AI agents: pause, stop and limits
How to stop an AI agent, what VICIfast stops on its own, the limits it keeps, and why nothing ever turns back on by itself.
AI & automation · 3 min read
An AI agent takes calls only while its status is Taking calls. This page covers how to stop it, what VICIfast stops on its own, and the limits it keeps.
VICIfast never turns an agent or a campaign on by itself. Whatever it stops stays stopped until you go live again, or turn the campaign back on in VICIdial.
Stop it yourself
- Pause, on the agent page or with the agent's switch in the AI Agents table. No new calls reach the AI, and calls it is on finish normally, transfers included. An agent that makes calls is logged out of its campaign, so a campaign with nobody else in it stops dialing. A call already ringing at that moment can be answered with no AI line free, and VICIdial drops it. An agent that answers calls sends new callers to the queue under When the agent can't take a call.
- Make the campaign inactive in VICIdial. VICIdial stops dialing it for everyone, people included. Calls in progress carry on. Use it together with Pause for a full stop.
- Don't switch the AI's remote agent off in VICIdial. VICIfast pauses the agent when you do (see below), and Pause does the same more cleanly.
Start it again
Click Go live on the agent page, or turn its switch on in the AI Agents table. Go live checks the same things as the first time: the agent installed, a test call, AI agents switched on for your account, money in your wallet, and for calls out the consent box. If VICIfast set your campaign inactive, turn it back on in VICIdial as well.
What VICIfast stops on its own
Each of these shows in the AI Agents table and is explained on the agent page:
- Paused: wallet empty. Your wallet can no longer pay for calls. Every live agent is paused, AI calls in progress are ended, and each calling agent's campaign is set inactive, so VICIdial stops spending your leads on calls that can't go out. VICIfast Voice carries no calls for the account until you top up. To start again, top up, click Go live, and turn the campaign back on in VICIdial.
- Paused: AI not switched on. AI agents were switched off for your account. Ask support, then click Go live.
- Paused by VICIfast. VICIfast stopped all AI agents for everyone. Go live works again once AI agents are back.
- Paused: changed in VICIdial. The AI's remote agent was deleted, moved to another campaign or switched off in VICIdial. Click Go live to put it back.
Limits VICIfast keeps
- Calls at once. VICIfast sets how many AI calls your account runs at once (25 to start), and allows short bursts of 20% above it. Calls over that are refused before they reach the AI and go to your overflow queue, so extra remote-agent lines don't buy more AI.
- Dialing. A live AI campaign is kept on adaptive dialing (ADAPT_HARD_LIMIT) with a drop limit of 3% or less. VICIdial raises and lowers the dial level itself, up to the campaign's Adaptive Maximum Dial Level.
- The AI's remote agent. Its lines are put back to what your account gives the agent, and any other remote agent pointed at the AI's extension is removed.
- Call length. Every AI call ends at Longest a call may run, and after 30 minutes at the very most.
These checks run every five minutes. Each correction is noted on the agent and in the AI Agents table for a week. They only ever put a limit back or remove something extra. They never switch anything on.
Money
- There is no AI plan or monthly fee. AI minutes are 12¢ (5¢ on your own OpenAI key), in 6-second steps, only while the AI is on the call. They come from your wallet, on top of your usual VICIfast Voice minutes.
- Machines caught by answering-machine detection cost no AI minutes. Test calls are free.
