Dead air detection is the process of monitoring live or recorded calls to find stretches of silence that exceed a defined threshold (for example, 5–10 seconds). It can be applied to agent and customer audio to distinguish between intentional pauses and potential call problems.
Operationally, dead air often correlates with poor customer experience and higher handle time, such as when an agent is searching for information, a transfer or hold is mishandled, or the customer believes the call has disconnected. Tracking dead air helps quality teams pinpoint coaching needs, workflow gaps, and technical issues, and it supports more consistent call handling standards.
