AI calls to reschedule failed deliveries
Every failed delivery is a second trip, a depot shelf and often an angry call. An outbound voice agent calls recipients after a missed attempt, confirms the address and books the next delivery while the parcel is still in the van.
How do AI calls reschedule failed deliveries?
When a driver records a failed attempt, your system adds the shipment to a call list. The voice agent calls recipients who agreed to be contacted, says which company is calling and why, confirms the address and access details, and offers the delivery days you allow or a pickup point. The new choice is sent back through a webhook or Zapier, and every call is logged with a transcript.
Worked example
Evening calls after one day's routes
Example figures only; use your own failed-attempt data.
| Example day | Count |
|---|---|
| Failed first attempts | 150 |
| Recipients with phone consent on file | 120 |
| Reached by 7pm | 72 |
| Rebooked for a specific day | 51 |
| Address or access corrected (gate codes, unit numbers) | 14 |
| Chose a pickup point instead | 7 |
The 14 corrections matter most: without them the second attempt would probably fail too. Results go to dispatch before the next morning's routes are planned.
The script
What the recipient hears
"Hi, this is the delivery assistant calling for Northline Couriers about a parcel from Greenway Home we tried to deliver today. Is now a good time?" The agent confirms the address, asks for anything the driver needs (a gate code, a buzzer name, a safe place), then offers two or three delivery days. It does not discuss the contents of the parcel and does not promise a time window your routing cannot meet.
Consent and calling rules
Rules for calling recipients
- Prior consent. US calling rules treat AI voices as artificial voices, so call only recipients who agreed to calls, usually captured by the shipper; confirm the language with your counsel.
- Calling hours in the recipient's time zone, typically early evening after routes end.
- Attempt limits, for example one call and then a text with a link to choose a day.
- Identify your company and the shipper at the start, and remove anyone who asks not to be called.
Cost
Sizing minutes against your failed-attempt rate
Calls draw on the Voice AI plan's 1,500 included minutes a month at $299 a month, then $35 for each extra 200 minutes. At the volumes in the table above, 72 answered calls at about 90 seconds each take 108 minutes a day, and 48 unanswered attempts at about 30 seconds add 24, so a weekday uses about 132 minutes. Twenty weekdays come to about 2,640 minutes, 1,140 over the included 1,500, which means six extra blocks of 200 minutes: $299 + 6 × $35 = $509 for the month. Compare that with the cost of the second delivery attempts the calls prevent.
See logistics AI take a delivery exception report
Book a demo to map tracking questions or exception intake onto Botcadence with your service guide.
Common Questions
Failed delivery call questions
Soon after the failed attempt is recorded, while the recipient still remembers the missed delivery and before the next day's routes are locked. Many teams run calls in the early evening.
It can collect a corrected address or a neighbor's address, but your rules decide whether that is allowed. Changes to a different city or a shipper-restricted parcel should go to a person for approval.
The outcome of each call, with the transcript, is sent through a webhook or Zapier into your routing or tracking system, or into a Google Sheet that dispatch reviews before planning.
The agent does not argue or share details of the shipment. It records the response and flags the parcel for your team, which follows your process with the shipper.
Start with tracking questions or exception reports
Begin with tracking questions and delivery-exception intake, then add proactive updates and rate-quote intake once ticket volume drops.
- Reader-first workflows
- Human handoff when needed
- Grounded in your content