Answering Machine Detection

Who should read this article: Administrators

Answering Machine Detection (AMD) analyzes outbound and Dialer campaign calls to determine whether they are answered by a person or an answering machine.

Introduction

Answering Machine Detection (AMD) is a Voiso technology that analyzes every outgoing answered call to determine whether the call is answered by a person or an answering machine. AMD automatically ends calls answered by machine so that agents do not waste time on calls that are not answered by a person.

Use Case: Using AMD to save agent's time

Use AMD in your Dialer campaigns to ensure your agents' time is not wasted connecting to calls answered by an answering machine. Voiso takes care of analyzing the call and detecting answering machines. If Voiso detects a person answering the call, the call is connected to an agent. If Voiso detects an answering machine, Voiso disconnects the call and reports the disposition as Machine answered and the End reason as Machine disconnected.

For manually dialed calls, an agent sees the call stages displayed at the bottom of the Agent Panel. When the call stage changes from Dialing to Outbound, AMD checks to see if the call is answered by a person or an answering machine. It ends the call if an answering machine is detected. The message Voicemail disconnect is displayed in the Agent Panel so the agent knows why the call ended. If no answering machine is detected, the call proceeds normally.

Instead of ending a manual or click-to-call call that reaches voicemail, Voiso can leave a voice message on it. Refer to Leaving a voice message on manual and click-to-call calls.

Enabling AMD in your Dialer campaign

If AMD is available for your contact center, you can enable the feature for Dialer campaigns by following these steps:

1. Navigate to Outbound > Dialer campaigns in the Voiso navigation bar.
2. In the Campaigns page, click Add Dialer campaign.
3. In the Add Dialer campaign page, click Answering Machine Detection (AMD).
4. If you want to specify a pre-recorded voice message that is automatically played when the system detects that Voicemail has started recording a message, click Leave Voice message on Voicemail, then select a voice message from your media library from the Voice message menu.
   
5. Click Save.

For Dialer campaigns, the Max dial attempts and redial rules apply to machine-disconnected calls. You can also create specific redial rules that include Machine answered calls.

Enabling AMD for all outbound calls

If AMD is available for your contact center, you can enable the feature for agents who handle outbound calls.

There are two different procedures for enabling AMD, depending on whether you use the Voiso Security Access Groups feature in your environment or not.

Enabling AMD for a single agent

In environments without Security Access Groups enabled, you can enable AMD for all outbound phone calls for a single agent by following these steps:

1. On the Voiso navigation bar, navigate to Users > Users.
2. Select a user to edit their account properties.
3. In the Edit user page, select Enable Answering Machine Detection.
   
4. Click Save.

Enabling AMD for multiple agents

In environments without Security Access Groups enabled, you can enable AMD for all outbound phone calls for multiple agents by following these steps:

1. Prepare a .csv file of agent names and properties. For more information about creating and using Agent CSV files, refer to Users.
2. In the Enable Answering Machine Detection column, specify y (yes) for each agent to whom you want to assign the AMD feature.
3. In the Voiso navigation bar, navigate to Users > Users.
4. Click CSV import and select your .csv file.

Enabling AMD with Security Access Groups

In environments with Security Access Groups enabled, you can enable AMD for all outbound phone calls for a single agent by following these steps:

1. On the Voiso navigation bar, navigate to Administration > Security access groups.
2. Create a new security access group by clicking Add access group.
3. In the Outbound section of the Add access group page, select Enable Answering Machine Detection.

4. Click Save.
5. Add agents to the new security access group. On the Voiso navigation bar, navigate to Users > Users.
6. Select a user to edit their account properties.
7. In the Edit user page, select the new security access group you created with AMD enabled.

8. Click Save.
9. Repeat steps 6 through 8 for each user.

Leaving a voice message on manual and click-to-call calls

By default, when AMD detects voicemail on a manual or click-to-call call, the call ends. Instead, Voiso can release the agent from the call and leave a pre-recorded voice message on the contact's voicemail. The agent is free for the next call while the message is left.

The message is chosen once for the whole contact center and switched on for each user.

Choosing the voice message

1. On the Voiso navigation bar, navigate to Administration > System settings, then select the Features tab.
2. In the Leave voice message on voicemail section, select the message in the Voice message menu. Only media files of the Voice message type are listed.
3. Click Save.

Turning it on for users

Select Leave voice message on voicemail for the users whose calls should leave the message:

• In contact centers without Security Access Groups, select it on the user's Edit user page, or set the Leave voice message on voicemail column to y in a user CSV file.
• In contact centers with Security Access Groups, select the Leave voice message on voicemail permission in the Outbound section of the user's access group.

Selecting Leave voice message on voicemail also selects Enable Answering Machine Detection, Allow manual outbound calls, and Allow click-to-call, because the message is left only on calls that AMD analyzes. The option is shown only when AMD is enabled for your contact center, and it is not selected for new users or new access groups.

Monitoring and Reporting for AMD

When AMD is enabled in an environment, the AMD features are added to campaign monitoring widgets and as a Disposition code in the CDR.

The Campaign Status widget displays whether AMD is On or Off for campaigns that have AMD enabled.

The ASR w/o AMD-answered field is also added to the widget. This field calculates Answer Seizure Ratio – the ratio of non-machine-answered calls to total calls – using the following formula:

(total_answered_calls - machine_answered_calls) / total_call * 100%

The Campaign - Call Disposition widget displays Machine answered for campaigns that have AMD enabled.

The Machine answered disposition is added for any call answered by a machine. Calls can be analyzed in the CDR by filtering for Machine answered in the Disposition field and by Machine disconnected in the End reason field.