Glossary
Two-party consent
Also known as: all-party consent, 2-party recording consent
Definition
Two-party consent (also called 'all-party consent') is the legal requirement, in 12 US states, that both parties to a phone call must explicitly agree to have the call recorded before any recording can begin — versus the federal default of one-party consent where only one participant needs to agree.
Why it matters
AI receptionists record (or at minimum transcribe) every call. In 12 US states (California, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, and 7 others), proceeding without the caller's explicit consent creates legal liability — both for the AI vendor and for the business operating the AI. The AI receptionist must therefore disclose recording on every call AND capture the caller's affirmative response. Vendors that record by default without consent are not compliant in two-party states.
How it works
At the start of every call, the AI says something like 'this call may be recorded for quality and recordkeeping.' The caller's response is captured: explicit yes ('that's fine'), explicit no ('don't record'), or implicit (caller proceeds with the conversation). Implicit consent is valid in most jurisdictions when the disclosure was clear. If the caller explicitly declines, the transcript is either discarded or redacted, depending on the vendor's compliance configuration. Every consent decision is logged with timestamp on the dashboard for audit purposes.
Examples
- A California-based salon (two-party state) uses an AI receptionist: every call starts with the disclosure, the caller's response is logged, and declined-consent calls keep the booking but discard the audio.
- A Florida dental practice (two-party state, plus HIPAA) requires the AI to disclose AND get affirmative yes before the transcript is retained — declined-consent calls take the booking via the AI's structured intake without keeping the audio file.
- A Texas plumber (one-party consent state) is technically not required to disclose, but the AI does anyway because the practice is uniform across states.