The mortgage market doesn’t need another “trend report.” What it needs is a reality check—one that connects what’s happening in the economy to what’s happening inside your lead pipeline, your dialer, and your compliance workflows.

That’s exactly what we set out to do in ActiveProspect’s Financial Services webinar, “The 2026 Mortgage Lead Gen Reality Check.” Moderated by Andrew Bailey (Content Strategist at ActiveProspect), the session featured two familiar voices for mortgage marketers:

• Emma Bernstein, who leads ActiveProspect’s Financial Services vertical.
• John Henson, a longtime mortgage attorney and lead gen specialist at Henson Legal with nearly two decades of perspective on what’s changing—and what never does.

From rates and market uncertainty to consent language, AI voice, and list hygiene, the conversation circled one core truth: In 2026, lead generation isn’t just a marketing channel—it’s a risk and performance system. And the teams who win will be the ones who treat it that way.

Below is a recap of the biggest takeaways and the practical steps you can apply immediately.

Key takeaways

• Mortgage market uncertainty is the norm in 2026 (rates, Fed/politics, low home sales, increased scrutiny/litigation).
• All real estate is local: Don’t over-index on national headlines—optimize to your ZIP/county and local data.
• Smaller shops can’t copy the Rocket playbook—win with a local strategy and processes you can actually run well.
• “Cheap leads” can get expensive fast: Low CPL often means higher downstream costs (time, compliance risk, low funded-loan yield).
• Trust but verify your lead sellers: If they can’t explain traffic sources, show the form, and walk through consent language, it’s a red flag.
• When you buy leads, you’re buying the seller’s compliance program—know exactly what the consumer saw and agreed to.
• TCPA risk often comes from process gaps: One-off texting/dialing outside systems, not reviewing disclosures, and no proof-of-consent “system of record.”
• DNC/list hygiene is a major risk area: Failure to disposition opt-outs correctly (especially in pooled lead models) leads to repeat calls and exposure.
• Audit during onboarding: Map ad → form → submit, confirm when the lead is sold, and validate consent language at that moment.
• AI can amplify bad practices: Don’t “throw AI at questionable leads”—it scales problems (consumer frustration, complaints, spam reputation).
• Outbound AI voice needs extra care: Ensure consent language covers AI voice and that providers can articulate their compliance approach.
• Protect phone reputation (“Spam Likely”): Avoid high-volume, short-duration, repetitive calling patterns—especially with AI.
• Use tech to add guardrails: Document and verify consent with TrustedForm and apply real-time filtering and routing with LeadConduit so only qualified leads reach reps.

Let’s dive deeper into the topics presented above.

The 2026 mortgage market: Uncertainty is the baseline

John kicked off with the macro view: Mortgage marketers are operating inside a triangle of uncertainty—rates, politics/Fed leadership, and industry pressure from both regulation and litigation.

He pointed to a sobering stat: 2025 was the lowest year for home sales in nearly 30 years, a reality that naturally constrains volume for lenders and stresses partner ecosystems like realtors. That uncertainty isn’t just economic—it changes behavior. Consumers hesitate. Realtor relationships tighten. And lenders compete harder for a shrinking pool of mortgage leads.

At the same time, John noted growing scrutiny in the real estate ecosystem—referencing high-profile pressures like steering and RESPA-related lawsuits that influence how adjacent platforms operate and how cautious participants become. The result is a market where everyone is trying to re-evaluate: Who are my buyers? How do I expand the buyer pool? Who will still be buying in 2026 and beyond?

“All real estate is local,” and that’s reshaping lead gen

One of the most resonant themes of the webinar was John’s comment that “there are two mortgage markets now.” National trends matter, but they don’t always reflect what’s happening in your ZIP code.

He shared an example: National stats might show a downturn, but a local operator could be up year-over-year. Some regions lag national averages by months. Others lead them. That gap creates a dangerous trap: Mortgage teams that overreact to headlines rather than adapting to local realities.

So what should mortgage marketers do?

Lean into local advantage, especially if you’re not Rocket

John highlighted a real shift he’s seeing: Smaller shops are leaning harder into local marketing, both digital and analog. Yes, analog marketing.

Think:

• Showing up at community events
• Strengthening realtor relationships
• Being visible where local buyers actually live (online and offline)
• Combining targeted digital with human presence

It’s not nostalgia. It’s strategy. When national lenders have systems optimized to the millisecond, smaller teams win by being present, relevant, and operationally consistent in the markets they can actually dominate.

The Homebuyer Privacy Protection Act: Trigger leads shift, not disappear

A major regulatory note was the Homebuyer Privacy Protection Act, which John said is now in place and generally viewed positively because it aims to minimize trigger leads—the flood of calls, texts, and emails consumers receive after a credit pull.

