Most AI receptionists do record and transcribe calls, because the system needs the audio to understand the caller, book appointments, and hand off cleanly to a person. In Montana, recording is legal as long as everyone on the call is notified it's happening — an audible announcement at the start of the call satisfies the law, and no separate consent has to be collected (MCA 45-8-213). The safe practice anywhere is to disclose recording on every call, and to confirm the specifics for your situation with your own attorney.
An AI receptionist works by turning speech into text in real time, so in practice it is processing — and usually storing — a recording or transcript of the call. That audio is what lets it answer accurately, capture the caller's details, book the appointment, and pass a clean summary to your team. Montana's recording law, MCA 45-8-213, is often described as two-party, but it works as a notification rule: a call may be recorded as long as the parties are made aware of it, and an audible announcement at the start — something like "this call may be recorded" — is enough on its own. No verbal yes has to be collected from the caller. That's straightforward to satisfy with an AI receptionist, because it can be scripted to give that disclosure automatically at the top of every call. A separate and increasingly common question is whether the vendor uses your call data to train its AI models. Recording a call for your own business use is different from handing that audio to a third party to improve their product, and the two are not covered by the same disclosure. It's worth asking any provider directly whether your call recordings are used for model training, where the data is stored, and how long it's kept — and, for medical, dental, or legal offices, whether they'll sign the compliance agreement your industry requires. None of this is legal advice; recording and privacy rules vary by state and by industry, so confirm the specifics for your business with your attorney.
Key takeaways
- Most AI receptionists record and transcribe calls because the audio is what powers understanding, booking, and handoff.
- Montana (MCA 45-8-213) allows recording as long as parties are notified — an audible announcement at the start of the call is enough; no separate consent is required.
- An AI receptionist can be scripted to give that recording disclosure automatically on every call.
- Recording for your own use is separate from a vendor training its AI models on your calls — ask specifically whether your data is used for training, where it's stored, and how long it's kept.
- Rules vary by state and industry; this isn't legal advice, so confirm the specifics with your attorney.
What Montana law actually requires
Montana's privacy-in-communications statute (MCA 45-8-213) is stricter than pure one-party states but functions as a notification requirement rather than a consent negotiation. Once any party to the call announces that it's being recorded, the recording is lawful for the rest of that conversation, and the other side doesn't have to agree or acknowledge it. A short, clear disclosure at the very start of the call is the clean way to meet that standard.
Because an AI receptionist controls the opening of every call, that disclosure can be built into the script so it happens automatically and consistently — which is usually more reliable than a busy human remembering to say it. Calls that cross state lines can involve stricter all-party-consent states, so a plain recording disclosure on every call is the safest default regardless of where the caller is.
Recording your calls vs. training an AI on them
Keeping a recording or transcript for your own business — to book the job, resolve a dispute, or review quality — is ordinary and expected. A different question is whether the platform behind your AI receptionist reuses that audio to train its own models, which is a data-sharing decision, not just a recording one.
Ask any provider three plain questions: are my call recordings used to train your AI, where is the data stored, and how long do you retain it. For a medical, dental, or legal practice, add a fourth — will you sign the business associate agreement or equivalent my industry requires. A system built on infrastructure you control, with each integration scoped to only what it needs, keeps those answers in your hands rather than a vendor's.
Answered by Alex Rivera, Founder · Updated July 27, 2026