Reactivating an old lead database with AI calls and texts: TCPA rules and a 3,000-contact cost

What an AI call to an old lead needs

On February 8, 2024 the FCC ruled (FCC 24-17) that calls using AI-generated voices are calls using an "artificial" voice under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. That puts an AI reactivation call in the same category as a prerecorded robocall. A marketing call with an artificial or prerecorded voice to a cell phone, or to a residential line, needs the called party's prior express written consent (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2) and (a)(3)).

Prior express written consent is a written agreement, signed by the person (an electronic signature counts), that clearly authorizes the seller to deliver marketing calls using an automated system or an artificial or prerecorded voice, to a number the person names (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9)). The request must also disclose clearly that the person does not have to sign it, or agree to it, as a condition of buying anything (64.1200(f)(9)(i)). A lead who filled in a form that only asked for a quote, with no such disclosure, has not given it.

An established business relationship is not consent. It can exempt a live call from the Do Not Call Registry rules, but it is not one of the exceptions to the consent rule for artificial-voice marketing calls. Texts are calls under the TCPA, so the consent rules cover them, and since the FCC's December 2023 order the registry and internal do-not-call rules apply to marketing texts to wireless numbers too (47 CFR 64.1200(e)).

Last verified October 9, 2026 against the eCFR text and the FCC and Federal Register documents linked in the sources, including FCC 26-67, which was not yet in force on that date. This is general information, not legal advice.

How old is too old? Consent age and scope

Neither the TCPA nor the FCC's rules give consent an expiry date. Age still matters for three reasons. Consent covers only the seller it authorizes and the number the person gave, so leads bought from or shared by another business are not covered by consent given to that business. A person may have revoked consent since, by any reasonable means, and that revocation binds you even if it never reached your CRM. And phone numbers change hands: a number that was disconnected and reassigned now belongs to someone who never consented.

So segment the database before anything is sent. For each contact, know where consent came from, what the wording covered (calls, texts, artificial voice), when it was given, and whether anything since suggests it was withdrawn. Contacts with no record of written consent can still be reached by a person dialing live, subject to the Do Not Call rules, but not by an AI voice.

Revocation: the current rule and the FCC's October 2026 changes

Under the FCC's 2024 consent revocation order (FCC 24-24), in force since April 11, 2025, a person can revoke consent "using any reasonable method" to say they do not want more calls or texts, and the caller must honor it within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)). Replies such as STOP, QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL or UNSUBSCRIBE to a text count, and so does saying it on a call. As of October 9, 2026, the part that makes one revocation cover unrelated robocalls and robotexts from the same caller is waived until January 31, 2027 (FCC DA 26-12).

On October 1, 2026 the FCC released an order changing these rules (FCC 26-67, adopted September 30, 2026). It takes effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, on a date the FCC will announce by public notice; as of October 9, 2026 it had not been published, so the rule above still applies. Once in force, the changes that matter for reactivation are:

• A revocation given in response to a marketing robocall or text covers all future marketing robocalls and texts from that caller, so one STOP to a reactivation text ends AI-voice marketing calls too.
• Callers may designate exclusive ways to revoke: an automated opt-out on the call, a reply with standard words such as STOP, or a website or phone number the caller names. The method must be disclosed clearly on the call or in the text; requests made any other way then need not be processed.
• A revocation of an informational robocall can be applied to that category of informational calls only. This replaces the January 31, 2027 waiver date for that part of the rule.
• The deadline does not change: revocations must still be honored within 10 business days.

Until the FCC announces FCC 26-67's effective date, honor revocations made by any reasonable method. Treating a STOP as a stop for every channel is the cautious choice either way.

The Do Not Call Registry and why old inquiry leads are exposed

A telephone solicitation to a number on the National Do Not Call Registry is allowed only with the person's signed written permission or an established business relationship. That relationship lasts 18 months after the person's last purchase or transaction with you, but only 3 months after an inquiry or application (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5)). Most leads in an old database inquired once and never bought, so their relationship ended long ago and the registry applies in full.

Scrub the list against a registry download no more than 31 days old before calling or texting, and again for any campaign that runs longer than that. Separately, keep your own internal do-not-call list: record each request when it is made, honor it within a reasonable time not to exceed 10 business days, and keep honoring it for 5 years (47 CFR 64.1200(d)(3) and (d)(6)).

Reassigned numbers: the safe harbor

Consent follows the person, not the number. When a number is permanently disconnected and later reassigned, a call to it is a call to a stranger who never consented. The FCC's Reassigned Numbers Database answers whether a number has been permanently disconnected since a date you give, such as the date consent was obtained.

