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.
At a glance
Is AI cold calling legal in Ireland?
Regulation 13(1) bans direct marketing by “an automated calling machine” to “a subscriber or user who is a natural person” without their consent. Regulation 2 defines an automated calling machine as a system that “operates to make calls without human intervention.” Who’s covered. Individuals and sole traders need to consent. Employees might too, because a “user” is any natural person using the line “for private or business purposes.” For companies, Regulation 13(3) is opt-out: you may call unless the company objected or its number is on the NDD. Regulation 13(6) overrides both for mobiles. Any marketing call to a mobile, by a human or a machine, needs consent, even in B2B. Does an AI agent count? No Irish court or regulator has ruled on conversational AI agents. An AI agent that holds the conversation fits “without human intervention,” so treat it as automated. A human who only presses Dial or listens in doesn’t change that. Only a human who conducts the conversation makes it a live call. Calling from abroad. It’s unclear whether the rules bind callers outside Ireland, and McCann FitzGerald advises assuming they do.Cold calls by a human
Live marketing calls to landlines are opt-out under Regulation 13(5). You may call unless the person or business objected or the number is on the NDD. Mobiles need consent under Regulation 13(6). Give the caller’s name and any company you call for (Regulation 13(10)(a)).Existing customers and callback requests
The Regulations define an unsolicited call as one “not requested by the called party.” A callback the person asked for isn’t unsolicited, so the consent and opt-out rules don’t apply. Keep to what they asked about, and still give your name and company (Regulation 13(10)). There’s no soft opt-in for calls, since Regulation 13(11) covers email and text messages only. The DPC’s NDD FAQ lets you rely on “consent arising from an existing relationship” despite an NDD opt-out. Its consent FAQ demands GDPR-standard consent, so get explicit consent for AI calls and mobiles.Do-not-call register: National Directory Database (NDD)
The register matters for live calls to landlines and AI calls to company landlines. Per ComReg, people who agreed to your calls stay reachable even on the register. An objection always wins.
Consent for AI calls
Before you start, read Before you start outbound campaigns.
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. We found no Irish AI disclosure rule beyond the AI Act. These rules require you to identify yourself:
Recommended introduction for outbound marketing calls. Replace the bracketed parts:
Call recording
Criminal law. You may record. Ireland needs the consent of only one party to the call, and your business is that party, because your AI agent calls or answers on your behalf. Section 98 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 excludes recording with the consent of the sender or the intended recipient (section 13 of the 1993 Act). Criminal law doesn’t require the caller’s consent. Data protection. You need a lawful basis (GDPR Art. 6) and a notice (Art. 13), not necessarily consent. Legitimate interest can work if you give notice and a way to object (Art. 21). The star key stops the recording and discards it, but the transcript stays. Financial firms must announce recording at the outset (Consumer Protection Code 2025, Reg. 63). Voice as biometric data. A voice only counts as biometric data when you process it to identify someone (Art. 4(14), Art. 9). Recording for quality doesn’t. botBrains stores recordings, transcripts, and call data in the EU.Caller ID and calling hours
Caller ID. Automated marketing calls must state your phone number (Regulation 13(10)(b)), and people can reject calls with a hidden number (Regulation 8(1)(c)). Since October 2024, operators block calls from abroad showing Irish numbers (ComReg 25/87, ComReg 22/114). The caller sees your botBrains number, so ask botBrains for an Irish number and test delivery first. Calling hours. We found no general statutory hours. Financial firms may call only from 9 AM to 9 PM, Monday to Saturday, excluding public holidays (Consumer Protection Code 2025, Reg. 112). Energy suppliers may call 9 AM to 9 PM on weekdays and 9 AM to 7 PM on Saturdays, but not on Sundays, public holidays, or Christmas Eve (CRU). botBrains doesn’t enforce calling hours or screen numbers, so you schedule calls yourself. On voicemail, the agent hangs up without a message.Sector rules
Fines and enforcement
The DPC warned each company below before it prosecuted. In October 2024, Google Ireland pleaded guilty to two charges of marketing calls after an opt-out. It paid €1,500 to charity plus costs instead of a conviction (DPC). In September 2026, Brown Thomas pleaded guilty to marketing emails without valid consent or a working opt-out (DPC). We found no Irish case on AI or robocalls.
A draft Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026, published as a general scheme in February 2026, spreads AI Act enforcement across Irish regulators (Matheson).
Sources
- Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2011, S.I. No. 336 of 2011, Regulations 2, 8, 13, and 14
- Consumer Rights Act 2022, sections 106, 109, and 142
- Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993, section 13
- Consumer Protection Act 2007 (revised), section 55
- Central Bank Consumer Protection Code 2025, Part 2, Regulations 63 and 108 to 114
- DPC: NDD FAQ and FAQ on consent for electronic direct marketing
- ComReg: directory enquiry services and the NDD, ComReg 22/114, ComReg 25/87
- PXS: National Directory Database
- Commission for Regulation of Utilities: your rights as an energy customer
- McCann FitzGerald: Direct marketing Q&A Ireland, law stated as at December 31, 2019
- GDPR Art. 4, 6, 7, 9, 13, 21, 83; EU AI Act Art. 50 and Art. 99
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.