AMDSTATUS

AMDSTATUS is the Asterisk channel variable that contains the result of answering machine detection analysis for each call. After AMD processes the initial audio of an answered call, it sets the AMDSTATUS variable to a value indicating its classification — typically HUMAN, MACHINE, NOTSURE, or HANGUP — which VICIdial then uses to make routing decisions.

How It Works in VICIdial

When AMD is enabled on a campaign, each answered outbound call is processed by the AMD application before being routed. The AMD algorithm analyzes the first few seconds of audio and sets two channel variables: AMDSTATUS (the classification result) and AMDCAUSE (the reasoning — such as TOOLONG, INITIALSILENCE, or HUMAN-GREETING-DETECTED).

VICIdial’s dialplan reads the AMDSTATUS value and applies the configured AMD agent route options. A status of HUMAN routes the call to an agent. MACHINE triggers the machine-handling logic (drop, voicemail message, or alternate routing). NOTSURE indicates the algorithm could not confidently classify the audio — VICIdial handles these based on the campaign’s uncertainty routing preference.

The AMDSTATUS value is logged in VICIdial’s call records, enabling after-the-fact analysis of AMD accuracy. By comparing AMDSTATUS classifications against agent-reported dispositions, administrators can measure AMD false positive and false negative rates and tune parameters accordingly.

Why It Matters

Understanding AMDSTATUS values is essential for troubleshooting and optimizing AMD performance. If agents report hearing many answering machines (false negatives), checking the AMDSTATUS logs reveals whether AMD is classifying them as HUMAN or NOTSURE. If leads complain about being hung up on (false positives), AMDSTATUS logs show MACHINE classifications that should have been HUMAN.

AMDSTATUS data is also valuable for list quality analysis — a list with a high percentage of MACHINE classifications indicates a high voicemail-to-live-answer ratio, which may suggest outdated data or inappropriate calling times. See our VICIdial AMD guide for AMDSTATUS analysis techniques.