What Is an Auto-Dialer?

What is an auto-dialer?

Auto-dialers are timesaving, predictive dialing software solutions available in several formats, including preview dialers, voice broadcasters, progressive dialers and predictive dialers. Businesses use them to improve the customer experience and ensure agents work as efficiently as possible. Auto-dialing features are a significant consideration when you choose a business phone system.

While saving a few seconds to find and dial a phone number may not seem like a big deal, large call centers and sales teams that handle tens of thousands of calls each year benefit from auto-dialers. Compared to manual dialing, an auto-dialer can significantly increase productivity by saving employees time or automating outreach.

Auto-dialers also allow local and state governments to send timely warning messages and crucial safety instructions via audio messages to people affected by natural disasters or emergencies.

How does auto-dialing work?

Traditional auto-dialers work alongside software and voice modems to assist human agents by eliminating time-consuming tasks and dialing phone numbers automatically. Once a call is answered, an auto-dialer can connect the call to a live agent or play a prerecorded message. If the call goes to the recipient’s voicemail, auto-dialers can leave a message or flag the number in their system to be contacted another day. 

Auto-dialing systems can free personnel to focus on their customers’ needs without wasting time dealing with ringing or unanswered calls. These systems typically include four elements:

1. Auto-dialer software
2. Human agents
3. Voice modem
4. Voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) or landlines

1. Auto-dialer software

Specialized software makes auto-dialing systems possible. Your service provider and software will dictate your auto-dialer’s specific features and capabilities. Most basic auto-dialing systems can run on everyday computers, with a direct correlation between central processing unit (CPU) power and audio quality. However, for contact centers that handle upward of 10,000 channels, you’ll need a powerful server rack with numerous CPU cores, ample memory and a fast broadband connection to support your system.

2. Human agents

While some auto-dialing systems are implemented to send prerecorded messages, live agents play a key role in many auto-dialing scenarios. At a minimum, you’ll need an employee to record messages, select the appropriate call list, choose the dialing mode and initiate the system. Many auto-dialing systems require numerous employees to handle inbound calls.

3. Voice modem

Voice modems are necessary to transmit and receive voice recordings over the phone line. This technology was developed for data and fax communications, so ensure any modem or device you use can handle voice transmissions. If you’re unsure whether a specific modem can handle voice communications, look for an indication that the hardware includes voicemail software.

4. VoIP or landlines

You can connect calls with auto-dialing systems through VoIP or landline phone setups. However, large-scale auto-dialing systems are moving toward cloud-based, integrated solutions that connect with some of the best customer relationship management (CRM) platforms and include extensive advanced features that may eliminate the need for a voice modem.

Callbacks are one such advanced feature. If you’ve ever contacted a customer service department and been given the option to hold or have someone return your call as soon as a representative is available, you’ve likely been routed through an auto-dialing system with a callback feature. If you opt to receive a callback, you’re essentially waiting for the auto-dialer software to find the next available agent and place your call the moment an agent is free. 

Best business phone systems with auto-dialers

Many of the best business phone systems offer an auto-dialer feature that can help your business reach a wider audience.

RingEX

RingEX provides legally compliant progressive, preview and predictive dialer features. These tools can help you reach out to your customers in a way that’s convenient for both of you. RingEX also boasts impressive integrations with other software that can help you manage sales and customer service.

Read our full RingEX review to learn about this platform’s other features, including team chat and messaging, video meetings and real-time note-taking.

Vonage

Vonage’s Contact Center offering includes a dialer feature called Connect that allows businesses to dial numbers automatically and present contacts with a callback business phone number in their area. The solution integrates with many CRM systems, helping your reps personalize calls with interaction history notes. The auto-dialer can deliver voicemails automatically and let agents preview who they are calling, helping them prepare for complex calls or skip specific customers.

Check out our full Vonage review to learn about this platform’s additional features, including an artificial intelligence (AI) virtual assistant.

Dialpad

If you use the Salesforce CRM platform, consider integrating Dialpad’s “power dialer” feature. The software lets you make calls directly from Salesforce, leave voicemails automatically for people who don’t answer and make domestic or international calls through the same platform. Dialpad also offers AI integrations that can help you determine what to say when connecting with prospects and customers.

Visit our full Dialpad review to learn more about this platform’s real-time analytics and reporting features and helpful speech coaching tools. Our Salesforce CRM review can also help you evaluate if a Dialpad-Salesforce integration would be worthwhile for your business. 

Ooma

Ooma’s Pro and Pro Plus plans include an auto dialer feature that calls numbers uploaded from a contact list automatically. With Ooma’s Pro and higher plans, you can also have Ooma call numbers automatically when you select them on web pages, saving you from dialing numbers or copying and pasting them manually into your phone software.

Our detailed Ooma review looks at other helpful features, including overhead paging and caller info matching.

