Does Voice AI Actually Work for Debt Collection?

Voice AI can answer inbound calls, place outbound calls and transfer consumers to a live collector when needed. For collection agencies considering the technology, though, the value lies in knowing whether those calls lead to better recovery.

Much of the performance data publicly available comes from voice AI vendors themselves, so agencies have to look closely at what is being measured.

Southwest Recovery Services, a collection agency in Addison, Texas, moved part of its phone traffic to a Skit.ai voice AI system in late 2023. Within weeks, the agency reported a return of 10 times its investment on inbound calls. The system also placed more than 400,000 automated outbound collection calls.

Those figures offer a clearer starting point compared to call volume.

Right-Party Contact Matters More Than Dials

A right-party contact occurs when the agency reaches the person associated with the account.

This is a key metric for evaluating automated calling. A system can place more calls than a human team, but the added volume only pays off if it produces more of those conversations.

Connection rate is different, and someone may answer a call without being the right consumer. Right-party contact gets closer to the real opportunity to resolve the account.

Inbound and outbound calls also behave differently.

An inbound caller has already chosen to contact the agency. With outbound outreach, the agency has to reach the consumer first. Putting both channels into one number can hide meaningful differences in performance.

Promise-to-pay rate provides another signal. It shows how often a conversation ends with a commitment to make a payment. But a promise remains a promise until the money is received. That next step shows an agency what its voice AI calls produce.

Some Calls Stay Automated. Others Need a Collector.

Voice AI works best when it can take routine work off a collector’s plate without trying to automate every conversation.

A system may be able to answer common account questions, explain available payment options or route a caller to the right person. More complicated situations are different.

Disputed balances, financial hardship and payment arrangements can require judgment that a routine automated workflow is not designed to handle.

In the Southwest Recovery Services case study, 20% to 25% of calls were contained without a transfer to a person.

For the calls that do transfer, the handoff is important. If account information and the reason for the call move with the consumer, the collector can continue the conversation instead of forcing the consumer to repeat everything.

“We negotiate, we don’t intimidate. We work as an extension of your team, ensuring every interaction with your customers is handled with professionalism, empathy, and respect, while achieving your recovery goals,” said Steven Dietz, CEO and Founder of Southwest Recovery Services. 

As more of the early part of a collection call becomes automated, the collector’s role shifts toward conversations that require context, judgment and negotiation.

Recovery Is the Number That Eventually Has to Matter

Right-party contact and promise-to-pay rates can show whether a voice AI channel is producing useful conversations, but they don’t show whether the agency is recovering more money. That takes a longer view.

An agency can compare recovery per account across similar groups over several months. The comparison is meaningful only when the accounts are reasonably alike. Balance size, account age and likelihood of contact can all affect recovery regardless of who or what places the call.

The path from contact to payment matters too.

A high right-party contact rate is less impressive if relatively few of those conversations lead to completed payments. The same is true of transfers. A transfer rate says very little without knowing whether the collector resolved the account, received a payment, handled a dispute or ended the call without a result.

Complaint and dispute activity belongs in that same review. If complaints rise along with recoveries, the channel has a problem. A voice AI channel succeeds when it improves recovery on the accounts it handles.

The Technology Only Works the Accounts It Is Given

Before a voice AI system ever places a call, the agency has already made decisions about which accounts to work and how to approach them.

Southwest Recovery Services says it scores accounts for contact probability before outreach and sequences contact using factors including timing, channel and balance size.

That can affect how voice AI performance looks.

If one channel receives easier-to-reach accounts while another gets older or lower-probability accounts, a simple comparison of recovery rates will not tell the full story.

Reporting has to go deeper than monthly totals for the same reason.

“Clients having real-time access to every account is deliberate,” Dietz said. “It keeps my team accountable and ensures issues are identified and resolved quickly.”

Account-level reporting can show whether contact occurred, if the consumer was transferred, whether a promise was made and what ultimately happened with the account.

Voice AI gets consumers on the phone, and collectors turn those conversations into payments. Tracking both over time shows an agency what the channel adds to its recovery work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What should a business ask a collection agency about its use of voice AI?

Answer: Ask how the agency measures results after the call is placed. Right-party contact, completed payments and recovery per account provide more useful information than dial volume alone. Businesses should also understand when calls move to a human collector and what reporting they can see at the account level. Southwest Recovery Services gives clients access to individual account activity.

Question: Can voice AI complete a debt collection call without a live collector?

Answer: Some calls can stay automated when the consumer’s needs fit the available workflow. Others may need a collector, particularly when there is a dispute, financial hardship or a payment arrangement that requires discussion. In Southwest Recovery Services’ voice AI case study, 20% to 25% of calls were handled without a live-agent transfer.

Question: How should a collection agency compare voice AI with human collectors?

Answer: The comparison should use similar accounts and look at results over time. Balance size, account age and contact probability can all influence recovery. Dollars recovered per account and completed payments provide a clearer picture than comparing how many calls each channel can make.

Question: Why does account selection affect voice AI results?

Answer: Voice AI does not choose the accounts it works. The agency does. Southwest Recovery Services says it scores accounts for contact probability and sequences outreach based on timing, channel and balance size. If different channels receive different types of accounts, those differences need to be considered when evaluating performance.

Question: What should businesses see in collection reporting?

Answer: Useful reporting goes beyond calls placed and dollars collected. Businesses should be able to see what happened at the account level, including whether contact occurred, whether the call moved to a collector and what happened afterward. Southwest Recovery Services provides real-time account access so clients can follow activity more closely.