But he cautioned against assuming it eliminates all “lead-like” outreach:

• There are exceptions, particularly for the originating lender or current servicer.
• It doesn’t stop other common consumer confusion, like mail solicitations after signing.
• And it doesn’t affect situations where the consumer opts in directly online—because consent changes the equation.

The key message: Consumer expectations are shifting, and marketers need to align both compliance and customer experience accordingly.

Why “cheap leads” often cost more than premium leads

When the conversation shifted to lead buying strategy, Emma emphasized something many new buyers learn the hard way:

Smaller mortgage companies and individual loan officers often start with lists because they feel tangible. But if you optimize for lowest cost per lead, you may be ignoring the costs that actually determine ROI:

• Sales time wasted on low-intent contacts
• Downstream conversion issues
• Compliance and reputational exposure
• Low funded-loan yield (the metric that truly matters)

John reinforced this with a pattern he’s seen repeatedly: Local retail loan officers are used to closing at extremely high rates once they’re face-to-face. Then they buy low-cost leads, don’t reach half the list, don’t convert at anything close to prior rates, and conclude “lead gen doesn’t work.”

The truth is more nuanced: Lead gen can work, but it requires a different playbook, and the right expectations.

“Trust, but verify”: The lead vendor transparency test

If there was one phrase that anchored the webinar, it was Emma’s: Trust but verify.

Her advice was blunt: If your lead seller cannot explain where their traffic comes from—even in general terms—or show what the consumer journey looks like (the form, disclosures, and consent language), that’s a red flag.

John took it a step further with a line every mortgage buyer should remember: “When you’re buying leads, you’re buying their compliance program.”

That framing changes everything. You’re not just purchasing a contact record—you’re purchasing:

• How consent was captured
• What was disclosed
• What the consumer reasonably expected
• And what you can legally do next

Where TCPA risk creeps in (even when no one is trying to break the rules)

Emma outlined four of the most common ways mortgage teams unintentionally open themselves up to TCPA risk:

1. Assuming the seller handled compliance
2. Not reviewing the consent language connected to the lead
3. One-off texting and dialing outside systems of record
4. No system of record for proving consent later

That last point is critical. In the world of TCPA claims, if you can’t prove consent, it’s almost like it never existed.

John added another high-risk scenario that shows up in distributed sales models: The “mothership” buys leads into a pool, a loan officer calls, the consumer says “don’t call me,” but the rep doesn’t disposition correctly—so the lead goes back into the pool and gets called again.

That’s how companies rack up DNC violations without realizing it. And the fix to that isn’t just consent—it’s list hygiene and workflow discipline.

Auditing consent without slowing down sales

The audience asked a smart question: How do you audit consent without slowing sales? John framed it in two layers:

1. Vendor onboarding audits

If you’re onboarding a new lead source, you need to understand the flow end-to-end:

• What does the consumer see from ad to submit?
• At what point is the lead sold?
• What does the consent language say at that moment?

He even shared a real example of audits where leads were sold before the final submit—meaning the buyer thought they were purchasing a fully consented lead when the consumer hadn’t completed the process.

2. Operational audits in-market

Once leads are flowing, you need a reliable way to tie:

• lead → site → session → disclosure → consent
  so you can be confident that when you put that lead back into a dialer cadence, the consent still matches what you’re doing.

AI voice in mortgage: Powerful, yes—but consent must catch up

AI was (predictably) one of the biggest topics of the session—and one of the most nuanced.

John separated AI voice into two categories:

• Inbound AI voice (think smarter IVR): Typically lower risk
• Outbound AI voice: Doable, but requires more careful compliance

The big point: Traditional marketing consent may not be enough for outbound AI voice. If your consent language only says, “I agree to receive marketing calls about mortgage,” that might not adequately cover AI voice outreach. John’s guidance: Your consent language should explicitly reference AI voice if that’s part of your strategy.

He also highlighted an operational risk many teams underestimate: Phone number reputation. AI systems are extremely good at what carriers interpret as spam behavior:

• Short call duration
• High volume
• Repeated attempts from the same number
• Low pickup rates

That’s how you end up labeled “Spam Likely”—which kills contact rates, wastes spend, and creates consumer frustration that can escalate into complaints.

Emma added the strategic warning: AI doesn’t fix broken lead programs. It amplifies them.

If you’re buying questionable leads with unclear consent and unknown sources, AI will only help you:

• Contact more people who didn’t expect to hear from you
• Faster
• More aggressively

Which is a straight line to brand and compliance risk.

