Call Issues

This guide covers the most common problems with outbound AI calls and how to resolve them. Work through the issue that matches your situation.

Calls Are Showing as "Spam Likely" or "Scam"

Problem: Recipients see a "Spam Likely," "Scam," or "Potential Fraud" label when you call — leading them to ignore or reject your calls.

Solution: Spam labels are assigned by carriers and mobile devices based on calling patterns and number reputation. Here is how to reduce them:

Set up STIR/SHAKEN attestation. This is a carrier-level verification that tells recipients your calls are from a legitimate, registered caller. Go to Settings > Caller ID to complete this setup. Full attestation (A-level) significantly reduces spam labeling.
Register your CNAM (Caller ID Name). CNAM displays your business name on the recipient's phone instead of just a number. Register your display name under Settings > Caller ID.
Warm up new numbers gradually. Brand-new phone numbers have no calling history. Start with a low call volume for the first few days before ramping up. Sudden high volume on a new number is a common trigger for spam flags.
Stay within recommended daily limits. Avoid making an unusually high number of calls per number per day. Spread calls across your number pool if possible.

For a full guide, see Caller ID Setup and Maximizing Connect Rates.

Low Connect Rates

Problem: You are placing calls but very few are being answered.

Solution: Connect rates are influenced by several factors. Check each of the following:

Call timing. The best times to reach people are 10 AM–12 PM and 2 PM–5 PM in the recipient's local time zone. Calls placed in the early morning, evening, or on weekends typically have much lower answer rates. Verify your campaign's calling hours are set accordingly.
Caller ID setup. Numbers with no verified name or poor STIR/SHAKEN attestation are more likely to be ignored. Confirm your caller ID is configured under Settings > Caller ID.
List quality. Disconnected, invalid, or outdated phone numbers inflate your unanswered call count. Regularly clean and verify your contact lists before uploading.
Number rotation. If you are calling the same contacts repeatedly from the same number, they may start ignoring it. Rotating your caller ID numbers across calls can help maintain answer rates.

AI Agent Is Not Speaking / Silent Calls

Problem: The call connects but the AI agent says nothing — the recipient hears silence.

Solution: This almost always means the AI agent is missing essential configuration. Check the following in Settings > AI Agents:

System prompt is set. The agent needs instructions that tell it what to say and how to behave. Without a system prompt, the agent has no guidance and will not respond.
Greeting is configured. Make sure the agent has an opening greeting — the first thing it says when someone answers.
Run a test call first. Before launching a campaign, use the Test Call feature to verify the agent responds correctly in a live call.

Calls Ending Immediately

Problem: Calls connect for only a second or two and then drop.

Solution: Two common causes:

Wallet balance is depleted. Volume Reach requires available funds to place calls. Go to Billing > Wallet and confirm your balance is sufficient. If your wallet ran out mid-call, that call may have been cut short. Add funds to resume.
Phone number is inactive. If the caller ID number is no longer active on your account, calls will fail to complete. Go to Settings > Phone Numbers and verify the number is listed and active.

Campaign Is Not Dialing

Problem: You launched a campaign but no calls are going out.

Solution: Run through this checklist:

Campaign status is Active. Campaigns in Draft or Paused status will not dial. Open the campaign and confirm it is set to Active.
Contacts are assigned. The campaign needs a contact list with phone numbers. Verify that contacts have been uploaded and assigned to the campaign channel.
Wallet has available funds. Campaigns will not start — or will stop mid-run — if your wallet balance is zero. Check Billing > Wallet.
Calling hours are configured. If the campaign's calling hours window has not started yet, or has already closed for the day, it will not dial. Verify the hours in your campaign settings.

Voicemail Drop Not Working

Problem: The AI agent is reaching voicemail but not leaving a message.

Solution: Voicemail drops require a template to be assigned at the campaign channel level. Open the campaign, go to the channel settings, and confirm that a voicemail template is selected. If no template is assigned, the system will not know what message to leave.

Wrong Call Outcomes Being Recorded

Problem: Calls are being classified with the wrong outcome — for example, a connected conversation is marked as "No Answer," or a voicemail is labeled as "Connected."

Solution: Outcome classification is driven by the AI agent's system prompt. Vague or general instructions can lead to misclassified results. To improve accuracy:

Open the agent settings and review the system prompt.
Add explicit, specific instructions about how to identify each outcome. For example, describe exactly what a "Connected" conversation looks like versus a voicemail versus a hang-up.
Run a test call after updating the prompt to verify the classification is correct before relaunching.

See AI Agent Call Flow for guidance on writing effective outcome classification instructions.

"Ring No Answer" on Every Call

Problem: All calls are resulting in "Ring No Answer" — the phone rings but nobody picks up, or it seems like calls are not completing normally.

Solution: If every call results in Ring No Answer — even to numbers you know are active — the phone numbers you are calling from may be flagged by carriers. Flagged numbers can ring on the caller's end while appearing to have no answer, or may be silently rejected.

Try adding new, unflagged numbers to your account and using those to place calls.
Check your STIR/SHAKEN attestation level. Numbers with no attestation or low attestation are more likely to be filtered.
Avoid calling the same number multiple times in a short window, which can trigger carrier-level blocks.