How should an AI agent handle a customer who says do not call me again?
Immediately and permanently for that purpose. The agent should acknowledge the request politely, stop the pitch, end the call and record the opt-out so the number is removed from every future campaign. The DPDP Act 2023 requires withdrawing consent to be as easy as giving it, and calling someone again after a clear refusal invites complaints under TRAI's TCCCP framework.
What the law expects
Under Section 6(4) of the DPDP Act 2023, a person can withdraw consent at any time, and doing so must be as easy as giving it. Once consent is withdrawn, the business must stop processing for that purpose within a reasonable time, and so must its processors. Under TRAI's TCCCP Regulations 2018, a person who keeps getting calls after saying no is likely to complain to 1909, and complaints drive action against senders.
How the agent should respond
A good response is short and final: 'Understood, we will not call you about this again. Sorry for the disturbance.' No second attempt, no 'can I just tell you one thing'. The agent should also recognise opt-outs said casually in other languages, such as 'मुझे फोन मत करो' (do not call me) or 'interest नहीं है, call मत करना' (not interested, do not call).
Making the opt-out stick
- 01Capture an opt-out field on the call, separate from 'not interested'.
- 02Push it to your CRM or suppression list through a webhook immediately.
- 03Exclude suppressed numbers from every new campaign upload, including voice broadcasts.
- 04Apply it across products and group companies if your notice said so.
- 05Keep the opt-out record itself, so you can prove you honoured it.
Not interested versus do not call
'Not interested right now' may allow a later, relevant follow-up. 'Do not call me' does not. Treating them differently, and teaching the agent to tell them apart, keeps you compliant without discarding warm leads.
How Outpero fits
Outpero captures custom fields on every call and sends them to your webhook, so an opt-out can update your suppression list the moment the call ends.
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