How to Get a Real Human on the Phone (Not an AI Bot)

To get a real person on the phone, start at the business's official website or app. Do not use a number from an unexpected caller or message. State your issue and ask for a person, then answer one routing prompt.

If the call loops back to the menu, use an official callback or secure written-support option. Keep your case number and note the date, time, and channel you tried. Phone menus vary by business, so no key or phrase works for every system.

California's AB 1609 takes effect January 1, 2027. It does not guarantee an immediate phone agent.

How to Get a Real Person on the Phone

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises using a business website you already know is trustworthy.

1. Find the official number or channel. Use the number on your account statement, the business's app, or its website. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises contacting a business through a website already known to be trustworthy, not through links, caller ID or numbers supplied by a caller or message.
2. State your need in one sentence. For example: "I need to speak with a person about a charge on my account." This is a clear request, but it may not trigger a transfer.
3. Answer the routing prompt once. Choose the menu option closest to your issue. Do not work through the whole menu before you move on.
4. If the loop continues, switch channels. Pick the official callback, appointment or secure written-support option. Keep your case number and a note of the date, time and channel of each attempt.

Phone Menu Prompts Vary by Business

The words 'representative' and the keys 0 or # do not work the same way across phone menus. Call4me reports prompt variations in its own logs for 77 companies from September 28 to October 26, 2026.

That bounded sample is not a market average or success rate.

How to Get a Real Person on the Phone When the Menu Loops

When the menu keeps returning you to the start, switch to another official channel.

Keep the case number handy if you switch channels.

Prepare Your Call Notes

Two or three sentences are enough to summarize the issue before you call. Include any amount, date or account name involved. Note the date, time and channel of each attempt, plus the case number once the business gives you one.

Share an account or case number only through an official channel you reached yourself. The FTC says a verification code is for the customer to log into their own account, and it should never be given to someone else.

If a caller asks for one, end the call and use a number from your statement or official app. FTC guidance on verification codes explains the rule.

California AB 1609 Sets a Conditional Human-Contact Rule

AB 1609 requires a covered business to offer a simple way to request an agent during regular business hours.

AB 1609 is Chapter 733, Statutes of 2026, approved and chaptered on September 28, 2026. It adds Business and Professions Code sections 22625 to 22629. A statute enacted in a regular session takes effect January 1 of the next year unless it sets another date, according to the California Secretary of State.

The scheduled effective date for AB 1609 is therefore January 1, 2027. The official bill text is the controlling source. The governor's signing summary is also available.

See the AI legislation tracker.

The law covers a "large private business," defined as one with more than $500 million in gross annual revenue nationally that provides goods or services to customers. A "customer" is a natural person residing in California, and residence is set by the address on the customer's account.

During at least regular business hours, a covered business must offer a simple way to request an agent on every customer-service platform it uses, including online chatbots and telephone systems. This applies even if you never reached a chatbot.

Separately, a business must not present a customer-service chatbot as human. It must give a clear disclosure when a reasonable person is likely to be misled into thinking the chatbot is human.

After you request an agent, a covered business must make a good-faith effort to connect you within 15 minutes or offer a specific appointment time within one business day. The statute says commercially reasonable and practicable standards satisfy the good-faith test.

Regular business hours are the hours a business customarily keeps its administrative, managerial or customer-service functions. They exclude days the business is ordinarily closed and state or federal holidays. The definition includes a 10-hour daily period over five days, or an 8-hour daily period across a full seven-day week.

The 15-minute connection standard does not apply to requests made by email, web-based contact form or voicemail. A business does not have to add a communication platform it did not offer by January 1, 2027. A business that used no telephone customer service as of that date does not have to offer phone support if it provides another prompt human-contact method under the section.

Once you reach an agent, the business must make a good-faith effort to keep any single wait or hold at 15 minutes or less. It must also make a good-faith effort to keep cumulative waits, holds and escalation queues from exceeding one hour. An online business with a telephone customer-service platform must post its phone number clearly and conspicuously on its website.

The statute lists exemptions for services subject to specified public-utility orders, exclusive business-to-business lines, certain hospital communications about health-care services, and consumer reporting agencies. It also covers unforeseen circumstances beyond a business's reasonable control and extraordinary or emergency situations.

A public prosecutor may enforce the law. The statute creates no private right of action under this act. The law does not promise a connection on any given call, so read the official bill text before you rely on a specific detail.

Avoid Fake Customer-Service Numbers

Avoid fake customer-service numbers by dialing only a number you already know is genuine. The FTC advises contacting a business through a website already known to be trustworthy. Check these points before you dial:

• Use the number printed on your statement, or the number in the official app you already use.
• Do not call a number from an unexpected text, email or caller who asks you to call back.
• Do not rely on caller ID to confirm who is calling.
• Never give a verification code to anyone else. If asked for one, use a number from your statement or official app instead.