Autodialer or AI operator: the two kinds of automated calls

How an autodialer works

An autodialer calls the numbers on a list one after another and plays a pre-recorded message. It is often an add-on of a PBX or virtual PBX. Some ask you to “press 1 to confirm” at the end.

It is handy for getting one short message to many people, such as a new office address or new opening hours. But if the customer asks “How much is it?” or “Can I come tomorrow?”, the recording can’t answer. People may also take it for an ad and hang up before the end.

How an AI operator works

An AI operator also calls a list, but it doesn’t play a recording. It greets the customer in your company’s name, says why it is calling and listens. If the customer asks something, it answers from your company’s information. If they agree, it books the appointment or confirms the order. If they say “I’m busy right now”, it asks when suits them and calls back then.

After each call the result is written down: what the customer said, whether they are interested, what the next step is. You see it in the portal and can download it to Excel. More about the operator itself: what is an AI voice operator.

The difference at a glance

Which one for which job

• A one-way announcement (new address, hours, maintenance): a recording will do.
• You need the customer’s answer (are they coming, when will they pay, is the order right): an AI operator.
• Calling a website or Instagram lead: an AI operator. The customer will have questions and needs to be qualified.
• An offer or news for past customers: an AI operator. It explains more to those who are interested and politely says goodbye to the rest.
• A reminder the day before a visit, or an order confirmation: an AI operator. If the customer can’t come, it agrees another time. See education centres and online stores for examples.
• A short survey: an AI operator. It writes down the answers, and you download the results to Excel.

Example: a lesson reminder

An autodialer would only have said “you have a lesson tomorrow”. The customer couldn’t have moved it, and the seat would have stayed empty. The AI operator moved the lesson and wrote the result to the portal.

Rules for calling lists

Whichever kind you choose, the rules are the same:

• Call only people you may call: those who enquired, gave consent or are already your customers.
• Call at reasonable hours. In Sado you set the calling hours yourself, for example every day 9:00–20:00 or only during working hours.
• Anyone who says “don’t call me” is not called again.
• A daily limit and a stop button: one button stops all calls.
• If you want, the operator says at the start that the call is recorded.

How to measure an auto-call

“How many numbers we called” says little. After each auto-call, look at:

• How many people answered and talked.
• How many agreed: booked, named a payment date or confirmed the order.
• How many asked to be called later.
• How many said “don’t call again”. If there are many, review the list or the brief.

The Sado portal shows all of this for every person: status, result, interest and next step.

How to start with Sado

In the portal’s Auto-calls section, a new auto-call is three questions: who to call (an Excel file, Google Sheets, your CRM or requests in the portal), what it is about and when. Then one Start button. How to prepare the list, step by step: calling a customer list from Excel or Google Sheets.

The price is the same as for incoming calls: talked minutes only, 800 so‘m a minute. Numbers that don’t answer cost nothing. More: AI outbound calls and pricing.

Questions