How to record sales calls with consent
You can record and transcribe sales and client calls in most places, as long as you ask first. Asking takes one sentence at the start of the call. This page covers what the law asks for, what to say, and why it matters more when no bot joins the call.
It's a summary, not legal advice. For your own case, ask a lawyer.
One-party and all-party consent
In the US, federal law and most states need only one person on the call to agree to the recording, and that person can be you.
Some states need everyone on the call to agree: California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. Connecticut and Nevada ask the same for phone calls.
In Michigan, courts have let a person record their own call, but the question isn't settled, so ask there too.
When people on a call are in different states, assume the stricter law applies. Sales calls cross state lines all the time, so ask everyone, every time.
Treat transcribing as recording. An AI note taker has to capture the audio to write it down. In 2025 a class action in California accused Otter.ai of recording people who never agreed to it.
In the UK and the EU
The GDPR applies to a recording made for work, and a sales or client call is work. You need a lawful reason to record, and you must tell people that you're recording and why. The UK regulator, the ICO, says the same for calls.
Some countries go further. In Germany, recording a conversation that isn't public, business calls included, without permission is a crime.
What to say at the start of a call
Ask before you press Record, and wait for a yes:
"Before we start, do you mind if I record and transcribe this call for my notes? It stays on my computer, and the audio is deleted within a week."
Once it's on, ask once more so their yes is in the transcript: "It's recording now. Still OK?"
If they hesitate: "No problem, I'll take notes by hand." Then don't record.
Ask again when someone joins late. You can also mention it in the calendar invite, so nobody is surprised on the call.
Why no bot means you say it out loud
A note taker bot is its own notice. Everyone sees it join, and its name stays in the participant list for the whole call. A recorder with no bot gives no sign at all, so the other side only knows if you tell them.
That's what makes a no-bot recorder sneaky or not. Recording without saying it is sneaky. Asking first makes it ordinary note taking.
The state rules come from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press recording guide and its pages on Connecticut and Nevada. The EU rule is Article 13 of the GDPR. The UK rules come from the ICO on recording calls and on personal use. Germany's rule is section 201 of its Criminal Code, and the Otter.ai case is from NPR. All as of 14 November 2026.
How Dictate helps
Dictate is the Mac app I made for dictation and call transcription.
- When a call starts, Dictate shows "Record this call?" with the reminder "Ask before you record." Nothing is recorded until you click Record. If they say no, click Not now.
- It records your microphone and the call's audio separately, so your side is labeled Me and the other side Call. No bot joins.
- Your audio and transcripts stay on your Mac, so "it stays on my computer" is true when you say it.
- By default the audio is deleted after 7 days and the transcript after 30. In the Data retention settings you can delete the audio as soon as it's transcribed.