AI in Contact Centers: Compliance, Risk & Best Practices

AI voice agents are flooding the contact center market, but most companies deploying them are skating past serious legal and brand risks. The Squeeze team cuts through the hype with hard-won operational experience — and a real-world example of AI done right.

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Key takeaways

Voice AI agents are legally classified as robocallers — TCPA and FCC rules apply in full, and consent language must explicitly cover AI voice contact.
Most AI agent platforms disclaim compliance responsibility, leaving deploying businesses exposed to litigation and fines reaching tens of thousands of dollars or more.
SOC 2 certification should be the minimum data-security requirement when evaluating any AI contact platform handling consumer financial data.
A large digital lender's aggressive AI-only outbound strategy failed; redirecting those leads to human agents generated 5x the sales volume.
Squeeze's off-hours AI inbound agent converts 50% of scheduled appointments into sales opportunities the next day — a strong, contained use case.
AI works best plugged into specific gaps in the sales flow (e.g., off-hours, low-quality lead sources) — not as a wholesale replacement for human agents.
Effective outbound scripts are built on sales psychology and millions of live calls; ChatGPT-generated scripts consistently miss the mark in practice.

The AI Voice Agent Land Grab

Thousands of AI voice agent platforms have hit the market, and the race to deploy them is outpacing the industry’s understanding of the risks. Carson Poppenger, Senior Director of Operations Connor Hansen, and Jacob Thorpe unpack what businesses need to know before plugging an AI dialer into their contact strategy.

Compliance: The Non-Negotiable Foundation

In 2024, voice AI agents were formally pulled into the robocaller definition under FCC and TCPA regulations — a legal reclassification with major implications. That means any business using an AI voice agent to dial leads must have explicit, documented consent that specifically covers contact by an automated or AI-driven system.

Consent language must be updated. Existing opt-in disclosures that cover autodialers and SMS are not sufficient — language explicitly permitting AI voice contact is required.
Express written consent vs. existing business relationships dictate different dialing rules; conflating the two creates legal exposure.
Most AI agent platforms disclaim responsibility for compliance, leaving the deploying business fully exposed to TCPA litigation and fines.
Serial litigants are already positioning to exploit gaps — submitting inquiries and waiting to be called by AI agents without proper consent.

Data Security: SOC 2 Is the Minimum Bar

AI voice calls generate recordings, transcripts, and behavioral data that may be used to train underlying models. For anyone operating in consumer financial services, that data is both a primary asset and a primary liability. Squeeze holds SOC 2 certification — a rigorous security standard the team recommends as the minimum threshold when evaluating any AI contact platform. Platforms that lack it and handle financial customer data represent unacceptable risk.

Consumer Sentiment: The Human Touch Still Wins

A large digital lender recently tested an AI voice agent on outbound leads — dialing aggressively, reportedly reaching upward of 50 dials per lead. After a few months, conversion was poor enough that they redirected leads to Squeeze’s human agents, immediately generating five times the volume of sales opportunities. The lesson: AI may be cheaper, but human-led outreach is more effective — and the experience a caller has is an extension of a brand’s identity.

Consumer frustration with IVRs built over 20 years is a direct warning. Replacing a bad automated inbound experience with a bad automated outbound experience compounds the problem rather than solving it.

Where AI Actually Works: Off-Hours Appointment Setting

Squeeze built an inbound AI off-hours agent (“Mary”) that handles calls coming in outside operating hours (7 a.m.–8 p.m. MT), answers brand questions, and schedules callback appointments directly in the CRM. The results are concrete:

50% of appointments scheduled by the AI agent convert into a sales opportunity the next day.
Leads that would have fallen through the cracks are captured without adding headcount.
The experience respects consumer preference — they call when they want, and schedule on their terms.

The team is also developing a compliant outbound AI agent, targeting specific lead sources where contact rates are low and human agent ROI is marginal — applying deep call-flow experience to train the agent across the full range of conversation scenarios.

Scripting: Art, Science, and Why ChatGPT Doesn’t Cut It

Whether for live agents or AI, effective outbound scripts are grounded in sales psychology — managing objections, calibrating friction, and guiding qualification without over-qualifying. The team flags a surge of ChatGPT-generated scripts from prospective clients: technically complete, practically unusable. Real scripts are built from millions of live calls, tuned by vertical, lead source, and product — and balanced between the competing priorities of marketing volume and sales close rates.

There's thousands of voice AI agents now being sold to everyone and everybody wants to use them, but those companies don't really have the responsibility of making sure it's compliant.

— Connor Hansen

Your data is probably your number one asset and your number one risk when you're operating in the consumer financial space.

— Carson Poppenger

50% of those appointments end up yielding a sales opportunity for our partners — and those were leads that we would have never had a chance to convert.

— Jacob Thorpe

There's a lot to really probably dial in before you take out the human from the front end.

— Carson Poppenger

Episode chapters

Frequently asked questions

Are AI voice agents considered robocallers under TCPA?

Yes. In 2024, voice AI agents were pulled into the robocaller definition under FCC and TCPA regulations, meaning businesses must obtain explicit, documented consent before using them to dial leads — including language that specifically permits AI voice contact.

What consent language do I need to use an AI voice agent for outbound calls?

Your opt-in disclosures must include language stating that the consumer consents to being contacted by an artificial or AI voice agent, in addition to standard autodialer and SMS consent language. Consult legal counsel to ensure your specific disclosures are compliant.

What is SOC 2 certification and why does it matter for AI contact platforms?

SOC 2 is a rigorous data-security certification relevant to organizations handling sensitive customer data, particularly in financial services. It ensures that customer data — including call recordings and transcripts generated by AI agents — is stored and managed securely.

Do AI voice agents actually work for outbound sales?

Results are mixed. One large digital lender found AI-only outbound significantly underperformed and ultimately had to route leads to human agents to generate conversions. AI shows stronger results in narrow, well-defined use cases like off-hours appointment scheduling.

What are the biggest risks of using an AI voice agent without proper compliance?

Businesses face TCPA litigation, FCC fines potentially reaching tens of thousands of dollars or more per violation, and reputational damage. Serial litigants are already targeting companies making non-consensual AI calls.

How should companies integrate AI into their contact center strategy?

Start by identifying specific gaps in your sales flow — such as off-hours inbound calls or low-quality lead sources — where AI can add incremental value. Ensure consent frameworks, data security, and legal counsel are in place before scaling any AI deployment.