How ActiveProspect fits: Structure for growth, not just lead flow

When asked how technology can help teams move fast without creating risk, Emma laid out the “structure for growth” model:

• Use TrustedForm to document and retain proof of consent
• Use TrustedForm Verify to ensure the consent language is what you expect on every lead
• Pair with LeadConduit for real-time decisioning:
  • duplicate filtering
  • scrubbing against known litigator lists
  • routing only leads you’re confident in
  • keeping questionable leads out of the hands of reps

The message: Real-time control beats after-the-fact cleanup, especially when your sales team is under pressure to hit volume targets.

Final advice for mortgage marketers in 2026

As the session wrapped, both panelists delivered practical guidance you can summarize in one sentence: Know your sources, know your consent, don’t rush shiny tools onto shaky foundations.

John’s parting advice:

• If a lead vendor says their traffic sources are “secret sauce,” that’s not a strategy—that’s a risk.
• You must understand where leads come from and what the consumer agreed to.

Emma’s closing reminder:

• Don’t chase quick wins (cheap lists, massive imports, AI blasts) at the expense of brand trust and compliance discipline.
• The consumer experience still matters—and confusion creates risk.

The bottom line

Mortgage lead gen in 2026 is about more than buying leads. It’s about building a system that can:

• Verify consent
• Protect your brand
• Move fast without breaking trust
• And consistently turn lead spend into funded loans

The teams that succeed won’t be the ones with the biggest budgets. They’ll be the ones who treat lead gen as a connected workflow—performance + compliance + customer experience, all working together.

If you want to revisit the conversation or explore how to strengthen your lead quality and consent workflows, book a free demo now—and keep an eye out for the next webinar.

DISCLAIMER: This page and all related links are provided for general informational and educational purposes only and are not legal advice. ActiveProspect does not warrant or guarantee this information will provide you with legal protection or compliance. Please consult with your legal counsel for legal and compliance advice. You are responsible for using any ActiveProspect Services in a legally compliant manner pursuant to ActiveProspect’s Terms of Service. Any quotes contained herein belong to the person(s) quoted and do not necessarily represent the views and/or opinions of ActiveProspect.

The post 2026 mortgage lead gen reality check: What’s working, what’s risky, and what to fix now appeared first on ActiveProspect.

ActiveProspect kicked off its first product-specific webinar of the year with a clear message: The lead generation ecosystem is evolving fast—and trust, transparency, and performance have to evolve with it.

This session walked through three things customers care about most right now:

• What ActiveProspect launched in 2025
• How those launches connect into one platform vision
• What’s coming in 2026, including a major expansion beyond web leads into inbound calls
  

Along the way, the team also addressed a major piece of news: ActiveProspect’s acquisition of Verisk Marketing Solutions (VMS)—a move that signals bigger ambitions for how data, identity, and compliance will power lead acquisition in the years ahead.

Below is a recap of the biggest takeaways—and why they matter for lead buyers, sellers, and anyone building a scalable lead program in 2026.

Key takeaways

• ActiveProspect acquired Verisk Marketing Solutions to combine a software platform + high-quality data—more capability, better ROI, and simpler offerings over time.
• ActiveProspect is building one connected platform (not separate tools) focused on trust, transparency, and performance across the full lead lifecycle.
• TrustedForm is the foundation—capturing independently verifiable lead event data that powers compliance and optimization.
• Bot detection is a top lead-quality pain; new bot detection signals in Insights help identify non-human leads that skew reporting and create TCPA risk.
• Optimization Hub turns signals into action with recommendations to improve lead quality (starting heavily with bot-related guidance).
• Vendor Reports improve partner accountability with clearer, on-demand vendor-level visibility (reducing spreadsheet reconciliation and disputes).
• LeadConduit is the execution engine that uses trusted inputs (consent + quality signals) to filter, route, and deliver leads for better outcomes.
• Closed-loop reporting is expanding via conversion/disposition feedback (Salesforce + LeadPerfection first; HubSpot was the top next request).
• Free buyer accounts strengthen buyer–seller collaboration by enabling shared reporting and easier partner setup from day one.
• 2026 preview: Expansion into calls—including “in-call consent” concepts to capture express written consent and bring call leads into LeadConduit-like workflows.

Now let’s unpack the topics presented above.

A major announcement: ActiveProspect acquires Verisk Marketing Solutions

ActiveProspect’s Founder and CEO Steve Rafferty opened with context on the newly announced acquisition of Verisk Marketing Solutions (VMS), announced on January 8.

Who is VMS?

VMS was a division of Verisk Analytics, primarily made up of two well-known brands:

• Jornaya, a long-time compliance competitor in the TCPA space.
• Infutor, a consumer identity management provider offering data for verification, enrichment, and identity scoring.
  

Steve emphasized that while ActiveProspect and Jornaya competed for years, the two companies ultimately shared a mission: Bringing trust and transparency to online lead generation. But he also highlighted the key difference:

• VMS is fundamentally a data company.
• ActiveProspect is fundamentally a software platform company.
  

