Calling on someone’s behalf: manners, privacy, and saying you’re an AI

Calling for someone else is normal. You book for the group, check a parent’s appointment, chase a friend’s lost bag. It goes better when the other side knows who’s calling and why, and when you share only what they need.

Say who you are and who it’s for

Start with who you are, who you’re calling for and what you need: “Hi, I’m calling for Emma Fischer, who’d like a table for two tonight.” It saves the person answering from guessing, and makes it easy for them to say yes or no.

Share only what’s needed

Europe’s data protection law, the GDPR, says personal data should be “adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary”, the principle known as data minimisation. Whether or not the law applies to your call, it’s a good rule. A restaurant needs a name, a time and perhaps a phone number, not someone’s address or date of birth. And ask the person before you give out their number.

If an AI is calling, it should say so

The EU’s AI Act requires AI systems that interact directly with people to be designed so that those people are told they’re dealing with an AI system, unless that’s obvious from the context. The duty sits with the providers who build these systems, and the information has to come “in a clear and distinguishable manner at the latest at the time of the first interaction”.

These transparency rules apply from 2 August 2026. The European Commission’s implementation timeline, updated for the 2026 “Digital Omnibus” amendments, still lists that date for Article 50.

In the US, the Federal Communications Commission ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices count as “artificial” voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the law behind its robocall rules.

The companies building AI callers are following suit. Google’s Gemini introduces itself as “an AI assistant from Google calling on a recorded line on your behalf”. Alfred says it’s an AI assistant at the start of every call too. Apart from the law, it’s simply fair: the person answering can decide how to respond.

Recording is a separate question

Rules on recording calls differ by country, and they can be strict. In Germany, recording someone’s privately spoken words without authorisation can mean up to three years in prison or a fine under §201 of the Criminal Code. Switzerland also makes unauthorised recording an offence, with a narrow exception for business calls about orders, reservations and similar transactions (Art. 179quinquies of the Swiss Criminal Code). If you’re not sure, ask before you record.

A short checklist

• Say who you are and who you’re calling for.
• Ask the person first what you may share.
• Give the minimum the other side needs.
• If it’s an AI, say so at the start.
• Don’t record without checking the rules, and ideally asking.