What is an auto dialer?
An auto dialer is any system that places outbound calls for agents instead of having them dial by hand. The term covers a family of modes, and the floor arguments about predictive dialer versus power dialer versus progressive dialer are really about one question: how many lines should the system dial for each available agent, and how much risk of a dropped call will you accept for the extra talk time?
On ViciDial these modes are settings on a campaign, not separate products. The Dial Method field offers MANUAL, RATIO and the adaptive options (ADAPT_HARD_LIMIT, ADAPT_TAPERED, ADAPT_AVERAGE). Convoso and other hosted dialers use their own names, but the ideas map across. The legal meaning of "autodialer" under US law is a separate and narrower question, covered further down.
Predictive, power, progressive and preview: clear definitions
From the most cautious to the most aggressive:
- Manual dialing. The agent clicks or types each number. Some campaigns use it for consent reasons.
- Preview dialing. The agent sees the record first and clicks to dial. One line per agent, and the agent decides when. Slow, but useful for high-value callbacks.
- Progressive dialing. The dialer places one call as soon as an agent becomes free. One line per agent, no choice for the agent. Very few abandoned calls, because an agent is always waiting for each call.
- Power dialing. The dialer places a fixed number of calls per available agent, for example two or three. On ViciDial this is RATIO mode with the dial level set by the manager. More talk time than progressive, and more risk of a person answering when nobody is free.
- Predictive dialing. The dialer changes the lines per agent through the shift, based on recent answer rates, average talk time and how many agents are about to finish a call. On ViciDial these are the ADAPT modes. The most talk time per agent hour, and the mode that needs the most watching.
Dial ratio, in one paragraph
The number of lines dialed per available agent is the dial ratio. Power dialing is a ratio that stays put; predictive dialing is a ratio that moves. A higher ratio means agents wait less between calls, but more answered calls find no agent free. On aged data, where most dials hit no-answers and machines, a higher ratio is how you keep a floor busy. On fresh leads, where most dials connect, the same ratio drops real prospects. The glossary entry on predictive dialing goes into the pacing logic.
The ratio also interacts with wrap-up time, the seconds an agent has after a call to set the disposition and type notes. Set wrap-up too short and the dialer counts agents as free when they are still typing, so it dials for people who cannot take the call. Set it too long and agents sit idle. On most transfer campaigns, a fronter needs only a few seconds after a transfer, but more after a callback that needs a note.
When to use which auto dialer mode
There is no best mode, only the right mode for your list, your floor size and your compliance position.
- Small floor, under about 10 agents: progressive or a low power ratio. Predictive algorithms need enough agents to average across; with five agents they swing hard and drop calls.
- Large floor on aged data with low contact rates: predictive, because most dials do not reach a person and agents would sit idle on a low ratio.
- Fresh internet leads or callbacks: progressive or preview. Every contact is valuable, so you do not want any of them answered with nobody ready.
- A campaign already near your abandon limit: lower the ratio or drop to progressive, and check AMD settings before anything else.
- The tail of the night shift: watch predictive mode closely. As agents log off around 2am or 3am PKT, the algorithm can over-dial for a few minutes while it catches up.
Abandon rate: the cost of dialing ahead
An abandoned call is one a live person answers with no agent available to take it. The caller hears silence or a short message, then the line drops. Every mode except manual and preview can produce them, and power and predictive modes produce the most.
The US rules on abandoned calls are commonly summarized as: no more than 3 percent of live-answered calls abandoned, measured per campaign over a 30-day period, a short window in which a live agent must connect, and a recorded identifying message when one does not. Treat that as a summary, not advice. The rules have detail and exceptions, state rules can add to them, and you should confirm the current position with counsel before you set a target. The glossary entry on abandon rate shows how the number is calculated.
On ViciDial, the adaptive modes use a maximum drop percentage setting to hold the algorithm back. That setting limits the dialer's behavior; it does not make you compliant by itself. AMD affects the number too, because a human misread as a machine and a machine misread as a human both distort it. See answering-machine detection for how detection works on bot calls.
Separately, "automatic telephone dialing system" is a legal term under the TCPA with its own definition, and the FCC has said that AI-generated voices fall under the TCPA's rules on artificial or prerecorded voices. Both points bear on consent. Your dial mode does not settle them; your consent records and your counsel do.
How bots fit with each dialer mode
A voice bot replaces the fronter, not the dialer. The dialer still pulls the list, paces the calls and connects answered calls to whoever is in the seat. What changes is who is in the seat.
- Progressive: the simplest fit. A bot is ready the moment its last call ends, so the dialer places the next one without the wrap-up gap a human needs for notes.
- Power and predictive: the pacing logic still runs, but its purpose changes. Predictive dialing exists to keep humans busy without over-dialing. With bots, capacity comes from the number of bots rather than from squeezing more lines per seat.
- Preview and manual: rarely a fit, since these modes exist for human judgment before the dial.
- Closers stay human: whatever the fronting side runs, transfers still go to your closer in-group, so closer staffing sets the real limit.
Signs your dial mode is set wrong
You can usually tell from the floor before you open a report. These are the signals worth acting on.
- Fronters waiting 30 seconds or more between calls: the ratio is too low for the list, or the list is exhausted and the dialer is recycling numbers it already tried.
- Callers saying "hello? hello?" at the start of calls: the dialer is connecting calls late, often because AMD is taking too long or the ratio is too high. These callers hang up quickly and some complain.
- Drop rate climbing late in the shift: agents are logging off faster than a predictive mode adjusts. Lower the dial level manually for the last hours or switch to progressive.
- Agents getting a call before they finish the disposition: wrap-up time is set too short for the campaign, so dispositions get rushed and reports go wrong.
- Connect rate fine, contacts low: not a dial mode problem. Look at AMD, list age and caller ID reputation instead.
Before you change dial mode: a checklist
One B3 Voice bot holds one concurrent line, the same capacity as one fronter seat for a full shift. Twenty bots means twenty simultaneous calls. You scale by adding bots, not by raising a ratio, which keeps you clear of the over-dialing that pushes abandon rates up. The bots work inside your existing ViciDial or Convoso setup, on your caller ID and your dispositions; the ViciDial integration page has the details. Whether you add bots or not, run through this before switching modes on a campaign:
- Pull the last 30 days of abandon rate for the campaign
- Listen to a sample of calls dispositioned as answering machines
- Change one campaign at a time, never the whole floor at once
- Watch the real-time report for the first two hours after the change
- Compare transfers per agent hour before and after, not dials
- Write down what you changed and when, so the next shift manager knows