That distinction is what makes the combination compelling.

Why it matters

Steve framed the acquisition as a way to accelerate what customers want most: Better inputs, smarter decisioning, and fewer wasted dollars.

At a high level, he described three outcomes the acquisition should drive over time:

1. A more powerful platform: Bringing VMS data into the ActiveProspect platform could help customers better identify leads, price them appropriately, and improve ROI.
2. More innovation: Two experienced teams, two sets of technology, and shared learnings should speed up delivery and improve outcomes.
3. A higher standard of performance: Greater scale and expertise should improve reliability and customer experience—and ideally simplify offerings for the ecosystem.

One connected platform, not a collection of tools

After the acquisition update, the product team turned to the main theme of the webinar: Designing a better lead ecosystem for 2026. The starting point was a clear platform philosophy.

As Product Manager Nicki Baker explained, ActiveProspect isn’t positioning its products as separate tools—it’s building a single platform experience designed to bring trust, transparency, and performance together across the lead lifecycle. The goal is a more streamlined experience where customers can use multiple capabilities without stitching together disconnected workflows.

TrustedForm remains the foundation: Trust first, then performance

Technical Product Manager Christopher Williams described TrustedForm as more than a compliance tool—it’s infrastructure. Because a TrustedForm Certificate captures the lead event in detail, it becomes a foundation for:

• Documenting proof of how the lead was generated
• Verifying compliance requirements
• Unlocking optimization, filtering, and routing decisions
• Powering insights that go beyond “did we get a lead?” into “what’s behind this lead?”
  

In other words: Once you establish trust, you can begin making smarter decisions.

The biggest lead quality challenge in 2025: Bots (and what to do about them)

According to Christopher, bots are now a major industry problem, and if you don’t think you’re dealing with them, you may just not be seeing them yet.

Why bots create a compliance and performance crisis

The team highlighted a key point that’s especially important for 2026:

• Bot-generated leads can look legitimate
• They can use real consumer information
• But the consumer did not actually fill out the form
  

That creates two major risks:

1. Consent becomes invalid: If a bot completed the form, the consumer never meaningfully consented. That means companies may be acting on “fabricated consent,” increasing TCPA exposure.
2. Optimization becomes unreliable: Bot leads skew reporting, pollute conversion data, and can lead teams to make the wrong decisions about channels, vendors, and spend.

2025 launch: Bot Detection inside TrustedForm Insights

To address this, ActiveProspect introduced bot detection signals via the TrustedForm Insights product—designed to help customers identify “obvious” indicators of automation or scripted submissions.

But Christopher also made an important point: Insights is only useful if teams know what to do with it—which led into the next major launch.

From insights to action: Optimization Hub

A common pain customers shared with ActiveProspect is simple: “You see more lead data than anyone—tell us what we should do.”

To meet that need, ActiveProspect introduced Optimization Hub, which turns lead quality signals into recommendations customers can act on.

Think of it as guided optimization inside the platform:

• Identify issues impacting lead quality (starting heavily with bots)
• Recommend product features, settings, or adjustments
• Reduce guesswork by operationalizing what ActiveProspect has learned since 2004
  

Today, it’s early. Over time, the plan is to expand recommendations beyond bot-related guidance into more categories of lead quality and performance improvement.

Vendor-level visibility: Vendor Reports bring accountability to partner networks

Lead quality isn’t only a lead-level issue. For most buyers, the real operational challenge is vendor networks.

To solve that, ActiveProspect launched Vendor Reports in 2025. The goal is to create a shared source of truth that makes it easier to:

• Compare vendors using consistent metrics
• Spot issues tied to specific sources
• Reduce spreadsheet reconciliation
• Strengthen accountability and partnership performance

LeadConduit: The engine that turns trusted inputs into outcomes

If TrustedForm is the foundation, LeadConduit is the connective tissue.

Leandro Estrella, Associate Product Manager, described LeadConduit’s role as the engine that takes trusted data—consent signals, quality indicators, enrichment data—and turns them into action:

• Filtering
• Routing
• Delivery logic
• Decisioning tied to business outcomes
  

The point isn’t simply moving leads faster. It’s ensuring every lead is routed and acted on appropriately based on trust, quality, and performance goals.

Closing the loop: Conversion and disposition feedback

One of the biggest themes of the webinar was moving beyond “delivered” as the finish line. Lead buyers ultimately need to know:

• Which leads became opportunities?
• Which converted?
• Which vendors or channels produced revenue?
  

That’s why ActiveProspect introduced conversion and disposition feedback integrations starting with Salesforce and LeadPerfection. This enables:

• Closed-loop reporting inside lead operations
• Optimization based on real outcomes (not just CPL or acceptance rate)
• Better vendor evaluation
• Real-time performance feedback that can be shared with sellers

Free buyer accounts: Building a network, not just workflows

ActiveProspect also launched free buyer accounts and a “buyer step” as part of a bigger strategy: Making it easier for sellers to bring partners into a shared ecosystem.

