A — Answering Machine

What A Means

The call was answered by an answering machine or voicemail system. This can be set by AMD detection or manually by an agent who hears a voicemail greeting. The contact exists and has an active number but was unavailable.

When This Status Is Set

The A status is triggered under two primary conditions. First, VICIdial’s AMD (Answering Machine Detection) engine analyzes the initial audio on a connected call and classifies it as a machine greeting based on cadence, duration, and silence patterns. Second, an agent who is routed the call may manually select A from the disposition screen after hearing a voicemail greeting play. When the campaign setting amd_send_to_vmx is enabled, the system can automatically route AMD-detected calls to a voicemail-drop extension, leaving a pre-recorded message without agent involvement. The resulting status written to the vicidial_list table depends on whether the AMD or the agent made the determination — A covers both paths unless the campaign is configured to split them into AA and AM substatus codes.

Impact on List Management

A leads are among the highest-value recycling targets in any outbound operation because the number is confirmed active and a real person owns the line — they simply were not available at the moment of the call. Always include A in your dial_status_filter so these leads re-enter the hopper after the configured recycling delay. When building lead recycling rules in the campaign’s lead_recycling settings, assign A a moderate attempt count ceiling (typically 3-5 additional attempts) with time-of-day variation to maximize the chance of catching the contact live. The vicidial_list.called_since_last_reset column tracks how many times each A lead has been redialed in the current cycle, allowing you to enforce per-status attempt caps without custom SQL. If your campaign uses adaptive_dl_diff_target, a high volume of A dispositions will factor into the algorithm’s pacing calculations since those calls consumed trunk time without producing a live conversation.

Best Practices

• Recycle A leads with time-of-day variation — try morning if previous A was afternoon

• If leaving voicemail via AMD, wait 2-3 days before recycling to allow callback

• Track A rate by time of day to optimize calling schedule — a spike during business hours suggests a predominantly mobile list where contacts are screening calls at work

• A rate above 40% suggests calling at wrong hours for your target demographic, or that AMD sensitivity needs tuning

• Cross-reference A leads against your inbound DID logs to identify contacts who called back after receiving a voicemail drop, and exclude those from further outbound attempts

• Use the vicidial_carrier_log to verify AMD accuracy — compare the carrier-reported answer duration against the AMD classification to detect false positives

Admin Configuration

System-level A status properties are managed under Admin → System Statuses, where you can adjust the selectable, human_answered, and category flags. Campaign-specific behavior for answering machine handling — including AMD sensitivity, amd_send_to_vmx, and the voicemail drop extension — is configured in Campaign Detail → AMD/VM Settings. The lead recycling delay and attempt limits for A are set in Campaign Detail → Lead Recycling, where A appears as a recyclable status with configurable attempt_delay and attempt_maximum values.

ViciStack’s List Management module monitors disposition distribution in real time — automatically adjusting recycling logic, dial_status_filter priorities, and hopper fill strategies based on how your dispositions are trending. No manual SQL, no spreadsheet audits.