VICIdial CPD AMD Action: DISPO, MESSAGE, INGROUP, CALLMENU

Once a detection engine decides a call is a machine, something has to happen to it. The CPD AMD Action setting on the campaign screen is where you choose what. It has four working values, and each one sends the machine call somewhere different. Getting it right is the difference between wasting a contact and leaving a clean voicemail.

What the setting is for

CPD AMD Action applies when you are using Call Progress Detection (CPD (call progress detection)), originally the Sangoma ParaXip engine. It tells VICIdial how to handle a call the engine flagged as a machine, provided the call has not already been sent to an agent (Agent). The default is DISABLED, meaning the setting does nothing until you pick one of the four actions.

The four options

DISPO dispositions the call as AA, the answering machine status (Status (lead status)), and hangs it up. This is the cleanest choice when you do not want to leave anything behind, just record that a machine answered and move on.

MESSAGE sends the call to the Answering Machine Message defined for the campaign, so your recorded prompt plays to the machine. Use this when you want a voicemail (Voicemail drop) left on detected machines instead of a silent hangup.

INGROUP transfers the call to the inbound group named in the AMD Inbound Group setting. This lets a different team or queue pick up machine calls, which is handy if you treat them as a separate workflow.

CALLMENU routes the call to the CPD Call Menu, an IVR-style menu you have built. Choose this when a machine call should hit an automated tree rather than a person or a single recording.

flowchart TD
  A[CPD flags machine] --> B{CPD AMD Action}
  B -->|DISPO| C[Mark AA and hang up]
  B -->|MESSAGE| D[Play campaign AM message]
  B -->|INGROUP| E[Send to AMD Inbound Group]
  B -->|CALLMENU| F[Route to CPD Call Menu]

Picking the right one

If you just want machines off your agents and out of your live numbers, DISPO is fine. If your campaign (Campaign) benefits from leaving a callback message, MESSAGE earns its keep, as long as you recorded a prompt and pointed the Answering Machine Message field at it. INGROUP and CALLMENU are for more involved routing, where machine calls feed a dedicated queue or an automated menu.

There is a companion setting, CPD Unknown Action, that handles calls the engine could not classify, with the same DISPO, MESSAGE, INGROUP and CALLMENU choices. Keep in mind the Sangoma engine that powered this is end-of-life, so on a modern system you may be doing similar routing through built-in AMD instead. The action concept is the same either way: a verdict comes in, and this setting decides where the call goes next.

One detail to watch with MESSAGE, INGROUP and CALLMENU: each one depends on something else being set up. MESSAGE needs an Answering Machine Message recorded and selected, INGROUP needs a valid inbound group in the AMD Inbound Group field, and CALLMENU needs the CPD Call Menu built. If the action points at a destination that does not exist, the call has nowhere to land. DISPO is the one option that needs nothing extra, which makes it a safe default while you build the rest out.

For how CPD differs from plain detection, read what Call Progress Detection is, and for the whole picture see our AMD and CPD complete guide.

Not sure which action fits your campaign goals? We configure CPD and AMD routing for you on managed VICIdial. See VICIfast pricing to get set up.