Automatic voicemail detection for calling lists
An opt-in Telnyx feature that tells your calling list a call was answered by a machine, not a person.
For admins · Updated Sep 23, 2026
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When you run a calling list, a lot of the calls end up in someone’s voicemail. Automatic voicemail detection tells Phone Clover’s dialer when that has happened, instead of leaving that judgment call entirely to the rep, on lists where you have turned it on.
Note: This is a separate, off-by-default feature from the calling list itself. The basic tag and selected-contact calling lists are manual-pace and do not detect voicemail on their own, deliberately, unless you turn this on.
Who can turn this on
An admin, from Settings → Sequence → “Automatic voicemail detection” switch.
How it works
Phone Clover uses Telnyx’s Premium answering-machine detection on calls placed through a calling list once you turn the switch on. Telnyx analyzes the audio at the start of the call to tell whether a human or a machine picked up, and passes that result back to the list.
What it costs
This uses Telnyx’s paid Premium detection, so provider usage charges apply on top of your normal calling costs once it is turned on. It is not part of the base calling-list feature, which is why it stays off until you explicitly enable it.
Where to find the setting
Voicemail detection lives on the Sequence tab in Settings, alongside the other calling-list controls: the calling-hours toggle, the pause between calls, and whether to require reviewing the outcome before the next call starts. Turning voicemail detection on does not change any of those other settings.
What it does not do
- It applies to calling lists only, not to every inbound or outbound call.
- It is not predictive dialing. Phone Clover’s calling lists dial one contact at a time, at your own pace or the pause you configure, whether or not this feature is on.
- It does not skip a voicemail automatically or hang up on it for you. It tells the list what happened so the outcome can reflect it; how you act on that during the call is still up to you.
Warning: Turning this on adds Telnyx usage charges for calls made through your calling lists. Confirm that cost is acceptable for your sub-account before enabling it broadly.
Deciding whether to turn it on
Voicemail detection is most useful on larger calling lists, where a rep would otherwise spend time figuring out, call after call, whether a voicemail greeting has started. On a shorter list, or one where you are calling contacts you already know well, the extra cost may not be worth it. Try it on a small list first and compare the accuracy against what you would have judged yourself before turning it on for every list your team runs.
How it shows up in the outcome
When detection is on and a call reaches a voicemail box, that context is available to the rep handling the call so the post-call outcome can be recorded accurately, typically as Voicemail rather than a guess. See Post-call outcomes for what each outcome tile means and how it is used elsewhere in reporting.