A
software program that can be used to
automatically call thousands of numbers from a phone list or
database. An auto dialer can usually be configured
to leave messages for people on answering machines, receive touchtone or
recorded responses, or simply dial the telephone numbers for an operator or
agent. Some systems that perform a call transfer to an operator when a call is
answered by a person is called a
predictive
dialer. Auto dialers are widely used for
customer support in call centers and telemarketing.