# Answering Machine Detection (AMD) for Voice Broadcasts (2026)

> What answering machine detection does in a voice broadcast campaign, how human vs machine vs unknown verdicts work, what it costs, when to turn it on, and how to use the results to plan retries.

Source: https://edesy.in/blog/answering-machine-detection-voice-broadcast-2026

**Answering machine detection (AMD) tells you whether a person or a machine answered each call in your
broadcast.** It listens to the first moments of an answered call and labels it human, machine or unknown.
That turns "answered" into "heard by a person", so you can report honest reach and retry voicemail
contacts later. On Edesy, AMD is an opt-in setting on each campaign.

> **Turn on AMD for your next campaign:** [Open the Voice app](https://voice-app.edesy.in/?utm_source=edesy.in&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=answering-machine-detection-voice-broadcast-2026) and enable it in the campaign wizard.

## Why "answered" isn't enough

In a broadcast, a call counts as answered when the network says it was picked up. But in India a lot of
"answered" calls are not a person:

- the network's own voicemail on a phone that's switched off or busy,
- a recorded announcement,
- an office phone system's greeting,
- a caller-tune or message that plays before anyone speaks.

If 70% of calls show as answered and 20 points of that is voicemail, your real reach is much lower than the
dashboard suggests. Worse, you won't retry those contacts because the campaign thinks they were reached.

## What AMD gives you

| Verdict | Meaning | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| `human` | A person answered | Count as reached |
| `machine` | Voicemail or a recorded greeting answered | Retry later, at a different time of day |
| `unknown` | AMD ran but couldn't decide (silence, very short greeting, noise) | Treat as its own group; check a sample of recordings |
| (empty) | AMD was off, or the call was never answered | n/a |

The verdict is stored per contact, so your results show who was reached by a person and who landed in
voicemail.

## How it works

1. The call is answered.
2. AMD listens to the opening audio. A person usually says a short "hello?" and waits. A machine plays a
   longer, continuous greeting.
3. AMD returns a verdict: human, machine or unknown.
4. Your message plays and the result is saved with the contact.

AMD uses speech analysis on the opening of each answered call, which is why it's opt-in: it adds work to
every answered call in the campaign.

## When to turn it on

| Campaign | AMD? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Payment or EMI reminders | Yes | You must know who heard it before planning the next attempt |
| Appointment reminders | Yes | Voicemail contacts need a second try |
| Emergency or service alerts | Yes | Reach must be measured, not assumed |
| One-off announcement to a small list | Optional | Plain answered rate may be enough |
| Agent dialer (bridging to a live agent) | Consider it | Avoid putting an agent on a voicemail |

## Using AMD results to plan retries

The simplest use is a two-pass campaign:

1. **Pass 1:** run the broadcast with AMD on.
2. **Export or filter** contacts with `machine` and `unknown` verdicts, plus no-answer and busy.
3. **Pass 2:** use "run again" (duplicate) on that subset at a different time of day. Many people who
   can't pick up mid-morning will pick up in the early evening.
4. **Stop** after a sensible number of attempts and respect your calling hours and DNC list.

For list cleaning and retry rules in general, see
[why campaign calls fail: retries, DND and list hygiene](https://edesy.in/blog/why-campaign-calls-fail-retries-dnd-list-hygiene-2026).

## Cost

AMD doesn't make a machine-answered call free. The network reports it as answered, so it's billed like
any answered broadcast call.

| Item | Price (plus 18% GST) |
|---|---|
| Broadcast call | Rs 0.50 per minute, 60-second pulse |
| Unanswered call | Free |
| Number rental (mobile or 92-series) | Rs 499 per month |

The value of AMD is knowing which of those paid calls actually reached a person. That lets you stop paying
for repeat calls to people who already heard the message, and focus retries on the ones who didn't. See
[voice broadcasting pricing](https://edesy.in/voice-broadcasting/pricing), and
[how to estimate a broadcast's cost before launch](https://edesy.in/blog/estimate-voice-broadcast-cost-before-launch-2026).

## Honest limits

- **AMD is a classifier, not a guarantee.** Some people answer with a long greeting; some voicemails are
  short. Expect some calls in the wrong bucket.
- **Unknown is normal.** Silence, background noise and very short greetings won't always classify.
- **It doesn't change the message.** On Edesy, AMD labels the call; your message plays the same way. Plan
  your follow-up from the labels.
- **Check samples.** Turn on recording for a test campaign and listen to a handful of `machine` and
  `unknown` calls before trusting the split for a big list.

## Setting it up

1. In the [Voice app](https://voice-app.edesy.in/?utm_source=edesy.in&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=answering-machine-detection-voice-broadcast-2026),
   start the 4-step campaign wizard.
2. Add your message: upload WAV or MP3, or use text-to-speech.
3. Upload a CSV, or send leads through the API (`/v1/campaigns/:id/leads`).
4. Choose a caller ID and a backup caller ID, set max concurrent calls and dialing hours.
5. Turn on **answering machine detection** (and recording, if you want samples).
6. Use **test call** to hear it on your own phone, check the **cost estimate**, and launch.
7. Read the results: answered, human, machine, unknown, no-answer, busy.

Single calls through `POST /v1/calls` do not run AMD today (the option is accepted but not applied), so use a campaign when you need it. Campaign
endpoints are in the [campaigns docs](https://edesy.in/docs/voice-api/campaigns).

More on the product: [voice broadcasting](https://edesy.in/voice-broadcasting) and
[broadcast features](https://edesy.in/voice-broadcasting/features).

[Launch a campaign with AMD](https://voice-app.edesy.in/?utm_source=edesy.in&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=answering-machine-detection-voice-broadcast-2026).

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is answering machine detection?

Answering machine detection (AMD) listens to the first moments of an answered call and decides whether a person or a machine (voicemail, a recorded announcement) picked up. Each call gets a verdict: human, machine or unknown.

### Why does AMD matter for a voice broadcast?

Because 'answered' doesn't always mean a person heard your message. AMD separates calls a human heard from calls that landed in voicemail, so your reach numbers are honest and you can retry the machine-answered contacts at a better time.

### Is AMD always right?

No. It classifies a short greeting, so it can be unsure. When it can't decide, for example on silence or a very short 'hello', it returns unknown rather than guessing. Treat unknown as its own group.

### Does a machine-answered call cost money?

Yes. The carrier reports it as an answered call, so it is billed like any answered broadcast call: Rs 0.50 per minute with a 60-second pulse on Edesy, plus 18% GST. Unanswered calls are free.

### Should I turn AMD on for every campaign?

Turn it on when you need to know who actually heard the message, such as reminders, alerts and anything you plan to retry. It is opt-in per campaign because it adds speech analysis to every answered call.

### Can I use AMD with the API?

Campaigns have an AMD option. Single calls placed with POST /v1/calls do not run AMD today, so use a campaign when you need it.