Product feature
Call Retries, Calling Hours and Callbacks for AI Voice Agents
Outpero decides when an AI employee calls and how often it tries again. For instant leads the defaults are a 10-second call delay, calling hours of 09:00 to 20:00 IST and retries after 20 and 120 minutes, which makes three attempts. Bulk campaigns add five retry modes, up to 10 attempts, and voicemail detection. Platform limits keep every call inside legal hours.
* Time from the lead reaching Outpero to the first ring, under normal conditions. It depends on how quickly your lead source delivers the lead.
At a glance
Call retries and calling windows: the short version
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Instant defaults | 10-second call delay, 09:00-20:00 IST, retries at 20 and 120 minutes for three attempts in total |
| Legal clamp | Bulk calls 09:00-21:00 and instant calls 06:00-22:00; you can narrow these but never widen them |
| Bulk retries | Modes same run, next day, a few days later, spread across the day and after the whole list; 1 to 10 attempts |
| Voicemail | Detection is on by default; the call is tagged voicemail and ended without leaving a message |
| Callbacks | Smart follow-ups reschedules a callback for the time the caller asked, with earlier details carried over |
| Call length | A maximum of 600 seconds by default, with an automatic end-call check after each agent turn |
On a call
How call retries and calling windows works, step by step
- 01A lead arrives or a campaign contact comes up, and Outpero checks the calling days, the holiday list, the calling window and the Do-Not-Call list before dialling.
- 02If the lead arrived outside calling hours, the employee's off-hours rule decides whether to call when hours next open, after a fixed delay, on manual release, or never.
- 03When the call connects, voicemail detection listens to the greeting and, if it hears a machine, hangs up and tags the call voicemail without leaving a message.
- 04If nobody answers, the retry ladder or the campaign's retry mode books the next attempt until the attempt limit is reached.
- 05When a caller asks to be phoned at a particular time and Smart follow-ups is on, the next call is booked for that time with the earlier details attached.
Hear how a call goes
A sample call that uses call retries and calling windows
A second attempt at a coaching-centre enquiry, with Smart follow-ups switched on and the first attempt's details attached. · Runs in Tamil with English words; shown here in English.
- Outpero AIVanakkam Priya, this is Kavya, an AI assistant from Sunrise Coaching. You asked about the NEET batch this morning. Is this a good time to talk?
- CallerI am in a meeting right now. Can you call me back later?
- Outpero AIOf course. What time would suit you today?
- CallerAround 6 in the evening would be fine.
- Outpero AII will call you at 6 pm today. From this morning I have noted that you are looking at the weekend batch. Is that still correct?
- CallerYes, weekend batch only.
- Outpero AIThank you, Priya. Speak to you at 6 pm.
- CallerOkay, bye.
Illustrative. The call is classified as callback, a follow-up is booked for 6 pm IST that day, and the weekend-batch preference is carried into that call.
An example written to show the shape of the call, not a recording or a customer result.
In the product
Set up call retries and calling windows
- 01For instant leads, open the AI employee, go to the Instant leads tab and find the Calling policy card.
- 02Set the Call delay in seconds, the Calling window start and end, and choose Auto-send, Manual release or Skip under Leads outside calling hours.
- 03Edit the Retry if no answer steps in minutes, select the Calling days, add any holiday dates, then set Max at once and the Duplicate lead window before pressing Save calling policy.
- 04For bulk, tick Auto-Retry for Unanswered Calls when creating the campaign, choose the retry mode and attempt limit, and optionally tick Schedule Campaign for Later and pick once, daily or weekly.
- 05To enable callbacks at the time the caller asked, open Settings and switch on Smart follow-ups.
In detail
Call retries and calling windows explained
The instant-lead calling policy
Each AI employee that handles instant leads has a Calling policy card. These are the settings and their defaults.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Call delay | 10 seconds | Wait after the lead arrives before dialling |
| Calling window | 09:00-20:00 IST | Daily start and end of calling |
| Leads outside calling hours | Your choice | Call at next opening, after a delay, hold for manual release, or skip |
| Retry if no answer | 20 and 120 minutes | Three attempts in total; up to 9 steps |
| Calling days and holidays | Set per employee | Days of the week and dates never called |
| Duplicate lead window | 5 minutes | Repeat of the same number is skipped |
| Respect Do-Not-Call list | Toggle | Skip numbers the account has opted out |
Max at once caps how many calls this employee runs together. Concurrency across the account is sold as channels.
