ASR (answer-seizure ratio)

Answer-seizure ratio, abbreviated ASR in telecom traffic reporting, compares answered calls with total call attempts, or seizures, over a defined period. It is often expressed as a proportion or percentage. In this context ASR does not mean automatic speech recognition, a separate technology that converts spoken audio into text. Reports should spell out which meaning is intended.

The definition of an attempt and an answer must be consistent for comparisons to be useful. A network answer event can include voicemail or an automated menu, so ASR is not the same as a human contact rate or a successful conversation rate. Traffic mix, destination availability, time of day, list quality and routing conditions can all affect the result. A change needs investigation rather than a single assumed cause. Analysts should compare like-for-like periods and destinations, retain the underlying counts and review response codes alongside the ratio before drawing conclusions about service quality.