Adapt Intensity Modifier explained

Most of the predictive settings on the campaign screen decide where the dial level ends up. The Adapt Intensity Modifier is different. It does not change the target the algorithm is aiming for, it changes how eagerly the dialer moves toward that target. Two campaigns can settle on the same final pace and yet feel completely different on the way there because one was told to be aggressive and the other to be cautious.

Positive versus negative

The field defaults to 0, which is neutral, and it accepts both positive and negative numbers. A positive value makes the dialer raise the pace more quickly when it decides to speed up, and lower it more slowly when it decides to slow down. In other words, it leans toward dialing harder. A negative value does the opposite: it raises the pace slowly and yanks it back down fast. That makes a negative number the cautious setting, useful when you care more about protecting against drops than about squeezing out throughput.

A concrete example makes it click. Say the algorithm has just decided the ideal Dial level is 2.0, but the campaign is currently sitting at 1.0. With an intensity modifier of -10, the dialer will not jump straight to 2.0, it will inch up to only 1.9 on that step. The modifier slowed how fast it closed the gap. Set it positive instead and it would have closed that gap faster, possibly overshooting and correcting.

Where it applies

This is a Predictive dialing field through and through. It is ignored by the MANUAL and RATIO dial methods, because in those modes the dialer is not the one deciding the pace, so there is nothing for an intensity setting to modify. It only earns its keep under the adaptive methods that let VICIdial adjust Dialer pacing on its own.

When you would touch it

Leave it at 0 unless you have a specific reason. If your lists answer in unpredictable bursts and the dialer keeps overshooting into drops, a negative modifier smooths that out by making it climb cautiously and retreat quickly. If your contact rate is steady and you feel the dialer is too timid coming out of a lull, a small positive number gets it back up to speed faster. The change is subtle, so move it a few points at a time and watch your real-time numbers. For how this slots in with the rest of the predictive controls, see the .

One thing to keep clear in your head: the modifier does not raise or lower your safety ceilings. Your Drop Percentage Limit and Maximum Adapt Dial Level still bound the outcome exactly as before. The intensity setting only governs the speed of travel between where the pace is now and where the algorithm wants it to go. A campaign with a hot intensity setting can still be perfectly compliant, it just reaches its target pace in fewer steps and lingers there longer when things slow down.

A practical way to use it: if you notice your agents going idle every time the dialer pulls back after a brief slow patch, and then taking too long to recover, a modest positive value keeps the pace from sagging so far. If instead you see brief spikes in drops right after the dialer speeds up, that is the signal to go slightly negative so it eases into higher pacing rather than lunging at it.

If a jumpy intensity setting is your way of chasing a stubborn drop rate, the modifier is usually treating a symptom. Our guide to covers the settings that more directly move the needle, and a managed box on ships tuned so you rarely need to reach for this dial at all.