Learn how parallel mode dials up to 5 contacts at once, how voicemail detection and multi-number dialing work, and how to set it up.
User Level: Admin, Agent
Parallel mode calls several contacts at once and connects your agent to the first person who answers, dropping the other attempts. It maximizes talk time on large lists.
⚠️ Paid add-on. Parallel mode requires the Parallel Calling add-on. Each agent running parallel campaigns needs a Parallel Calling seat. Agents without a seat can still run sequential campaigns on the same account. See Plans, add-ons and how to get access.
Setting up parallel mode
You enable parallel calling in Step 2: Contact when creating (or editing) a campaign:
Go to Dialer (new) > Campaigns and click + Add campaign.
Complete Step 1 (name).
In Step 2: Contact, add your contacts and turn the Parallel Calling toggle ON.
Set the Number of parallel calls (minimum 2, maximum 5). This is how many contacts the dialer calls simultaneously per batch.
Finish the remaining steps and create the campaign. See Setting up a campaign in the AI Sales Dialer for the full walkthrough.
To switch back to sequential, turn the Parallel Calling toggle OFF. See Sequential mode (1 line).
The Parallel Calling toggle only appears on accounts with the add-on enabled. If you don't see it, your account may not have the Parallel Calling add-on. See Plans, add-ons and how to get access.
How it works
The dialer places up to 5 simultaneous calls on your behalf.
Voicemail detection runs on each leg. Calls that reach an answering machine are identified automatically and never connected to you.
The first contact who answers is connected to you. The other ringing legs are dropped.
You talk, then set a disposition. The next batch dials.
The result: you spend more time talking to real people and less time listening to rings and voicemail greetings.
Voicemail detection
When parallel mode dials multiple contacts, each leg runs through voicemail detection before being connected to you:
A human answer connects you immediately.
A machine answer (voicemail, IVR, automated screener) is dropped automatically. If the campaign has a voicemail-drop recording configured, the message is left on the machine. If not, the call is simply ended.
This means you should almost never be connected to a voicemail in parallel mode. If detection can't reach a verdict in time (e.g., a very short call), the system connects you rather than risk dropping a real person.
Multi-number contacts
If a contact has more than one phone number and Rotate through a contact's phone numbers is ON in the campaign's Calling setup (Step 3), parallel mode works through each contact's numbers one at a time. With the setting OFF, the dialer only ever dials the primary number.
Each contact gets its own lane. The dialer runs several contacts at the same time, and each one is worked independently. One contact working through its numbers never holds up the rest.
Within a lane, numbers are tried one at a time, not all at once. The dialer rings number 1. If there's no answer, it moves to number 2, and so on down that contact's list.
One answer ends the search. As soon as one of a contact's numbers is answered, the dialer stops dialing that contact's remaining numbers and connects you to the call.
Voicemail closes the contact. If a call is picked up by voicemail or an answering machine, that closes the contact. The dialer doesn't then try their other numbers.
Retries resume, they don't restart. A contact keeps going down its list until it either connects or runs out of numbers. If it isn't reached and gets retried later, it resumes from the next untried number, not from the top.
What's different from sequential mode
| Sequential | Parallel |
Calls at once | 1 | Up to 5 |
Who places the call | You click to dial | The dialer dials for you |
Voicemail detection | Not active. You hear the greeting and decide. | Active. Machines are filtered before you're connected. |
Voicemail drop | Manual only. You click to drop a message. | Automatic when a machine is detected (if a recording is configured). |
Add-on required | No | Yes (Parallel Calling add-on plus seat) |
Best for | High-value, prepared conversations | High-volume lists where talk time matters |
When to use parallel mode
Parallel mode works best when:
Your list is large and the goal is to maximize conversations per hour.
Many calls go to voicemail or ring out, so dialing one at a time would waste most of the agent's shift.
Your team is comfortable with the faster pace (contact details appear when someone answers, not before).
For smaller lists or high-value conversations where preparation matters, Sequential mode (1 line) is the better fit.
Good to know
Skip, remove, and reorder controls are disabled for the entire duration of a parallel dialing batch, not just for the contact being called. They become available again between batches, so that changing the queue can't interfere with calls in flight.
If two contacts answer at nearly the same time, the dialer connects the first and drops the second. Your agent is never connected to two live calls at once.
Contacts whose calls ring out or fail without connecting are returned to the queue and follow the campaign's normal retry rules. No attempt is counted for a leg that never reached the server.
The number of parallel lines (up to 5) is set by your admin in the campaign's setup.
Need help or have a question? Just reach out through our Support portal — we’re here for you.