Bulk campaign retries
Bulk campaigns have their own retry settings, switched on with Auto-Retry for Unanswered Calls. Attempts per contact run from 1 to 10, with 3 as the platform default.
- —Same run: retry inside the campaign after gaps you set in minutes.
- —The next day: retry as soon as tomorrow's window opens.
- —A few days later: leave a gap of days for people who asked for space.
- —Spread across the day: each retry lands at a different time of day.
- —After the whole list: everyone gets a first call before anyone gets a second.
A campaign can also be scheduled for later and set to repeat daily or weekly. Calling days and holidays work as they do for instant leads.
Voicemail, callbacks and ending a call
Voicemail detection is on by default. When it hears an answering machine it ends the call, tags it voicemail and leaves no message. Smart follow-ups, found under Settings, books a follow-up at the time a caller asked for and carries the earlier details into it.
After each agent turn a check decides whether the call should end, using any call-end rules the owner wrote, and a call is cut at 600 seconds by default.
Put it to work
What teams use call retries and calling windows for
| Use | How it helps |
|---|---|
| Evening reach-out for working people | Set a retry ladder with a long second gap so the second attempt lands after office hours instead of minutes after the first. |
| Spreading attempts across the day | Use the spread retry mode on a bulk list so a contact who never answers at 10 am gets tried in the afternoon and evening. |
| Holding late-night enquiries | Choose Auto-send with the next opening of calling hours so a lead that arrives at midnight is called in the morning rather than skipped. |
| Callbacks at the promised time | Let a caller who says phone me at 6 get exactly that call, without a person tracking the promise in a sheet. |
| Festival and holiday pauses | Add holiday dates and untick calling days so no calls go out on days your customers expect quiet. |
Straight answers
What call retries and calling windows does not do
- !Customers can only narrow the platform's calling-hours limit, which is 09:00 to 21:00 for bulk and 06:00 to 22:00 for instant calls; a wider window set in the app is not honoured.
- !Voicemail detection is tuned for English greetings, so a regional-language voicemail greeting may be missed and treated as a person.
- !The agent hangs up on voicemail and does not leave a message, and there is no SMS or WhatsApp fallback built into the retry logic.
- !Callback rescheduling needs the Smart follow-ups switch, which is off by default and also turns on caller memory for that account.
- !Instant retries are capped at 10 attempts including the first call, and bulk attempts are capped at 10 as well.
Call retries and calling windows: questions people ask
What are the default calling hours for the AI voice agent?
+
For instant leads the default calling window is 09:00 to 20:00 IST. You can narrow it, for example to 10:00 to 18:00. The platform also applies a legal limit that you cannot widen: 09:00 to 21:00 for bulk campaigns and 06:00 to 22:00 for instant leads. Calls outside the window are held, skipped or delayed depending on your setting.
How many times does the AI retry an unanswered lead?
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For instant leads the default ladder is a retry after 20 minutes and another after 120 minutes, so three attempts in total. You can edit the gaps and add steps, up to 10 attempts including the first call. Bulk campaigns offer 1 to 10 attempts per contact, with 3 as the default.
What happens to a lead that arrives at night?
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It follows the Leads outside calling hours rule. Auto-send calls when calling hours next open or after a fixed delay such as 3 hours, 6 hours or next day, never outside the window. Manual release holds the lead for you to release, and Skip never calls it. Choose according to how time-sensitive your leads are.
Does the AI leave a voicemail message?
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No. When voicemail detection hears an answering machine, the agent hangs up and the call is tagged voicemail. Detection is on by default but is tuned for English greetings, so a greeting in Telugu, Tamil or another regional language may be missed and treated as a normal answer. Use a post-call webhook set to voicemail only to track these.
Can the AI call back at the time the customer asked?
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Yes, when Smart follow-ups is switched on under Settings. If a caller says to phone at 6 pm, the follow-up call is booked for that time and carries the details captured earlier, so the agent does not start from scratch. The same switch also turns on caller memory, and both are off until you enable them.
Can I call outside the legal hours if the customer agrees?
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No. The platform clamps every campaign to its legal window, 09:00 to 21:00 for bulk and 06:00 to 22:00 for instant calls, and customers can only narrow it. This protects your account and the people you call. If a customer wants a call at another time, schedule it inside those hours.
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