The idea is to make collaboration simpler from day one:

• Sellers invite buyers easily
• Shared reporting is created automatically
• Buyers can configure what they need
• Both parties work from a shared view of performance
  

This is a subtle but important shift: ActiveProspect is investing not just in tools, but in network features that reduce friction between buyers and sellers.

Platform experience updates: Flow Editor, Company Profiles, unified UX

Behind the scenes, the team also invested heavily in platform usability and scalability.

Nicki highlighted updates like:

• New Flow Editor
• Company Profiles
• Unified app experience
  

All three support the same goal: Making it easier for customers to scale and for buyers/sellers to work together inside ActiveProspect.

Company Profiles in particular were positioned as a trust-building layer: Surfacing key partner context, improving onboarding, and enabling personalization as network features expand in 2026.

2026 preview: Expanding beyond web leads into calls

One of the most significant roadmap themes was expansion beyond form-based leads into inbound calls.

Product Manager Christian Goss explained why this is a natural evolution: The platform has become strong around web leads, but many customers operate in a blended ecosystem—web leads and calls.

The vision: Bring call-based leads into the same workflows customers use for web leads. That means enabling customers to:

• Capture call leads
• Document consent
• Enrich and route calls inside LeadConduit
• Apply suppression, logic, and decisioning the same way they do with forms
  

In-call consent: Turning a call into express written consent.

Christian also gave a preview of how “in-call consent” may work:

• A call center (or AI intake) triggers a text message
• The consumer receives a link to a page
• Consent is captured via a two-click flow (low friction)
• The business can then follow up by call/text with express written consent
  

The team confirmed they are building a waitlist and recruiting interest for beta participation via customer reps.

Where ActiveProspect is heading: A more trusted, connected lead ecosystem

The final roadmap themes for 2026 were summarized as:

• Expanding into calls
• Deeper partner collaboration
• Growing across social lead channels
• Enabling more flexible seller distribution
  

But the most consistent thread was this: ActiveProspect is moving from a set of products into a unified platform designed to help the ecosystem operate with higher trust, transparency, and performance.

And layered on top of that platform trajectory is the acquisition of VMS—bringing the potential for richer data inputs that can improve:

• Lead identification and pricing
• Filtering and enrichment
• Quality scoring and performance decisioning
• Possibly even bot detection capabilities over time
  

As Steve put it, customers want simplification. The platform direction—and the acquisition—are both steps toward building that simpler, stronger foundation for growth.

Conclusion

As lead generation moves into 2026, the message from this webinar was clear: Growth without trust is no longer sustainable. Between rising compliance risk, increasingly sophisticated fraud, fragmented vendor networks, and expanding acquisition channels like inbound calls, lead programs need more than point solutions—they need a connected system that turns trusted inputs into measurable outcomes.

ActiveProspect’s 2025 launches, platform investments, and acquisition of Verisk Marketing Solutions all point toward the same goal: Building a lead ecosystem where buyers and sellers can operate with confidence, act on real insights, and scale without unnecessary risk.

For teams planning their 2026 strategies now, the takeaway is simple—lead generation success will depend less on volume alone, and more on how well trust, transparency, and performance are designed into every step of the journey. And ActiveProspect is determined to help you do that.

The post Designing a better lead ecosystem for 2026: ActiveProspect’s 2025 recap + what’s next appeared first on ActiveProspect.

Overview

After the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) updated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in December 2023 to close the “lead generator loophole,” many in the lead-gen ecosystem were left with more questions than answers. As more TCPA updates landed in the weeks after (e.g. use of AI, consent revocation), businesses began to panic. However, this is not a time to panic, but a time to prepare, and our FCC webinar series is here to help. 

While the new rulings may seem intimidating and confusing, our webinar series will help keep your business at the forefront of compliance as our panel aims to add clarity to the undefined world of the FCC regulations for use of robocalls and robotext technologies.

In the fourth episode of our FCC-centric webinar series, ActiveProspect’s Director of Privacy, Security, and Compliance, Benjamin Farrar, was joined by Troutman Amin Partner, Puja Amin, and Convoso Compliance Officer, Tammy Glover Fowler, to discuss the latest TCPA updates centered around robocalls, robotexts, and revocation.

As the updated ruling takes shape over the next year before going into full effect in January 2025, businesses are advised to reassess their risk profiles and take action to prepare for the new regulatory landscape. The journey of adjusting to these new FCC regulations has truly just begun, and it’s time to stay alert, informed, and proactive in making strategic decisions.

