When Aircall agents receive an incoming call and are unable to answer, they can either reject the call (by clicking the red hang-up button) or let it ring until the ringing time ends. While both actions result in the call going unanswered, they behave differently for call routing.
This article explains how each option affects whether the same call may ring the same agent again when that agent appears more than once in a number’s call distribution.
How rejection affects call routing
If an agent rejects an incoming call:
- The agent will not receive that same call again, even if they appear multiple times in the call distribution steps for that number.
- The call immediately moves to the next step in the distribution flow.
How not answering affects call routing
If an agent simply does not answer and the call rings until the timeout:
- The agent can receive the same call again if they appear more than once in the call distribution sequence.
- The call follows the full routing order, returning to the agent when their next step is reached.
Example of routing behavior
Consider a number where the same user, Test User, appears twice in the call distribution, once at the start and again at the end:
- Test User
- Support Team
- English Team
- Test User (second appearance)
If Test User rejects the call during their first position:
- The call moves to the next steps (Support Team, then English Team).
- If no one answers, the call proceeds to voicemail.
- The second appearance of Test User is skipped, since the agent rejected the call earlier.
If Test User does not answer and lets the call ring for the configured 30 seconds:
- The call continues through the distribution (Support Team, then English Team).
- If still unanswered, it rings Test User again when their second step is reached.
This distinction helps teams control call flow behavior and understand how individual actions influence whether calls may return to the same agent within a single routing sequence.
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