Call Center Acronyms and Abbreviations: The Complete Contact Center Glossary

Updated October 2025 to reflect new technologies, metrics, and compliance standards in today’s outbound and omnichannel contact centers.

There’s no end to the alphabet soup in the world of contact centers. Whether you work in sales, lead generation, or compliance, this practical A–Z guide to common call center acronyms and abbreviations will help you stay fluent in the language of today’s contact center technology and operations, so you can keep up with industry conversations and make informed decisions..

Download the Call Center Acronyms A-Z Cheat Sheet (PDF)

Need a quick offline reference for your team? Download the Call Center Acronyms Cheat Sheet (PDF) to keep these essential terms at your fingertips.

A–C

Metrics & KPIs

AHT – Average Handle Time: The average duration of one customer interaction, including talk, hold, and after-call work.

ASA – Average Speed of Answer: The average time it takes for an agent to answer an incoming call.

ATA – Average Time of Abandonment: Average wait time before a caller hangs up.

ATT – Average Talk Time: Average amount of time agents spend speaking with a customer.

CES – Customer Effort Score: Measures how easy it was for a customer to resolve their issue.

CPA – Cost per Acquisition: The cost of acquiring a new customer.

CPL – Cost per Lead: The cost to acquire a single qualified lead.

CPS – Calls Per Second: A performance metric used to manage traffic, especially for high-volume services like those using SIP trunks or predictive dialers

CSAT – Customer Satisfaction Score: A simple measure of how satisfied a customer is after an interaction.

Compliance & Regulatory

ATDS – Automatic Telephone Dialing System: Equipment capable of storing or generating numbers and dialing them automatically. A critical TCPA definition.

CMS – Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Federal agency overseeing health marketing compliance.

CNAM – Caller Name Delivery: Displays the caller’s name; impacts trust and answer rates.

Tech & Telephony

ACD – Automatic Call Distribution: Routes calls to agents based on skills, availability, or rules.

AI – Artificial Intelligence: Powers automation, QA scoring, and predictive analytics in call centers.

AMD - Answering Machine Detection: A technology used to automatically determine if an outbound call has been answered by a live person or a machine, that is most effective when fast and highly accurate.

ANI – Automatic Number Identification: Displays the caller’s phone number to the receiver.

API – Application Programming Interface: Connects systems such as dialers, CRMs, and reporting tools.

ASR – Automatic Speech Recognition: Converts voice to text for routing and transcription.

CCaaS – Contact Center as a Service: Cloud-based software enabling omnichannel communication.

CDR – Call Detail Record: Data log capturing call metadata like duration and disposition.

CLI/CLID – Caller Line Identification: Displays the number of the caller; key to outbound transparency.

CRM – Customer Relationship Management: System used to manage leads, customers, and communication history.

CTI – Computer Telephony Integration: Links call-handling systems with desktop tools or CRMs

Operations & Workforce / Sales

ACW – After Call Work: The tasks agents complete after a call (e.g., notes, follow-up).

BCP – Business Continuity Planning: Ensures contact centers remain operational during disruptions.

BI – Business Intelligence: A process of using data to help organizations make decisions.

BPO – Business Process Outsourcing: Contracting external teams for sales or support functions.

CEM – Customer Experience Management: Practices that improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

CSR/CSA – Customer Service Representative/Assistant: Frontline roles handling customer interactions.

CX – Customer Experience: The full perception a customer has across every touchpoint.

D–F

Metrics & KPIs

DNC – Do Not Call: Refers to lists of consumers who have opted out of telemarketing calls.

EWT – Expected Wait Time: Predicts how long a caller will wait in a queue before being answered.

FCR – First Call Resolution: Measures how often customer issues are resolved without a follow-up call.

FCRR – First Call Resolution Rate: The percentage of calls resolved on the first attempt.

Compliance & Regulatory

EBR – Existing Business Relationship: A legal exemption to federal Do Not Call (DNC) regulations allowing  businesses to call consumers on the National DNC Registry.

ECPA – The Electronic Communications Privacy Act: A US federal law that protects the privacy of electronic communications from unauthorized interception, access, and disclosure

FCC – Federal Communications Commission: U.S. agency regulating telecom, including robocall enforcement.

FTC – Federal Trade Commission: Oversees consumer protection laws relevant to telemarketing and sales practices.

Tech & Telephony

DID – Direct Inward Dialing: Assigns unique phone numbers to extensions without needing separate lines.

Operations & Workforce / Sales

ESAT – Employee Satisfaction Score: Measures happiness and engagement of call center agents.

G–L

Metrics & KPIs

KPI – Key Performance Indicator: Quantifiable metric to track progress toward business goals.

LTV – Lifetime Value: The projected revenue a customer will generate over the relationship.

Compliance & Regulatory

KBA – Knowledge-Based Authentication: Verification method using personal information; required in regulated sectors.

Tech & Telephony

IVA – Intelligent Virtual Agent: AI system that interacts with callers conversationally.

IVR – Interactive Voice Response: Automated menus that allow callers to navigate by voice or keypad.

Operations & Workforce / Sales

KM – Knowledge Management: Framework for capturing and sharing company knowledge.

M–P

Metrics & KPIs

NPS – Net Promoter Score: Measures how likely customers are to recommend your company.

Compliance & Regulatory

MCMG – Medicare Communications and Marketing Guidelines: CMS-issued rules governing Medicare marketing.

NPRM – Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Agency announcement of potential regulation changes.

PEI - Prior Express Invitation: Legally defined consent that allows a telemarketer or seller to call a consumer at a specific number.

