traders need to consent first. Each country page also covers calls to existing customers, callbacks, recording, calling hours, caller ID, sector rules, and fines.

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Common use cases

Valid consent is specific and provable. It must cover calls by an AI agent, not only phone marketing in general. It must name your company and any partner you call for, and it must say what the calls are about. You carry the burden of proof, so keep a record for each contact: the exact consent text, the date and time, the phone number, and the version of the form. Some countries set retention periods, for example five years in Germany and three years in France. The most reliable way is to collect consent yourself. Run ads to a landing page where people leave their number and agree to a callback from your AI agent, for example:
If you buy leads, ask the vendor for the exact consent text, how they collected it, and proof per contact before you buy. When someone asks you to stop calling, the objection applies right away and needs no reason. Tell your AI agent in your guidance how to confirm the objection, and use a Unitool to add the number to the suppression list in your CRM.

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Before you start outbound campaigns

botBrains AI agents run the whole conversation, so we ask for two things before we turn on automated marketing campaigns: Send both to support@botbrains.io. Inbound calls, callbacks, and service calls don’t need this review.

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Next steps

Phone integration

Set up your phone line, introductions, and outbound calls.

Introductions

Tell callers they’re talking to an AI and that you record the call.