Outbound calling is when the AI voice agent initiates calls to customers rather than receiving inbound calls. Common outbound use cases include appointment reminders, payment collection, surveys, and proactive notifications.
What are the considerations for outbound calling?
Outbound calls face regulatory requirements including TCPA compliance, do-not-call list adherence, and time-of-day restrictions. Answer rates depend heavily on caller ID presentation. The conversation dynamic differs from inbound since the recipient did not initiate contact and may be less receptive.
Why does outbound calling matter?
Many valuable customer interactions require proactive outreach. Appointment reminders reduce no-shows. Payment reminders improve collection rates. Proactive notifications build customer relationships. AI enables outbound calling at scale with personalized conversations rather than robotic messages.
Outbound calling in practice
A dental office uses AI outbound calls for appointment reminders 48 hours in advance. The agent confirms or reschedules appointments, captures special requests, and answers questions. No-show rates drop from 15% to 4%. Staff previously spending hours on reminder calls now focus on patient care.
For spam prevention, see how to stop calls from being marked as spam.