PEWC – Prior Express Written Consent: Legally required permission before making certain automated calls or texts.

Tech & Telephony

NLP – Natural Language Processing: Enables AI to interpret human speech and text.

PDD – Post Dial Delay: The time between the last digit of a phone number being dialed and the caller hearing the ringback tone. 

PBX – Private Branch Exchange: Internal phone system used for routing internal and external calls.

Operations & Workforce / Sales

MIA – Most Idle Agent: Agent waiting longest receives next call.

OPA – Off-Phone Activity: Time spent on non-calling tasks like training or emails.

PPC – Pay per Call: Advertising model that ch arges for qualified inbound calls.

PCP – Post-Call Processing: Time agents spend logging details and follow-ups after a call.

Q–S

Metrics & KPIs

ROI – Return on Investment: Evaluates profitability of tools, campaigns, or programs.

RTA – Real-Time Adherence: How closely agents stick to their schedules in real time.

Compliance & Regulatory

RND – Reassigned Numbers Database: Designed to prevent a consumer from getting unwanted calls intended for someone who previously held their phone number.

STIR/SHAKEN – Secure Telephone Identity Revisited/Secure Handling of Asserted information using toKENs:  A technology and framework mandated by the FCC to combat robocalls and caller ID spoofing by digitally signing and verifying calls

Tech & Telephony

QoS – Quality of Service: Measures network reliability and call performance.

RPA – Robotic Process Automation: Uses bots to automate repetitive administrative work.

SA – Speech Analytics: Uses AI to analyze call recordings for patterns or compliance risks.

SaaS – Software as a Service: Cloud delivery model used by most contact center platforms.

SBR – Skills-Based Routing: Routes calls to the most qualified agent.

SIP – Session Initiation Protocol: Protocol for initiating and managing real-time communication sessions.

SMS – Short Message Service: Text messaging for outreach and notifications.

Operations & Workforce / Sales

QA – Quality Assurance: Monitoring and scoring interactions to maintain standards.

QM – Quality Management: Broader process for performance improvement.

T–Z

Metrics & KPIs

TCO – Total Cost of Ownership: Full cost of a software or hardware investment.

Compliance & Regulatory

TCFAPA – Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act: Law [1994] addressing the conduct of telemarketers, focusing on deceptive and fraudulent practices.

TCPA – Telephone Consumer Protection Act: U.S. law [1991] regulating automated and telemarketing calls.

TPMO – Third-Party Marketing Organization: Entity regulated under CMS rules for Medicare marketing.

TRACED Act – Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act:  Expands penalties for illegal robocalls.

TSA – Telephone Solicitation Act: State laws regulating B2B and B2C outbound calls.

TSR – Telemarketing Sales Rule: FTC rule defining ethical telemarketing standards.

Tech & Telephony

TSP – Telecommunications Service Priority: An FCC program directing telecommunications service providers to give preferential treatment to enrolled users needing to add new lines or have lines restored following a disruption of service, regardless of the cause.

TTS – Text-to-Speech: Converts written text into spoken audio in IVR or AI applications.

UC / UCaaS – Unified Communications (as a Service): Combines voice, video, and chat into one system.

VM - Voicemail: An electronic system for recording and storing voiced messages from callers when the intended recipient is unavailable - generally cloud-based, rather than a physical answering machine. 

VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol: Enables phone calls via the internet.

Operations & Workforce / Sales

WFM – Workforce Management: Forecasts and schedules staff to meet service goals.WFO – Workforce Optimization: Integrates analytics and training tools to boost efficiency.VoC – Voice of the Customer: Captures customer feedback to improve experience.

Download the Call Center Acronyms Cheat Sheet (PDF)

Looking for a quick reference? Download the Call Center Acronyms Cheat Sheet (PDF) for your team.

Speaking the language of performance

Call center acronyms aren’t just jargon—they’re the shorthand for how modern outbound teams communicate, track results, and stay compliant.

At Convoso, we help revenue-focused contact centers put these terms into action—driving higher contact rates, optimizing ROI, and ensuring full TCPA compliance through smarter dialing, routing, and automation.

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Compare your current dialer to Convoso and discover the performance edge that comes from mastering every aspect of your outbound strategy. Schedule a demo to learn more.

FAQs About Call Center Acronyms

What are the most important call center acronyms to know?

Start with TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act), CPL (Cost per Lead), CPA (Cost per Acquisition), ROI (Return on Investment), and SBR (Skills-Based Routing). These are essential for understanding outbound performance, profitability, and compliance in today’s contact centers.

How are acronyms used in outbound call centers?

Outbound teams focus on metrics like CPL (Cost per Lead), CPA (Cost per Acquisition), and compliance terms like TCPA and STIR/SHAKEN. They also track call quality with QA and QM.

What’s the difference between CPL, CPA, and ROI?

CPL measures how much you spend to generate a qualified lead. CPA tracks the total cost to acquire a paying customer. ROI shows the overall profitability of your outbound campaigns by comparing revenue to total costs. Together, they reveal how efficiently your contact center turns leads into revenue.

Which acronyms relate to compliance?

TCPA, TSR, TRACED Act, STIR/SHAKEN, PEWC, ATDS, and TSA all influence how contact centers manage consent and outreach.

How can this glossary help new call center agents?

It shortens onboarding time, clarifies KPI dashboards, and helps agents understand operational and compliance expectations faster.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this page, and related links, is provided for general education purposes only and is not legal advice. Convoso does not guarantee the accuracy or appropriateness of this information to your situation. You are solely responsible for using Convoso’s services in a legally compliant way and should consult your legal counsel for compliance advice.