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In Belgium, an AI agent may only make marketing calls to people and businesses who agreed to automated calls beforehand. Article VI.110 §1 of the Code of Economic Law (CDE) requires prior consent for automated marketing calls, and it protects consumers and companies alike. The opt-out rules and the Ne m’appelez plus list only cover calls that a human makes. Service calls, requested callbacks, and inbound calls are fine with the right disclosures.
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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At a glance

Only with prior consent. Art. VI.110 §1 CDE transposes Article 13(1) of the ePrivacy Directive:
« L’utilisation de systèmes automatisés d’appel sans intervention humaine et de télécopieurs à des fins de prospection directe est interdite sans le consentement préalable, libre, spécifique et informé du destinataire des messages. »
In English: you may only use automated calling systems without human intervention for direct marketing if the recipient gave prior, free, specific, and informed consent. People can withdraw it at any time, and you carry the burden of proof. It covers businesses. The text protects any recipient, and the FPS Economy applies it to natural and legal persons. The legal-person exception in the Royal Decree of April 4, 2003 only covers electronic mail to impersonal addresses, not calls. Treat AI agents as automated. No Belgian regulator or court has ruled on conversational AI yet. The rule targets calls without a human, and the data protection authority (APD/GBA) contrasts it with calls “with human intervention” (Opinion 02/2026). An AI agent that runs the conversation alone fits that description. A human who only monitors the call or could take over doesn’t change it. Legitimate interest doesn’t help. Where Article VI.110 §1 requires consent, you can’t rely on another GDPR basis (APD Recommendation 01/2026, Annex 1).

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Cold calls by a human

A human may call for direct marketing unless the subscriber objected (Art. VI.110 §2 CDE). You must check the Ne m’appelez plus list before each call (Art. VI.112). According to the FPS Economy guidelines, this protects every Belgian subscriber: consumers, companies, and non-profits. The GDPR also applies to named contacts at companies and to sole traders. Before the pitch, say who you are, why you call, where you got the number, and that the person can object (APD Recommendation 01/2026, Annex 2).

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Existing customers and callback requests

Existing customers. The soft opt-in in the Royal Decree of April 4, 2003 covers electronic mail such as email and SMS, not calls. An AI agent needs consent to call your customers with offers. A human may call them unless they objected or registered on the list. If a registered customer later agrees to your calls, the later consent wins. Callback requests. A callback request is consent when it says that an AI agent from your company will call, and about what. Store the form version, the timestamp, and the phone number. Calls for a partner. Consent should name the company the call is for. Both the caller and that company carry the burden of proof (Art. VI.113 CDE).

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Do-not-call register: Ne m’appelez plus

The 2025 federal coalition agreement plans an opt-in system for telemarketing, modeled on the Netherlands. The Chamber rejected one opt-in bill on May 13, 2026. A second bill, which would replace the list with opt-in for calls to natural persons, is still pending. As of October 2026, the opt-out rules for calls by a human still apply.
Don’t use an AI call to ask for consent. That call is likely marketing itself, and the APD wants such calls banned (Opinion 23/2025). botBrains asks for consent evidence before automated campaigns, see before you start outbound campaigns.

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Tell callers they’re talking to an AI

Since August 2, 2026, Article 50 of the EU AI Act requires that people know they’re talking to an AI system, at the latest when the conversation starts. This applies to inbound and outbound calls, to consumers and to business contacts, and you can’t count on the exception for obvious cases when your AI agent sounds human. The default introduction already says that your AI agent is an AI, so keep that statement first when you edit it. When you call a consumer to sell something, the Consumer Rights Directive also requires you to name your company, anyone you call for, and the commercial purpose at the start. Belgian law adds these duties: Recommended introductions for an outbound callback after a web request:
French
Dutch
German
Use guidance to tell the agent how to handle requests to stop calling, and a Unitool to write the objection to your CRM.

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Call recording

Criminal law allows one-party recording. The Criminal Code 2024 replaced the old code, including its Art. 314bis, on September 1, 2026. Its Art. 342 punishes recording communications “auxquelles on ne prend pas part” without the consent of all participants. You take part in your own calls, so you may record them. Art. 124 of the Law of June 13, 2005 bars outsiders from accessing calls in the same way. The GDPR needs a basis and a notice. Use a lawful basis such as legitimate interest for quality and proof, announce the recording at the start, and offer an easy way to object. botBrains stops and discards the recording when the caller presses the star key. The transcript stays. A recording only counts as biometric data if you use it to identify people by their voice.

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Caller ID and calling hours

We found no Belgian rule that requires a specific caller ID for telemarketing. The APD treats hiding your identity, so that people can’t call back, as a transparency breach. Your AI agent shows your botBrains number, and botBrains provides Belgian numbers on request. We found no general law on calling hours, but some sectors set them: botBrains doesn’t enforce calling hours or screen lists, so plan both yourself.

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Sector rules

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Fines and enforcement

The Economic Inspection can warn, settle, fine, or refer a case to the prosecutor. Enforcement has been light: from 2021 to 2023 it issued 4 warnings and 40 official reports (bill DOC 56 0559/001). We found no Belgian case against AI calls or robocalls.

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Sources

  • Code of Economic Law, Arts. VI.46, VI.110 to VI.115, VII.67, XIX.6, XIX.11, XV.70, XV.83: Justel
  • Royal Decree of April 4, 2003 on advertising by electronic mail, Art. 1: Justel
  • Law of June 13, 2005 on electronic communications, Arts. 2, 106/2, 124, 125: Justel
  • Criminal Code 2024, Arts. 342 to 344: Justel
  • ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC, Art. 13: EUR-Lex
  • GDPR, Arts. 4, 6, 7, 9, 13, 21, 83: EUR-Lex
  • EU AI Act, Arts. 50 and 99: EUR-Lex
  • FPS Economy, unwanted communications: economie.fgov.be
  • FPS Economy, guidelines on telephone direct marketing (February 2026): PDF
  • FPS Economy, energy consumer agreement: PDF and SME code of conduct: PDF
  • APD/GBA, Recommendation 01/2026 on direct marketing: PDF
  • APD/GBA, Recommendation 01/2020 on direct marketing: PDF
  • APD/GBA, Opinions 23/2025 and 02/2026 on the opt-in bills: 23/2025, 02/2026
  • Chamber of Representatives, DOC 56 1081/004 (rejected opt-in bill) and DOC 56 0559/001 (pending opt-in bill): 1081/004, 0559/001
  • DNCM vzw: donotcallme.be and FAQ

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Next steps

Phone integration

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

Calling laws by country

Compare consent rules for AI calls across the EU, the UK, and the US.