What Are the Rules for Promotional Calls in Saudi Arabia, and Do They Cover an AI Agent?

Short answer: the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) requires express consent for promotional calls, and consent in a privacy policy or service contract does not count. The caller must be able to prove the consent, stop within 24 hours of a request to stop, say at the start who is calling and why, and not make promotional calls between 10 pm and 9 am (1 am to noon in Ramadan). The text does not say how an AI voice agent is classified, so plan on the stricter view and start with inbound calls.

Which rules, and where did we read them?

The rules are in the CST's Regulations for Curbing SPAM Messages & Calls, Version Three (October 2022), issued under decision 493/1444. We read the full text on 25 October 2026 in a copy hosted by an operator, and the CST's own page lists the same decision as valid. The document applies to operators, SMS providers and senders and callers. It rests on the Telecommunications and Information Technology Law (Royal Decree M/106, 1443 AH). If a newer version has been issued, it controls, so check the CST site.

What must a business do before a promotional call?

Section 5.2 sets out the caller's obligations. A promotional call is defined as a voice call of a commercial or marketing nature for products or services, or for collecting or reminding about donations.

1. Get express agreement. The person must be given the choice to agree expressly to promotional calls. The text says consent contained in privacy policies and service contracts is not considered, and the caller must provide proof of consent.
2. Let them stop at any time, through traditional and electronic channels.
3. Stop within 24 hours of a request to stop receiving promotional calls (the text says no more calls of this kind after that period).
4. Confirm the activation or suspension after a request.
5. Open the call properly. The caller discloses at the start the reason for the call, the entity it represents and whether the person wants to continue, and calls through the entity's official contact numbers shown on its website or official channel.
6. Respect the hours. Promotional and awareness calls are not permitted from 10:00 pm to 9:00 am daily, and in Ramadan from 1:00 am to 12:00 pm, Saudi time.

What about service calls, such as appointment reminders?

The document separates promotional, awareness, service, warning and personal calls. A service call is a voice call with service content to a specific user to provide a contracted service or inform them of operations, and it includes a personal or automated notification such as appointments, at the request or consent of the user. Private entities may make promotional, awareness and service calls. The hours clause we quote is written for promotional and awareness calls; we found no hours clause for service calls in the document, but pick sensible hours anyway. Where a call mixes a reminder with an offer, a regulator could see it as promotional, so keep reminders to reminders.

Do the rules cover an AI voice agent?

The text does not say. It defines robocalls as calls made using an autodialer and containing a pre-recorded message. An AI voice agent that holds a live conversation is not obviously that, but we could not verify how the CST would classify it, and we found no guidance on AI callers. The safe course is to treat every outbound AI call as a promotional call if it is marketing, apply all the rules above and make the first sentence honest: say that this is an automated assistant, who it is for and why it is calling.

Is there a rule about calls from abroad?

Yes, and it matters for the way our product works. The document says calls received from parties outside the Kingdom must be service or personal calls only. International customers of our platform import a number from their own Twilio, Telnyx or Plivo account, and we do not sell Saudi numbers. Whether a call placed from such a number counts as one from outside the Kingdom is something we could not determine. Put the question to your adviser and your carrier before you launch a promotional campaign. Telnyx also calls only the countries switched on in your outbound voice profile, so add Saudi Arabia before dialling.

What tools does the product give you?

• A do-not-contact list you keep. Add every person who asks to stop, immediately.
• Calling hours you set per campaign on the called person's clock. The platform sets no window of its own, so set yours inside the CST hours and move them in Ramadan.
• An opening line you write, so the disclosure is in the first sentence.
• A transcript and outcome for every call, useful as evidence of what was said. Recording is off by default and you switch it on per agent.

The product does not collect, check or store proof of consent for you, so keep that record in your own system. The WhatsApp equivalent is separate: Meta's policy requires opt-in before you message anyone (see WhatsApp Business API).

Where should you start?

With inbound calls, which these rules barely touch, and with service calls to customers who asked for them: confirmations and reminders. Move to promotional campaigns only when you hold provable express consent and your adviser has answered the foreign-call question. For the product itself, read the Saudi Arabia page and the AI receptionist page. Read the official text; this is not legal advice.