Voicemail

When nobody answers, or when you’re closed, callers can leave a voicemail. SimpleVox records it, transcribes it and writes a short summary, then puts it in the number’s shared inbox so whoever is free can call back.

How voicemail works

The caller hears the number’s greeting, then a beep. They can talk for up to 3 minutes. The message ends when they hang up or after 5 seconds of silence.

Voicemail is always recorded, even on a number with call recording turned off, because that’s how the caller leaves their message.

Set your greeting

Each number has one voicemail greeting. Admins and the number’s owners can change it.

1. Go to Settings → Phone numbers and choose the number.

2. On the General tab, choose Edit next to Voicemail greeting.

3. Either type your greeting in the box, and SimpleVox reads it to callers in a computer voice, or choose Add greeting to upload a file, record yourself or generate it with text to speech in the voice you pick. See Greetings and audio.

4. Choose Save changes.

A new number’s greeting says “Please leave a message after the tone.” If a recorded greeting can’t be played for any reason, SimpleVox reads your greeting text instead, so callers always hear something.

A good greeting is short and tells the caller what happens next:

You’ve reached Example Plumbing. We’re on a job right now. Leave your name, number and what you need, and we’ll call you back today.

The same greeting plays day and night. For an after-hours message, add a Play audio step before voicemail on the Closed path of your business hours, and say when you’ll be back:

Thanks for calling Example Plumbing. We’re closed for the day and open again at 7 tomorrow morning. Leave a message and we’ll call you first thing.

What you get for each voicemail

Each voicemail shows up as Voicemail in the conversation with that caller, in the inbox of the number they called. Open it to see:

• The audio, which you can play right there.
• An AI summary of who called and what they wanted. Each point links to the part of the transcript it came from, so you can check it.
• The transcript in Call details, so you can read the message instead of listening.

The conversation is marked Unread for the whole team. To find messages nobody has dealt with, open the number’s Calls view and filter by Voicemail or Unresponded. See Conversation inbox.

Note

Transcripts and summaries take a moment after the call. Until then you’ll see “Summary on its way.” A voicemail that couldn’t be transcribed says so. That doesn’t mean the caller said nothing, so play the audio if you need to be sure.

When calls go to voicemail

Voicemail is a step in each number’s call flow:

• A new number rings the people it was set up for, then goes to voicemail.
• When you add a step, whatever was already at that point moves after it, so a path that ended in voicemail still does. A new business hours step sends its Closed path to voicemail.
• A forward set to Ask them to press 1 moves on to the next step, usually voicemail, when nobody takes the call.
• A forward set to Connect straight away never comes back to voicemail. If nobody answers there, the call ends.
• You can swap a Voicemail step for Hang up instead from the step’s menu.

Voicemail and call recording

Voicemail is separate from recording live calls. If an admin turns off call recording on a number, voicemail still records. See Recordings and transcripts.

Ask your AI tool about voicemail

If you’ve connected an AI tool, you can ask things like “Any voicemails from new customers today?” or “Which voicemails haven’t we called back?” The answer links back to each voicemail it’s based on. See AI tools.