Answering machine
ALAnswering machine, message played
A machine answered, the call was sent to a message, and the message finished playing.
AL is the completed version of a voicemail drop: detection found a machine, the call went to your recorded message, and the message played all the way through.
When VICIdial sets it
Automatically, once the message completes. Nothing an agent does produces AL.
What to do
- Treat AL as your voicemail-delivery count. It is the closest thing you have to "we left a message and it landed".
- If AL is far below the sent-to-message count, listen to a few recordings — the machine is probably cutting the message off.
- Set the redial rule for these leads on purpose. Leaving the same message three days running is what gets you complained about.
- Count message-played leads separately from contacts. It is easy to build a report where a voicemail drop looks like a conversation, and that number will not survive scrutiny.
Related codes
AM is the call before the message finished. GVM and PVM cover the generic and personalised voicemail messages an agent can drop.