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Overview

Voicemail ensures you never miss important communications, even when you can’t answer calls. With OpenPhone’s voicemail system, you can create professional greetings, receive automatic transcriptions, and manage messages efficiently across all your devices. Whether you need different greetings for business hours, holiday messages, or department-specific recordings, voicemail keeps your business accessible 24/7.

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Understanding voicemail in OpenPhone

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How voicemail works

When calls go unanswered:
  1. Caller hears your custom greeting
  2. Records their message
  3. System transcribes the audio
  4. You receive notifications across devices
  5. Message stored in conversation thread

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Key features

  • Custom greetings: Different messages for different scenarios
  • Automatic transcription: Read messages without listening
  • Profanity filtering: Clean transcriptions for professional environments
  • Indefinite storage: Messages saved until you delete them
  • Multi-device sync: Access voicemails anywhere
  • Email notifications: Get transcriptions in your inbox

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Setting up voicemail

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Add to your call flow

  1. Open the call flow builder
  2. Drag Voicemail step to canvas
  3. Place after:
    • Ring users (when no answer)
    • Business hours (after hours)
    • Phone menu options
  4. Configure greeting and settings
Voicemail configuration in call flow builder

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Create your greeting

Select the voicemail step and choose your method: Upload a file
  • This is a pre-recorded greeting that you’ve made ourside of OpenPhone
  • The uploaded file must be an MP3 or WAV
  • Listen before uploading to ensure you’ve recorded high-quality audio
Record in OpenPhone
  • Click Record button
  • Use your computer or your phone’s own microphone
  • Preview to make sure you’re happy with it
  • Can re-record as many times as you want
Text to speech
  • Type your greeting text
  • Our AI will generate a professional voice
  • Quick way to do an updated voicemail during holidays or some other time
  • This wil give you a consistent tone and clarity
Text-to-speech is perfect for frequently changing greetings like holiday hours or temporary messages.

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Configure settings

Enable additional features:
  • Transcribe voicemail: Automatic text conversion
  • