# How to Design Call Dispositions for an AI Voice Agent (2026)

> A practical guide to call dispositions for AI calling: which outcomes to use, how the agent sets them, and how dispositions drive retries, CRM updates and reports.

Source: https://edesy.in/blog/design-call-dispositions-ai-voice-agent-2026

**A good disposition set is short, mutually exclusive and tied to a next step.** Each label (completed,
no answer, callback requested, not interested, do not call) should trigger one clear action: retry,
follow up, update the CRM or stop. In Edesy, the system sets line outcomes and the agent sets
conversation outcomes, and campaigns retry only the dispositions you choose.

> **Set up outcome-based retries:** [Try Edesy free](https://voice-agent.edesy.in/?utm_source=edesy.in&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=design-call-dispositions-ai-voice-agent-2026) — ₹50 free credit, no card needed.

## Why dispositions matter more with AI calling

A human team makes a few hundred calls a day and sorts them by memory. An AI campaign can make
thousands, with 1 to 100 calls in parallel. Without clean dispositions you end up with a pile of
"completed" calls and no idea which ones need a follow-up, which ones to retry and which ones must never
be called again.

Dispositions are the routing layer of your campaign. Get them right and retries, CRM updates and reports
follow on their own.

## Two kinds of outcome

| Kind | Set by | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Line outcome | The system, from what happened on the call | No answer, busy, failed, voicemail, transferred |
| Conversation outcome | The agent, from what the caller said | Completed, qualified, callback requested, not interested, wrong number, do not call, partial, no decision |

Line outcomes need no prompt work. Conversation outcomes do: the agent has to recognise the situation
and set the outcome with the *set call outcome* tool. That is a [mid-call action](https://edesy.in/ai-voice-agent/features/mid-call-actions)
you attach to the agent and describe in the prompt.

## The built-in set

Edesy agents can use these dispositions: success, voicemail, busy, no answer, callback scheduled, not
interested, transferred, wrong number, do not call, partial, failed, qualified, completed, callback
requested, no decision, plus custom ones. You will not need all of them in one campaign. Pick the ones
your next steps depend on.

## Four rules for a good set

### 1. Every disposition has one next step

Write the next step beside each label. If you can't, the label is not useful.

| Disposition | Next step |
|---|---|
| No answer / busy | Retry after a delay |
| Voicemail | Retry later, or leave a message (voicemail action) |
| Callback requested | Schedule a callback at the time the caller gave |
| Qualified | Update CRM stage, notify sales |
| Not interested | Update CRM, stop calling for this campaign |
| Wrong number | Mark the contact invalid; never retry |
| Do not call | Add to your suppression list; never retry |
| Transferred | Nothing automatic; the human owns it |
| Partial | Review; often retry once |

### 2. Labels don't overlap

"Not interested" and "no decision" are different: one closes the lead, the other keeps it open. Tell the
agent exactly when to use each. A line in the prompt like "Use *no decision* only if the caller says they
need to think or ask someone else" saves a lot of messy data.

### 3. Prefer custom outcomes for your business result

The built-in *completed* says the call finished normally. It doesn't say whether you got what you
wanted. Add one or two custom outcomes for the result that matters: *payment promised*, *site visit
booked*, *order confirmed*. These are what your weekly report should count.

### 4. Keep the stop labels strict

*Do not call* and *wrong number* must never be retried. Configure campaign retries to exclude them, and
make sure your prompt tells the agent to set *do not call* whenever the caller asks not to be called
again, in any language.

## How dispositions drive campaigns

In the [campaign wizard](https://edesy.in/ai-voice-agent/features/campaigns), retries are set per campaign:

- **Attempts:** 1 to 5.
- **Delay:** 5 to 120 minutes between attempts.
- **Which dispositions to retry:** typically no answer, busy and voicemail.

After a campaign, you can also retry from outcomes: pick a disposition such as *callback requested* or
*partial* and start a new round for only those contacts. The daily calling window keeps retries inside
the hours you allow. More detail is on the [call retry and disposition](https://edesy.in/ai-voice-agent/features/call-retry-disposition)
page and in the [campaign scheduling docs](https://edesy.in/docs/voice-agent/campaigns/scheduling).

## How dispositions drive workflows

Workflows can start on *call ended* and filter by outcome. Typical rules:

- *Qualified* → CRM update, WhatsApp to the lead, email to the sales owner.
- *Callback requested* → schedule callback, or book a calendar slot.
- *Not interested* → CRM update with the reason from extracted data.
- *Do not call* → webhook to your suppression list.

The `call.ended` and `call.analyzed` webhook events carry the outcome if you route it from your own
system instead. Pair the disposition with extracted fields, such as the callback time or the reason for
no interest; see [voice call data extraction to CRM](https://edesy.in/blog/voice-call-data-extraction-to-crm-2026).

## Common mistakes

- **Too many labels.** Twenty dispositions means the agent picks inconsistently. Merge anything that
  shares a next step.
- **Retrying everything.** Retrying *not interested* annoys people and hurts answer rates on future
  campaigns.
- **No custom success label.** You can't tell a good campaign from a bad one if every finished call is
  *completed*.
- **Forgetting partial calls.** Calls that dropped mid-way need their own label and usually one retry.
- **Not testing outcomes.** Add eval cases that check the agent sets the right outcome; see
  [testing voice agents with evals](https://edesy.in/blog/testing-voice-agents-with-evals-2026).

## A starter set for outbound reminders

For an EMI or appointment reminder, this set covers most calls: *no answer, busy, voicemail, completed,
payment promised* (custom), *callback requested, not interested, wrong number, do not call, transferred,
partial*. Retry no answer, busy, voicemail and partial; follow up callback requested; stop on the rest.
The EMI collection and appointment reminder [templates](https://edesy.in/ai-voice-agent/templates) come close to this
out of the box.

## What it costs

Dispositions, retries and outcome-based workflows are included. Calls cost from **₹4/min on plans and
credit packs (₹6/min pay as you go)**, plus telephony; see the [pricing page](https://edesy.in/ai-voice-agent/pricing).
New workspaces get ₹50 free credit on sign-up, no card needed.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is a call disposition?

A disposition is the label that says how a call ended: completed, no answer, busy, voicemail, callback requested, not interested, do not call and so on. It decides what happens next to that contact.

### Who sets the disposition on an AI call?

Some are set by the system from what happened on the line (no answer, busy, voicemail detected, transferred). Others are set by the agent during or after the conversation using the set call outcome tool, based on what the caller said.

### How many dispositions should I use?

As few as you can act on. Most campaigns need eight to twelve. If two dispositions lead to the same next step, merge them.

### Can retries depend on the disposition?

Yes. In Edesy campaigns you can retry only chosen dispositions, for example no answer and busy, with 1 to 5 attempts and a 5 to 120 minute delay, while never retrying do not call or wrong number.

### Can I add my own dispositions?

Yes. Alongside the built-in ones, you can add custom dispositions such as 'payment promised' or 'site visit booked', and use them in workflows and reports.

### What is the difference between a disposition and extracted data?

A disposition is one label per call that decides the next step. Extracted data is the detail, such as the promised date or budget. Use both: the disposition routes the contact, the fields fill the CRM.