Voicemail

Greetings, where messages land, and why the AI is usually better.

Voicemail is available as a destination on any number, and as a fallback when nobody answers.

Setting it up

Set a number's destination to Voicemail, or set it as the fallback under When busy.

The greeting

Record or upload a greeting, or have one generated from text.

A good greeting is short and tells the caller what to do and what to expect:

"You've reached Northgate Dental. We're closed right now — leave your name, number and what you need, and we'll call you back when we open at 8:30. For a dental emergency, call 0113 496 0000."

That gives them an alternative, a timeframe and an emergency route. Compare a greeting that says only "leave a message after the tone", which tells the caller nothing about whether anyone will hear it.

Different greetings for different situations

Where supported, set separate greetings for out-of-hours and for busy. A caller who rang during your advertised opening hours and got voicemail should hear something that acknowledges that, rather than a message saying you are closed.

Where messages go

Voicemails appear in your Inbox as conversations, attached to the caller's contact record, and in Calls as call records.

They are transcribed, so you can read a message instead of listening to it — much faster to triage, and searchable afterwards.

Notifications

Set alerts under Settings → Notifications so a voicemail reaches someone. A message nobody is told about sits unheard.

Email with the transcription is the most practical default.

Why the AI is usually better

For most businesses, pointing the fallback at the AI receptionist rather than voicemail is a straight improvement.

A voicemail is a one-way message that half your callers will not leave — most people hang up on voicemail and call a competitor. The AI has an actual conversation: it answers the question, qualifies the caller, books the appointment, and escalates a genuine emergency.

Keep voicemail as the destination when:

• your callers specifically expect it,
• the AI is out of minutes and you need a safety net,
• you are not yet confident in the AI for a particular line.

See AI Receptionist.

Retention

Voicemails and their transcripts are kept with the call record. Consider your data retention obligations, particularly if callers leave sensitive information — a voicemail is a recording and is subject to the same rules. See Recording, consent & AI disclosure.