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Voice AI × UK regulation, tracked weekly

Short, sourced reads on the news, laws and technology shaping AI phone calls in the UK — for the people who have to stay compliant while they adopt it.

How it works8 Aug 2026 · 12 min read

Voice AI and chat widgets: what conversational AI actually does for a business

A chat box and an AI phone line look like the same product in two costumes. They aren't — and the difference explains most of what's hard, and most of what's useful.

Regulation7 Aug 2026 · 4 min read

The EU's AI transparency rules went live on 2 August — and UK firms are not outside them

Chatbots and voice agents must now tell people they're AI. The obligation reaches any provider whose system is used in the EU, whatever the postcode on the invoice.

Compliance6 Aug 2026 · 4 min read

The UK isn't writing an AI Act — it's telling the ICO to write a code instead

A quiet statutory instrument now requires the Information Commissioner to produce a code of practice on AI and automated decision-making. Here's what it covers.

Research5 Aug 2026 · 4 min read

The ONS got its survey responses back — by paying more and hiring more

Labour Force Survey responses have climbed from 44,238 to 80,078 a quarter. The recovery is real, and the way it was bought tells you what fieldwork now costs.

Receptionist22 Jul 2026 · 2 min read

AI receptionists: the questions UK small businesses actually ask, answered

How much does an AI receptionist cost? Does it sound human? Is it legal? The most-Googled questions about AI phone answering, answered plainly for UK small businesses.

Research22 Jul 2026 · 1 min read

AI phone surveys: the questions researchers and housing teams actually ask

Are AI phone surveys accurate? Is it legal to make automated survey calls in the UK? Do they work for TSM? The most-Googled questions about AI survey calls, answered.

Industry11 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Voice AI is having a moment — what the funding wave means for UK buyers

Big raises, a billion handled calls, UK launches from £39 a month. The money says voice AI is real. Here's how a UK business should read the hype before buying.

Regulation11 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

The ICO is fining firms for fake-human AI calls — the exact thing to avoid

Two firms were fined £550,000 for robo-calls using 'avatar' software to pose as UK humans called Jo, Helen or Ian. It's a clean lesson in how not to use AI on the phone.

Compliance11 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Call recording, consent and UK GDPR: what you actually have to tell callers

Recording an AI phone call is processing personal data. Here's the practical version — lawful basis, what to say at the start, and how long you can keep it — without the legalese.

Research11 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

AI vs human interviewers: what actually differs on a survey call

Not 'which is better' but 'what changes'. The interviewer effect, consistency, cost and the places a skilled human interviewer still wins — for research and CX teams weighing AI phone fieldwork.

Receptionist11 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

AI receptionist vs answering service vs voicemail: an honest comparison

Voicemail is free and loses callers. A human answering service is warm and costs per call. An AI receptionist sits between. Which fits your business — without the sales spin.

Receptionist7 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

The 30-second window: what really happens to a missed call

A missed call isn't lost in the moment — it's lost when the caller picks the next business in their search results. What an AI receptionist actually does about it.

How it works7 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

The half-second pause: what latency really is on an AI phone call

AI phone demos sound instant. Real calls have a beat of silence first. Here's what that pause is made of — and why closing it is most of the engineering.

AI technology7 Jul 2026 · 4 min read

Speech-to-speech: why AI phone calls are starting to sound human

For years, AI voice worked by translating your speech to text and back again. A newer approach skips the round trip — and it's why some calls suddenly feel less robotic.

How it works7 Jul 2026 · 5 min read

How an AI phone survey call works, end to end

From the ring to a scored response: the five stages of an AI-run phone survey, in plain English — and where the genuinely hard problems are.

Regulation7 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Do you legally have to tell people they're talking to an AI?

From 2 August 2026 the EU makes AI self-disclosure an explicit duty. The UK isn't directly bound — but UK law already points the same way. What that means for AI phone calls.

Research7 Jul 2026 · 3 min read

Can an AI run a survey people actually finish?

Phone survey response rates have fallen for two decades, yet social housing still surveys by phone. Why — and whether AI voice changes the maths without breaking representativeness.

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