FCC robocall technologies: what they are and main regulations

According to the FCC, FCC robocall technologies are phone calls or texts that use Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) to deliver pre-recorded messages to a large number of recipients. These calls are typically used for various purposes such as marketing, political campaigns, public service announcements, and debt collection.

Here are the key characteristics of FCC robocall technologies:

• Automated dialing: The calls are placed using auto-dialing software that can make thousands of calls per minute.
• Pre-recorded messages: Instead of a live person, the recipient hears a pre-recorded message.
• Wide range of uses: They can be used for legitimate purposes, such as reminders and alerts, or for fraudulent activities like scams and phishing attempts.

Main FCC robocall technologies regulations

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has implemented several regulations to control the use of robocalls and protect consumers from unwanted and intrusive calls. The main FCC robocall regulations include:

• Consent requirements: Telemarketers must obtain prior express written consent from recipients before making robocalls to wireless numbers or residential lines using an auto-dialer or pre-recorded voice message.
• Do Not Call (DNC) registry: Telemarketers are prohibited from calling numbers listed on the national DNC registry. Consumers can register their numbers to avoid telemarketing calls. There are also state DNC registries that need to be checked for compliance.   
• Calling hours: Telemarketing robocalls are only allowed between 8 AM and 9 PM (local time of the recipient). There are also different state allowance and restrictions in calling hours.
• Opt-out mechanism: Robocalls must provide an automated, interactive opt-out mechanism during the call that allows recipients to immediately opt out of receiving additional calls.
• Caller ID spoofing: Prohibits the use of misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongly obtain anything of value. This includes practices where robocallers manipulate caller ID information to appear as if the call is coming from a local number or a trusted source.
• Call blocking: The FCC encourages and permits phone service providers to block calls that are likely to be illegal, such as those originating from invalid numbers, unallocated numbers, or numbers on the Do Not Originate (DNO) list.
• Call labeling: Providers are also encouraged to label calls that may be suspicious or likely to be robocalls, helping consumers identify potential scam calls.
• Emergency purposes: Certain robocalls are exempt from some of these regulations, such as those made for emergency purposes, including notifications about health and safety issues, weather alerts, and other urgent information from government entities or healthcare providers.

These regulations aim to balance the utility of robocalls for legitimate purposes while protecting consumers from unwanted and potentially harmful calls.

How AI is impacting FCC robocalls technologies

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly influenced the evolution of robocalls, making them more sophisticated and challenging to regulate. The main ways AI is used in robocalls include:

• Data analysis: AI algorithms analyze vast amounts of data to identify potential targets more effectively. This can include analyzing social media, purchasing behaviors, and other online activities to tailor the robocall’s message to the recipient.
• Voice synthesis: AI-generated voices can sound more natural and human-like, enhancing the effectiveness of the robocall.
• Automated dialing: AI improves the efficiency of automated dialing systems, optimizing call times and frequencies to maximize contact rates.
• Predictive dialing: AI predictive dialers can anticipate when a human agent will be available to take a call, reducing idle times and increasing productivity.

However, the integration of AI into FCC robocall technology presents several challenges, including:

• Enhanced deception: AI’s ability to create more convincing and interactive robocalls increases the risk of successful scams.
• Identifying violations: As AI-driven robocalls become more advanced, distinguishing between legitimate and illegal calls becomes more complex. 
• Enhanced detection tools: Regulators may need to employ AI and machine learning tools themselves to detect and prevent illegal robocalls. This includes developing algorithms to identify patterns and anomalies indicative of AI-driven robocalling campaigns.
• Stronger penalties: To deter the use of AI in illegal robocalling, the FCC may need to impose harsher penalties and increase enforcement actions against violators.

In summary, while AI enhances the effectiveness and reach of robocalls, it also poses significant challenges for regulation and enforcement. Follow US state and national regulations that are addressing AI uses. The important thing when it comes to lead generation is to include notice and consent that AI generative technologies are being used.

Watch the entire webinar here

Episode 4 highlights

Introductions

Tammy Glover Fowler: “Hello, thanks for having me. So, I’ve been working in the telemarketing space, legal and regulatory compliance for over 17 years. Most of that time was spent in the telemarketing space –10 years of those. I started Convoso’s compliance department over two years ago and my oversight is with TCPA, TSR, [and] state regulation. Prior to Convoso, I worked for Bridgestone America’s law department as a compliance specialist and as a compliance bank auditor… And then prior to that, in my telemarketing space, I worked for a large telemarketing company in Ohio who had brick-and-mortar call centers all over the state –35 to 40– so I managed compliance for all of those centers.”