Zoom

Zoom offers various unlimited and metered calling plans in addition to its ubiquitous video-conferencing software. If you’re using Zoom’s phone service, you can configure your computer or mobile phone to use Zoom to dial phone numbers automatically with a single click. You can also dial numbers automatically from web browsers, spreadsheets and other apps.

Read our full Zoom review for pricing and details on plan options and setup.

Who needs auto-dialing software?

Many industries and business types use auto-dialing software, including outbound sales, customer service, charities, political groups, local governments and even some of the best debt collection agencies. Here are some examples of typical use cases:

• Customer service: Large customer service teams with high incoming call volumes can use auto-dialing software to offer callbacks so customers can skip long hold times. 
• Political organizations: Political organizations and campaigns rely on auto-dialing software to reach potential voters with prerecorded messages designed to influence decision-making during election cycles. 
• Local agencies: Local government agencies and schools use dialer solutions to send crucial messages to residents about natural disasters or school closures due to inclement weather. 

Types of auto-dialing

Sales teams, call centers and government agencies utilize four main types of auto-dialing products:

• Preview dialers: Preview dialers let agents access a customer’s or sales lead’s identity. With this information, agents can personalize their sales pitch or access the appropriate tools they’ll need to perform technical support.
• Voice broadcasting: Voice broadcasting — or robocalling — is auto-dialing technology that sends a prerecorded message to a call recipient. If the recipient doesn’t answer the phone, voice broadcasting leaves a message. This system can also be used with various types of business surveys. For example, a recipient could be instructed to press a number on their phone with a corresponding touch tone to indicate their answer.
• Progressive dialers: Progressive dialers — or power dialers — will call every number on your contact list automatically in search of a live caller. Once an individual answers the phone call, progressive dialers route them to an available live agent. These systems increase productivity by giving agents more time to focus on selling, learning or collecting information.
• Predictive dialers: Predictive dialers use algorithms to predict when the next agent will become available and place a call seconds before that prediction. This high-rate dialer allows the computer to handle every unanswered call, freeing workers to focus on speaking with individuals on other lines. 

Pros and cons of auto-dialers

While auto-dialers have suffered from their association with robocalling and unwanted telemarketing, their widespread use benefits businesses and customers. Here’s a look at some of their pros and cons.

Pros

• Auto-dialers reduce agent wait times: Today’s most advanced auto-dialer systems include sophisticated voice detection technology that lets them know exactly when to route a call to a live operator in real time. This way, agents can hop from caller to caller quickly as there is no downtime spent waiting for ringing and unanswered phone calls. This feature boosts productivity and minimizes frustration.
• Auto-dialers increase conversion rates: The information provided by preview dialers can increase personalization in every human interaction. Preview dialers also provide sales agents with the information they need to identify highly qualified leads so they can spend their time where it is the most valuable for the company.
• Auto-dialers reduce customer wait times: Auto-dialing systems help inbound callers reach an agent easily with callback features, facilitating and improving customer communication. They don’t have to wait on hold, deal with an auto-attendant or leave a voicemail. 

Cons

• Auto-dialers require sufficient employees: Predictive auto-dialing systems typically require a large workforce. The predictive dialing algorithms don’t route calls based on availability; they predict the exact time an agent spends on each call and will start dialing the next number on their list a few seconds before the agent hangs up. If all your agents on a small team are busy, the individual on the other end of the line may not get through quickly.
• Auto-dialers may make errors when detecting live calls: Some auto-dialing software in lower-quality call conditions may struggle to distinguish between a live voice and a voicemail greeting. In these instances, voicemail greetings will be routed to live agents who then must decide to leave a voicemail or hang up — neither of which is the best use of their time.

Auto-dialer compliance issues

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) was enacted to address telephone marketing calls using auto-dialers. In 2012, the Federal Communications Commission revised the TCPA laws with the following stipulations:

• Telemarketers must obtain prior express written consent from consumers before robocalling them.
• Telemarketers can’t use an “established business relationship” to avoid getting consent from consumers when calling them on their home phones.
• Telemarketers must provide an automated, interactive opt-out mechanism during each robocall.

These rules work alongside the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry, which lets consumers opt out of telemarketing calls, with exceptions for “charities, political groups, debt collectors and surveys.” 

Understanding auto-dialer technology

Auto-dialer technology can be an excellent way to contact prospects and customers, provided you use it courteously and legally. Many phone system providers include auto-dialer options and you can also use a specific service or software for automatic dialing.

Various auto-dialer programs exist for different needs, including preview dialers that show information about who agents are calling, progressive dialers that call everyone on a list and predictive dialers that place calls based on when they estimate an agent will be available to handle them. 

Some auto-dialers integrate with other business software, including customer relationship management tools or allow you to make calls by clicking or tapping them in other applications. 

Steven Melendez contributed to this article.