Sponsored content by Answering Service Care.

With AI voices increasingly handling customer calls, consumers are drawing a clear line: they want to know when they’re speaking to a human versus a machine.

That’s according to a new study conducted by Answering Service Care, Robots Reveal Yourself: The AI Call Report, which surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers and 250 small business owners on attitudes toward AI in customer service . The results are striking:

  • 8 in 10 Americans demand to know: Are you talking to a human or AI?
  • 22% would hang up immediately on AI
  • 37% lose trust in brands that hide AI
  • 15% would boycott a brand that hides AI

At Answering Service Care, we analyzed over one million calls and found that while live-human calls average a 4% abandonment rate, disclosed AI can spike that number to nearly 25%. That difference translates directly into outcomes: more patients reaching hospitals, more clients retained by law firms, and more opportunities secured by contractors and small businesses.

Policy momentum

There’s no single U.S. federal law for AI transparency in customer service, but states are beginning to act, and The Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 introduces an important opportunity to enshrine AI disclosure at the federal level, linking transparency and ethics with job protection in US-based call centers.

  • States including UT, CO, TX, CA, NJ, TN, IL have moved on AI disclosure/deepfake/likeness laws (some with penalties up to $7,500 and even felonies).
  • Regulators are already signaling direction: the FCC treats AI-generated voices in robocalls as “artificial” under the TCPA and is exploring broader disclosure/accessibility rules; best practice is clear, upfront notice.

The fix is simple: make disclosure the default, not the exception.

Just like we notify callers when a conversation is being recorded (“This call may be monitored or recorded”), AI use should carry the same transparency. Consumers have a right to know how and by whom their interactions are being handled. For businesses, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Consumers increasingly expect disclosure for ethical and transparency reasons, and with many states already mandating it, its nationwide adoption is almost certain. For businesses that rely on these interactions as their lifelines, the financial impact is clear: choosing human support is the safer path forward.

Answering Service Care is calling for mandatory AI disclosure in their new petition. Modeled on call recording and privacy laws, clear disclosure standards would protect consumers and give small businesses consistency instead of compliance guesswork.

Clear disclosure could sound like:

“You’re speaking with an AI assistant today. I’ll do my best to answer your questions quickly.”

Bottom line: this isn’t just a tech story, it’s about transparency, ethics, and protecting jobs. Hidden AI harms small businesses and entire industries.

Key Voices

  • Sid Rosenberg(Radio Host, 77 WABC): “If I called a business and heard ‘Hi, this is an AI agent…’ I’d hang up immediately… When I need help, I want to speak to a human.”
  • Jay Shooster(Former FL House candidate): “The greatest risk is simply knowing what is real versus what is not.”

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