A caller that checks the database, gets a "no" (not disconnected since that date) and reaches a reassigned number anyway is not liable for that call under the consent rules, if the call resulted from the database's error (47 CFR 64.1200(m)). The caller carries the burden of showing it checked the most recent data, and carriers report disconnections to the database monthly (64.1200(l)). So re-query before each campaign wave, and at least monthly for a campaign that runs longer, and keep the results.

Calling hours and state laws

Federal rules bar telephone solicitations before 8am or after 9pm in the called party's local time (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1)). Several states are stricter: earlier end times, Sunday and holiday bans, limits on attempts per day, and their own do-not-call lists and consent rules for automated calls. Use the contact's local time, not yours, and apply the stricter rule where a state has one. Our guides to TCPA calling hours by state and to mini-TCPA laws by state list them.

A safe reactivation sequence

1. 1

   Segment by consent source and age

   Split the database by where and when consent was given and what it covered: written consent to AI-voice calls, consent to texts only, an inquiry with no written consent, or unknown.

2. 2

   Scrub before anything is sent

   Remove numbers on your internal do-not-call list, check the rest against a National Do Not Call Registry download no more than 31 days old and any state lists that apply, and query the Reassigned Numbers Database before each wave.

3. 3

   Text first where consent allows

   Send one short, identified message to contacts whose consent covers texts, with a clear way to opt out. Replies tell you who wants to talk and who wants out.

4. 4

   Call only the segment that consented to AI voice

   Use AI-voice calls only for contacts with prior express written consent. Contacts without it can be called live by a person if the registry rules allow.

5. 5

   Cap attempts and respect hours

   Limit attempts per contact and per day, space them out, and call only within the contact's local calling hours.

6. 6

   Honor every opt-out everywhere

   Record a STOP or a spoken "stop calling" at once, apply it to calls and texts alike, and keep it for 5 years.

What 3,000 contacts cost: a worked example

One month of reactivating a 3,000-contact database on the three self-serve plans, at the prices on the Lead Friendly pricing page as of October 9, 2026, billed monthly. The usage column is our assumption, not a measured customer average: every contact gets one opening text, 1 in 10 texts back once, and the third of contacts whose consent covers AI calls get up to two call attempts averaging 1.5 minutes each, blending unanswered attempts, voicemails and conversations.

Not included: registry access fees for the area codes you call, Reassigned Numbers Database queries, and carrier 10DLC registration fees for business texting. Fewer call attempts or shorter calls lower the minutes line; check the pricing page for current rates before you budget.

How Lead Friendly handles it

Lead Friendly runs outbound campaigns as well as answering inbound calls. A calling campaign is built in the app: choose the AI agent, pick contacts by tag, and set the calling days and hours in a timezone, a daily call limit, the number of attempts per contact (up to 10) and the hours between retries. By default, retries stop once a call ends in an outcome such as booked, do-not-call or not interested. The campaign builder will not launch a texting campaign until someone ticks a box confirming the contacts gave permission to be texted, and it records who ticked it.

Campaigns created by the in-app assistant or through the MCP connector are saved as drafts and call or text nobody until a person launches them in the app. Automations created that way start paused, and a new automation by default stops for approval before its first call, text or WhatsApp message in each run.

Every call passes the same dial check first. It blocks the call if the contact being called, or any other contact in the account with the same phone number, is marked do-not-call or do-not-contact, or if that phone number has replied STOP to the account's texts, whichever contact record the STOP was logged on. It applies calling hours of 8am to 9pm in the contact's local time, narrowed where a state rule is stricter, which account members cannot widen. It also applies a lifetime attempt cap, a per-contact daily cap and a gap between calls, by default 10 attempts, 3 a day and 4 hours. On campaign calls each of these is a hard stop; on a manual call a team member can override a warning such as calling hours, and the override is logged, but do-not-call and STOP blocks cannot be overridden. If a compliance lookup fails, the call is blocked rather than placed.

While the AI agent is on a call, each thing the caller says is checked for phrases such as "stop calling", "stop contacting" or "do not call". A match marks the contact do-not-contact, which stops future calls, texts and campaigns to them, and that check never clears the flag.

Lead Friendly does not scrub contacts against the National Do Not Call Registry or query the Reassigned Numbers Database for you. Before an account can place marketing calls or activate an automation, someone on it must attest that every contact has been scrubbed against the registry within the last 31 days or has given prior express written consent, and that the account is responsible for the legality of those contacts.

Consent can be recorded per contact: the consent wording, the page where it was given, the IP address, the time it was captured, and when and how it was revoked. By default the platform relies on the account's signup attestation that its contacts consented; per-contact enforcement can be switched on for an account, after which an AI marketing call is blocked unless the contact has an active voice-marketing consent record.