AI disclosure opening lines callers accept
An AI disclosure opening line tells the caller, in the first sentence, that they've reached an AI assistant, and then says what it can do for them. Two states require it on an inbound line today: Maine for any business, Utah for regulated occupations. The six lines below cover a general business, a licensed practice, a recorded line and an after-hours call.
Thanks for calling Ridgeway Roofing. You're speaking with our AI assistant. I can book an estimate, answer questions about our work, or take a message for Sam.
Three parts in one breath: the business, the fact it's an AI, what it can do. Fifteen words before the caller has to decide anything.
Hello, and thanks for calling Casco Bay Landscaping. Before we start, you should know you're talking with an automated AI assistant, not a person. I can book a site visit or take a message, and I can get a person on the line if you ask.
Maine's test is whether a reasonable consumer was clearly and conspicuously told. "Not a person" removes the doubt; "if you ask" tells them the way out.
Thank you for calling Wasatch Family Dentistry. This call is being answered by an AI assistant. I can schedule or move an appointment and take a message for the clinical team. What can I do for you?
Utah's AI Policy Act requires the disclosure to be verbal, prominent and at the start for regulated occupations. It's the second sentence, before any question.
Thanks for calling Pine Ridge Property Management. You're speaking with an AI assistant, and this call is recorded so we get your request right. I can log a maintenance request or take a message for your property manager.
Two notices in one sentence, with a reason for the recording. Set both in one sitting so the opening doesn't ramble.
Thanks for calling Bluewater Plumbing. The office is closed right now, and you're speaking with our AI assistant. If you have water you can't stop, say emergency and I'll get the on-call plumber. Otherwise I can book the first slot tomorrow or take a message.
Closed, AI, emergency word, then the two ordinary options. The word emergency is the routing rule, so say it.
I'm an AI assistant, so no. I can book you in or take a message, and if you'd rather speak to someone, say so and I'll connect you now.
Answer in the first two words. A hedge here is the exact thing Maine makes actionable.
Why the notice goes in the first sentence
Callers who learn two minutes in that the friendly voice was software feel tricked. Callers told at hello get on with their request; they rang to book something, and an AI that books it is fine.
The law reads the same way. Maine's Title 10 §1500-DD, in effect since October 1 2025, bars using an AI in trade in a way that could mislead a reasonable consumer into thinking they're dealing with a human, unless they're clearly and conspicuously notified. Its wording covers textual or aural interaction, so a phone line counts.
Utah's AI Policy Act (SB 149, amended by SB 226, in effect May 7 2025) asks ordinary businesses to disclose when a caller asks, and asks regulated occupations to disclose verbally, prominently and at the start. Medicine, law, accounting, nursing and psychology are on that list.
Every line above puts the notice before the first question. That satisfies the strictest of the live rules, so you write one greeting and stop worrying about which state the caller is in.
How to write yours
Name the business, say it's an AI, say what it can do, in that order. Twenty-five words is the ceiling; a caller stops listening after that.
Say "AI assistant" or "automated assistant". Skip "virtual receptionist", which many callers read as a person working remotely.
Tell them the way to a person, and make it a single word if you can. "Say agent" is easier to remember than a menu.
Skip any line that says the assistant sounds like a person or can't be told from one. Maine's standard is about whether the caller was misled, and that sentence is the evidence.
What the law says, and the California myth
How GreetKeeper runs the disclosure
Disclosure is a setting. Turn it on and the greeting opens with the AI notice, in wording you write, before any question is asked. Each number under your account has its own greeting, so a dental line can carry the Utah wording while a general line carries the short one.
The recording notice is a second setting that pairs with call recording, which is configurable. Set the two together and the opening reads like one sentence.
"Say agent" is a routing rule. A caller who asks for a person is transferred to the number you nominate, with a second fallback if the first doesn't pick up, and the transcript records where the handover happened.
GreetKeeper's compliance page carries the dated statute detail behind each line above, so you can check the wording against the rule it was written for.
Questions people ask about these greetings
Do you have to tell callers they are talking to an AI?
In Maine, yes, for any business, under Title 10 §1500-DD. In Utah, yes at the start and out loud for regulated occupations such as medicine, law and accounting, and on request for everyone else. Disclosing everywhere costs one sentence and removes the question.
Is there a California law requiring AI disclosure on phone calls?
No. SB 1001 applies to online bots on websites and apps, and AB 2905 applies to outbound automated calls. Neither governs an inbound AI receptionist, whatever a vendor blog says.
How do you word an AI disclosure in a greeting?
Business name, then "you're speaking with our AI assistant", then what it can do, in under 25 words. Add "say agent to reach a person" if you want the way out spoken too.
Does the disclosure have to come before the recording notice?
No rule sets the order, but the disclosure comes first in every example above because Utah's rule says at the start. Put both in the same sentence and give a reason for the recording.
Set the disclosure line in your own words
Start a 14-day free trial with no card, paste one of the lines above into the greeting, and hear it answer a test call.