The Waiting Experience widget allows you to customize what callers hear while waiting in a queue. It includes two main features: Waiting Music, which plays during the caller’s wait time, and Estimated Waiting Time (EWT), an optional announcement that informs callers of their expected wait time before connecting to an agent.
Waiting Music
Waiting music is the audio callers hear while waiting in the queue. If this widget is not included in your flow, Aircall’s default waiting music will play automatically.
You can also:
Set different waiting music for each branch of your call flow.
Note that waiting music will play only for the ring time defined in the flow.
Options for waiting music
You can choose one of two audio sources:
Audio library: Select a track from Aircall’s audio library. After selecting a track, preview it by clicking the play icon below the Select audio field.
Custom file: Upload your own audio file to create a personalized waiting experience.
Estimated Waiting Time (EWT)
The Estimated Waiting Time (EWT) feature provides callers with an approximate wait time before they are connected to an agent.
How to enable EWT
Steps:
Toggle on Let callers know their estimated waiting time.
Once enabled, callers will hear their estimated wait time while waiting in the queue.
Choose how often the EWT message repeats.
By default, the first EWT message plays after 30 seconds of waiting music or ringtone.
How EWT is calculated
EWT is based on the average connection time of answered calls from the past 10 minutes within the same Smartflow branch. It uses a logarithmic weighting system, meaning that more recent calls have a greater influence on the calculation than older ones.
EWT is recalculated each time it is announced, ensuring that callers always hear the most accurate and up-to-date estimate. The estimated time will also refresh whenever number settings or Smartflow configurations are updated.
NOTE:
EWT messages will not play during **Ring to Internal**, **Ring to External**, or **extension dialing** scenarios.Fallback messages
In certain cases, generic messages will replace the EWT announcement:
| Scenario | Message Played |
|---|---|
| No calls answered for the number in the last 7 hours | “Thank you for your patience. We’ll be with you as soon as possible.” |
| The EWT exceeds 1 hour, or the caller has waited longer than the initial EWT or more than 20 minutes, and no new calls have been answered in the last 10 minutes | “We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls. We will be with you as soon as possible.” |
Additional information
Language of the message
The language of the EWT message is determined by the language setting of the phone number.
Supported languages include English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Norwegian.
Widget placement
The Waiting Experience widget cannot be placed between two Ring To widgets, as the waiting music from the first one would continue playing.
TIP:
To change the waiting music between two Ring To widgets, insert an **Audio** widget before or after the next Ring To to reset the waiting experience.By combining Waiting Music and Estimated Waiting Time, the Waiting Experience widget helps create a more engaging, transparent, and professional waiting process for callers.