Puja Amin: “Hi. I am Queenie of TCPA World… Puja Amin of Troutman Amin, LLP, and I’m also a board member of R.E.A.C.H., Responsible Enterprises Against Consumer Harassment… I am a TCPA defense class action attorney and compliance guru, if you will, in the TCPA space and the privacy space. My partner, Eric J. Troutman, The Czar, and I built this firm to really focus on TCPA class litigation to help companies and brands and call centers all across the country, to help them be compliant with all these ticky-tack rules that you’re about to hear about today.”

Tammy Glover Fowler on the grey area of “logical and topical”

“To go back to what Puja was talking about ‘logically and topically,’ you know, [the FCC] did not define that because it’s almost impossible. You know, how can you even provide definitions for that? That’s something that’s just going to have to be argued in the end. You know, I’m not seeing telemarketing regulations defined with such distinctiveness unless it’s like, number of months or number of years, or record-keeping requirements, things like that, but logically and topically, that’s just too difficult.”

Puja Amin on the FCC’s recent TCPA revocation update 

“Everyone’s very focused on the 1-to-1 consent rules, which they should be and they ought to be, but these new revocation rules are just massive. And I’m not hearing enough folks talk about this and that’s scary. I remember I walked into The Czar’s [Eric Troutman] office just a few weeks ago, and I was like, ‘You keep talking about this 1-to-1 consent ruling… But to me, the biggest piece right now is the informational marketing opt-out dynamics that are going to take place here.’”

Benjamin Farrar on the opportunity for future improvement

“…From a compliance officer, compliance view perspective, I mean, all of this is to try to be optimistic. It’s an opportunity to take a look at your business models and see where you could improve, provide more transparency, and think from the consumer. So it’s gonna force that and, of course, make sure you have great legal counsel aware for those hard-to-answer questions. Some of them may be easier than you think, but it’s great to have those advocates who can answer those quickly for those things to help control the risk that you might be facing in the lead generation and call center space.”

Helpful Resources

1. Learn more about the highest standard for independent proof of consent.
2. Discover Ping Pick Post, our proposed solution for the new regulatory landscape.
3. Prepare your business for January 2025.

ActiveProspect is committed to being a guiding force in the lead-gen space as we navigate the evolving regulatory landscape together. Be sure to be on the lookout for our next FCC-centric webinar coming in March.

The post Exploring the FCC regulations around robocalls technologies appeared first on ActiveProspect.

Overview

After the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) updated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in December 2023 to close the “lead generator loophole,” everyone in the lead-gen ecosystem was left with more questions than answers, especially regarding text messaging marketing. Does this apply to SMS programs? What if our texting program doesn’t use an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS)? These are questions that need answers before the rulings take effect in January 2025 and our FCC webinar series is here to help you. 

While the new rulings may seem like a maze with no escape, our webinar will help keep your business at the forefront of compliance as our panel navigates the SMS intricacies of the FCC’s latest TCPA update.

In the third episode of our new FCC-centric webinar series, ActiveProspect’s CRO, Margaret Wise, and Director of Privacy, Security, and Compliance, Benjamin Farrar, sat down with Alexandra Krasovec, Partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, for a robust conversation covering all things compliance for the future of text messaging marketing.

As the updated ruling takes shape over the next year before going into full effect in January 2025, businesses are advised to reassess their risk profiles and take action to prepare for the new regulatory landscape. The journey of adjusting to these new FCC regulations has truly just begun, and it’s time to stay alert, informed, and proactive in making strategic decisions.

Watch the entire webinar here

Episode 3 highlights

Introduction

“Well, good morning or afternoon depending on where you are. I’m Alexandra Krasovec. I am a partner at Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips. We are a national firm and we do, among many other things, consumer protection, advertising, and competition practice, which includes, of course, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.”

“I have been doing TCPA compliance counseling, litigation defense, and regulatory enforcement matters for just about a decade, almost exclusively. It is a huge part of my practice and I’ve really seen the whole, you know, running, in what activity has been coming from the FCC as it ebbs and flows, and definitely right now it is hot and heavy. Which is, I know, what we’re here to talk about today. So very excited. Thank you, ActiveProspect for having me, and looking forward to our conversation.”

Revocation

“Well, opt-out, or the ability to opt out, which we kind of for shorthand can just call revocation, is something that the FCC read into the TCPA in 2015. It used to be litigated heavily whether or not you could actually revoke, or if you had an agreement, whether or not a consumer could revoke. But the FCC’s made very clear, consumers can revoke their consent by any reasonable means, and if you get that revocation, you need to honor it.”

“The FCC now has a pending proposed rule that they’re going to be putting up, I guess tomorrow, right, at the open meeting and it’s going to address in more detail exactly what goes into revocation. And it also is going to change the regulations so that the regulations now speak to revocation, which is not something that they did in 2015.”

