AB — Auto Busy

What AB Means

Busy signal received and automatically dispositioned by the system without agent involvement. Distinct from agent-set B status. Allows separate tracking of system-detected versus agent-reported busy signals.

When This Status Is Set

The AB status is assigned automatically by Asterisk when the outbound call receives a SIP 486 (Busy Here) or equivalent busy signal response from the carrier, and the campaign is configured to handle busy outcomes without routing them to an agent screen. This distinguishes AB from the agent-set B status, giving managers a clear separation between system-detected and agent-reported busy signals in reporting. In most predictive dialing configurations, busy calls never reach an agent at all — Asterisk receives the carrier response, writes AB to the vicidial_list table via the call log process, and releases the trunk immediately. The call attempt is recorded in vicidial_log with the appropriate status and term_reason fields, preserving full audit trail data.

Impact on List Management

AB leads are strong recycling candidates because a busy signal confirms the number is active and in use — the contact simply was not available at that exact moment. Include AB in your dial_status_filter with a short recycling delay, typically 15-30 minutes, to give the contact time to finish their current call. In the lead_recycling configuration, AB should receive a higher maximum attempt count than NA or A since each AB attempt consumes minimal trunk time and the probability of reaching the contact on a subsequent try is high. Be aware that on mobile-heavy lists, carrier-level call blocking can sometimes return busy signals even when the contact’s line is not actually in use — if your AB rate exceeds 10-15% on known mobile lists, investigate whether your outbound caller ID has been flagged by STIR/SHAKEN attestation or carrier analytics.

Best Practices

• Include AB in dial_status_filter for recycling with a 15-30 minute delay between attempts

• AB recycling should have higher attempt ceilings than most statuses since trunk cost per attempt is minimal

• High AB rates on mobile lists may indicate carrier-level call blocking rather than genuine busy signals — run a STIR/SHAKEN attestation check on your outbound DIDs

• Compare AB rates across different SIP trunks to identify routing paths with elevated blocking behavior

• Track AB-to-contact conversion rate across recycle attempts to determine the optimal number of retries before suppression

Admin Configuration

AB is a system-level status managed under Admin → System Statuses. It is not agent-selectable by default since it is assigned automatically by the dialer. Campaign-level recycling behavior for AB — including the delay interval between attempts and the maximum number of recycling passes — is configured in Campaign Detail → Lead Recycling. If you want AB calls to route to agents instead of being auto-dispositioned, adjust the campaign’s cpd_unknown_action and busy-handling settings in Campaign Detail → Dialing Options.

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.