Outbound Dialing Modes
| Topic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Navigation | Admin → Outbound → Campaign Management |
| Purpose | Select the dialing strategy that determines how the system places calls and connects agents |
| Default Mode | Preview |
| Number of Modes | 6 — Preview, Progressive, Power, Predictive, Agentless, External |
✅ Verified against Genesys Cloud Resource Center — March 2026
Dialing Mode Comparison
| Mode | Who Dials | Agent Required | Best For | Min Agents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preview | Agent manually | Yes | High-value sales, debt collections, B2B | 1+ |
| Progressive | System — 1 call per agent | Yes | Compliance-sensitive, moderate volume | Any |
| Power | System — multiple per agent | Yes | High volume with controlled abandonment | 15+ recommended |
| Predictive | System — AI-paced | Yes | Maximum efficiency, large call centers | 15+ required |
| Agentless | System — no agent | No | Notifications, surveys, IVR delivery, reminders | None |
| External | System — routes to external | Yes | Routing to external agents or systems | Any |
Preview Mode
In Preview mode, the agent receives a contact record and manually decides when to dial.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Agent control | Agent reviews contact info before calling |
| Timer | Optional countdown — system auto-dials when timer expires |
| Agent-owned records | Agents can own specific contacts and handle all retries |
| Efficiency | Lowest efficiency — highest quality per contact |
| Compliance | Safest mode — no risk of abandoned calls from over-dialing |
| Best use | Collections, high-value B2B sales, sensitive outreach requiring personalization |
⚠️ Preview campaigns ignore pacing options — the agent controls the pace entirely.
Progressive Mode
In Progressive mode, the system automatically dials exactly one call per available agent.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dialing ratio | 1 call : 1 available agent — always |
| Abandoned calls | Near-zero risk — there is always an agent ready when a contact answers |
| Call analysis | Detects live person vs. answering machine before connecting to agent |
| Efficiency | Moderate — no wasted agent time waiting for answers, but no over-dialing |
| Compliance | Excellent — guarantees agent availability; no abandoned call risk |
| Best use | Compliance-sensitive environments, smaller agent pools, regulated industries |
💡 Progressive is the recommended mode when you have fewer than 15 agents and cannot use Predictive.
Power Mode
Power mode dials multiple calls per available agent using a pacing algorithm.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dialing ratio | More than 1 call per agent — determined by pacing algorithm |
| Pacing | Algorithm predicts when an agent becomes available and pre-dials accordingly |
| Call analysis | Required — system drops or routes unanswered/machine calls |
| Abandoned calls | Risk exists — compliance abandon monitoring required |
| Efficiency | High — maximizes agent talk time |
| Compliance | Monitor abandon rate carefully — FTC/OFCOM limits apply |
| Best use | High-volume campaigns where efficiency is more important than zero abandons |
| Min agents recommended | 15+ |
Predictive Mode
Predictive mode uses a patented stage-based AI algorithm to forecast agent availability and pre-dial contacts accordingly.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dialing | System automatically places calls based on predicted agent availability |
| Algorithm | Patented pacing — adjusts dynamically based on real-time agent stats |
| Call analysis | Full detection — live person, answering machine, busy, no answer |
| Efficiency | Highest — maximizes talk time, minimizes idle time |
| Abandoned calls | Risk exists — pacing must be tuned to stay within compliance thresholds |
| Min agents required | 15 agents minimum — smaller pools make predictions inaccurate |
| Best use | Large-volume outbound operations (sales, collections, surveys) with 15+ agents |
⚠️ With fewer than 15 agents, Predictive's algorithm lacks sufficient data — use Progressive instead.
Agentless Mode
Agentless mode dials contacts and delivers pre-recorded messages, surveys, or IVR flows without connecting to a live agent.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Agent required | No |
| Content | Recorded voice messages, IVR flows, opt-out prompts |
| Opt-out | Include "Press 9 to opt out" in the IVR flow to manage DNC compliance |
| Answering machine | System can detect and play a different message for machines vs. live answers |
| Live party | Call is transferred to an Architect Inbound Call Flow for IVR handling |
| Requires Inbound | Agentless campaigns require Inbound call routing to be implemented |
| Best use | Appointment reminders, payment notifications, fraud alerts, surveys, outage notifications |
External Calling Mode
External calling routes answered calls to an external phone number or SIP destination instead of an internal Genesys Cloud queue.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Routing | Calls are bridged to an external system or phone number |
| Use case | Third-party agent environments, outsourced contact centers |
Call Analysis
Call Analysis (also called AMD — Answering Machine Detection) is the process of detecting what answered the call before connecting it to an agent or playing a message.
| Detection Result | Default Action |
|---|---|
| Live Person | Connect to agent or play IVR |
| Answering Machine | Disconnect, play message, or leave voicemail |
| Busy Signal | Record result, retry based on attempt control |
| No Answer | Record result, retry based on attempt control |
| Invalid Number | Mark uncallable |
Call analysis is configured in a Call Analysis Response Table, which is then assigned to a campaign.
Campaign Priority
When multiple campaigns share the same ACD queue, priority determines how lines are distributed:
| Priority | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Lowest — fewest calls per agent relative to other campaigns |
| 5 | Highest — proportionally more calls per agent |
Agents participate in multiple campaigns automatically via the queues they are active in. No manual assignment per campaign is needed.
Choosing the Right Dialing Mode
| Scenario | Recommended Mode |
|---|---|
| High-value B2B sales — agent needs to personalize each call | Preview |
| Collections — compliance-sensitive, regulated | Progressive |
| High-volume sales, 15+ agents, moderate compliance risk | Power |
| Maximum efficiency, large center, 15+ agents | Predictive |
| Appointment reminders, payment alerts, fraud notifications | Agentless |
| Fewer than 15 agents, need auto-dialing | Progressive |
Interview Cheat Sheet
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is the default campaign dialing mode? | Preview |
| Which mode dials 1 call per available agent? | Progressive |
| Which mode requires minimum 15 agents? | Predictive (and recommended for Power) |
| Which mode has no agents involved? | Agentless |
| What is Call Analysis? | Detection of live person, answering machine, busy, or no answer before connecting to agent |
| What is the abandoned call risk in Progressive mode? | Near-zero — one call per agent guarantees availability |
| What happens with fewer than 15 agents in Predictive mode? | Pacing predictions become inaccurate — use Progressive instead |
| What must Agentless campaigns implement? | Inbound call routing (Architect flow) |