Non-auto dialers… Be cautious

“There is a prominent attorney in this space who initially flagged that there is a distinction in the FCC order between automated calling, which is what they’re regulating with the prior express written consent 1-to-1 requirements, and the DNC requirements. That distinction exists, but I will caution everybody that I have already seen the plaintiff’s bar getting creative on that one. And trying to apply prior express written consent requirements to the prior express invitation, or permission exception, to DNC. So, because there’s a signed written agreement requirement, that is what they’re using as a hook. And I don’t believe that that is an accurate read, or an appropriate read of the regulations, but it is something they’re trying. And if you want to feel good defending a claim like that, you can just have prior express written consent anyway and you won’t have to worry about it.” 

“So that is something to think about. I will be duking that out in court in the coming months and you probably will see an order at some point on that issue. But you know, I can tell you that you will have much more comfort if you have prior express written consent.”

Golden ticket

“If you are making marketing outreach, again, get that heightened prior express written consent. It is the laundry list of things that you have to have, but if you obtain it, that is as good as gold.”

Helpful Resources

1. Learn more about the highest standard for independent proof of consent.
2. Discover Ping Pick Post, our proposed solution for the new regulatory landscape.
3. Prepare your business for January 2025.

ActiveProspect is committed to being a guiding force in the lead-gen space as we navigate the evolving regulatory landscape together. Be sure to save your seat for episode four of our FCC-centric webinar series, featuring Convoso’s Compliance Officer, Tammy Glover Fowler, and Troutman Amin Partner, Puja Amin, coming February 28th.

The post Mastering FCC TCPA text message compliance with Alexandra Krasovec appeared first on ActiveProspect.

Overview

When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) introduced updates to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in December, they aimed to close the “lead generator loophole.” The FCC placed new emphasis on “one-to-one” consent and stated that calls must be “logically and topically associated with the interaction that prompted the consent.” 

This change directly impacts the working mechanism of multi-vertical leads and the intriguing “ping post” models – the real-time auction system where leads are sold to companies for instant interaction with the consumer. 

In the enlightening first episode of a new FCC-centric webinar series, our Director of Privacy, Security, and Compliance, Benjamin Farrar, sat down with Craig Ready, the esteemed General Counsel from Launch Potato, to share insights about this monumental shift in regulation.

As the updated ruling continues to take shape over the next year, businesses are advised to reassess their risk profiles and take action to prepare for the new regulatory landscape. The journey of adjusting to these new FCC regulations has truly begun, and it’s time to stay alert, informed, and proactive in making strategic decisions.

Watch the entire webinar here

Episode 1 highlights

Introduction

“Thank you for joining us today. I’m Craig, I am General Counsel at Launch Potato… Happy to be here with you all today and excited to talk about the FCC rule on TCPA consent. And as Ben mentioned, when you’re in this part of the industry, anything related to privacy, security, it is never a dull moment and I don’t think it will be for the foreseeable future.”

Understanding the basics of one-to-one consent

“When the FCC finalized its proposal it did two things. Essentially, the first is to make consent, one-to-one… so the company who is going to call the consumer has to be listed on the lead form in clear and conspicuous language. Sort of the other TCPA language that you might be used to, alongside of the name of the company that is going to be making the call, so it has to be one-to-one.”

“It can’t be marketing partners’ links anymore or just multiple entities listed in a row. If that’s what you have been doing, it has to be clear and conspicuous, and there’s some language in the commentary that indicates it needs to be separate pieces where each company is mentioned and the consumer would take some sort of opt-in action to agree for each company listed there to reach out to them… This applies to outbound marketing calls that are done with regulated technology, which is defined as an autodialer. Or, if you’re making pre-recorded or artificial voice calls. That’s where that’s the scope of what’s happening here… The second thing is it adds this layer of  ‘logical and topical’ related.”

Logical and topical

“I think a lot of people were really freaking out about the one-to-one consent piece and, and I totally understand that, but when I started reading the commentary and then I got to this part, this was what stood out to me the most because of the lack of clarity… This is a hot mess to me because ‘logical and topical’ is very messy… If you’re going to continue to do these outbound marketing calls using an autodialer, artificial pre-recorded voice, you’ve got to find a way to deal with the logical and topical piece.”

The future of lead gen

“Things will sort of evolve in light of this is, you know? If I know anything about salespeople, account managers, and business leaders, they’re endlessly creative, and they will find ways to make their business model work in light of the rule.”

Helpful Resources

1. Learn more about the highest standard for independent proof of consent.
2. Discover Ping Pick Post, our proposed solution for the new regulatory landscape.

ActiveProspect is committed to being a guiding force in the lead-gen space as we navigate the evolving regulatory landscape together. Be on the lookout for episode two of our FCC-centric webinar series, coming January 31st.

The post Decoding the latest FCC ruling with Craig Ready appeared first on ActiveProspect.