Do you pay for unanswered AI calls?
Not on per-connected-minute pricing. Outpero bills only connected talk time, so calls that ring out, hit a busy tone or reach a switched-off phone use no credits. Some platforms in the market charge per dial attempt or per minute of line time, which makes low pickup rates expensive, so check which model a vendor uses before running a large cold list.
Why this matters more in India
Many Indian phone users ignore calls from unknown numbers, and spam-labelling apps make them more cautious still. On an old or cold list, it is normal for more than half of attempts to go unanswered. On a pricing model that bills every attempt, those silent calls become a large share of the bill.
A worked comparison
A campaign dials 2,000 numbers. 35% connect, and connected calls average 2 minutes.
| Billed on connected minutes | Billed on every attempt | |
|---|---|---|
| Calls that count | 700 connected | All 2,000 |
| Billable minutes | 1,400 | 1,400 plus ring time on 1,300 unanswered |
| Cost at ₹5/min (Standard) | ₹7,000 | ₹7,000 plus attempt charges |
On Outpero the campaign costs ₹7,000 in talk time on Standard, or ₹9,520 on Premium. The 1,300 unanswered attempts cost nothing.
Retries are free until they connect
Bulk campaigns can retry numbers that did not answer, inside the calling window you set. Because unanswered retries cost nothing, a second or third attempt is a cheap way to lift the connect rate. The only time a retry is billed is when someone actually picks up and talks.
Ways to raise pickup without paying more
- —Call new enquiries within 30 seconds, while the person still remembers filling the form.
- —Use a dedicated number so calls come from one consistent number.
- —Schedule calling windows around when your audience is free, such as evenings for salaried people.
- —Clean the list and screen DND numbers before the campaign starts.
Budgeting from a list size
Because only answered calls are billed, budget from expected connections rather than list size. For a list of 5,000 numbers with a 30% connect rate and 1.5-minute average calls, plan for 2,250 minutes: ₹11,250 on Standard or ₹15,300 on Premium. If more people pick up, the bill rises, but so does the number of people actually reached, which is the point of the campaign. Inbound calls handled by the AI employee are billed the same way, on connected talk time.
Want to hear an AI voice agent handle this on a real call?
Follow-up questions
Are DND-screened numbers charged?
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No. Outpero's bulk campaigns screen numbers against DND before dialling, and a number that is screened out is never called, so there is no talk time to bill. Billing applies only to answered calls, at ₹5 or ₹6.8 per connected minute depending on the voice tier.