Campaign Recording modes explained: NEVER, ONDEMAND, ALLCALLS, ALLFORCE

The Campaign Recording menu has exactly four settings, and the difference between them comes down to two questions: does recording start by itself, and can the agent stop it. Once you understand those two axes, picking the right mode for a Campaign is straightforward. Here is what each value actually does.

NEVER

NEVER disables all recording on the client. No audio is captured, and the agent has no way to start it from the agent screen. The record button does nothing because there is nothing to control. Use this for campaigns where recording is not allowed or not wanted, such as a line operating in a region with strict consent rules you have decided not to handle, or an internal test campaign where you do not want files piling up and eating disk. It is the only mode that produces no Call recording at all.

ONDEMAND

ONDEMAND is the default. It lets the agent start and stop recording as needed using the record button on the agent screen. Nothing is captured automatically, so the decision sits entirely with the person on the call. This is On-demand recording, and it suits teams who only need to capture specific moments, like a verbal agreement at the end of a sale, rather than the entire conversation. Because nothing starts on its own, you also keep storage low and avoid archiving idle small talk you will never review. The obvious risk is that an agent forgets to press the button, so do not rely on ONDEMAND when capture is mandatory; a single missed click means that call simply does not exist on disk.

ALLCALLS

ALLCALLS starts recording on the client whenever a call is sent to an agent. The agent does not have to do anything for capture to begin, but they can still stop a recording if they need to, for example to pause while a caller reads out a card number. This is the mode most teams reach for when they want everything recorded by default but still want a manual escape hatch. With ALLCALLS you can also set a Recording delay to skip the first few seconds and avoid saving very short dead-air recordings from machines and instant hangups, which also lightens the load on the server.

ALLFORCE

ALLFORCE starts recording whenever a call is sent to an agent and gives the agent no option to stop it. The button to halt recording is simply not available. This is the strictest mode and the right choice when compliance requires a complete, uninterrupted record of every call and you cannot allow gaps. Because the agent cannot pause, you remove the one variable that breaks a clean archive: a person hitting stop and forgetting to resume. Like ALLCALLS, it supports a recording delay to trim very short calls, but everything after that delay is captured with no further input from the agent. If you must mask card numbers, plan for automatic muting rather than a manual pause, since ALLFORCE does not allow one.

How the four modes compare

flowchart TD
  A[Call reaches agent] --> B{Which mode}
  B -->|NEVER| C[Never records]
  B -->|ONDEMAND| D[Agent must press record]
  B -->|ALLCALLS| E[Auto record agent may stop]
  B -->|ALLFORCE| F[Auto record cannot stop]
  D --> G[Recording optional]
  E --> H[Recording on by default]
  F --> I[Recording guaranteed]

The progression is easy to remember: NEVER means no audio, ONDEMAND puts the agent in charge, ALLCALLS records by default but lets the agent intervene, and ALLFORCE removes that choice. The more compliance matters, the further right you move. For a deeper comparison of the two automatic modes, see ONDEMAND versus ALLCALLS, and the full call recording guide ties these modes to storage and retention.

Whichever mode you choose, the agent should know what the system is doing on their behalf so they handle a Disposition and any pauses correctly. If you want recording modes configured to match your policy out of the box, look at our pricing and skip the trial and error.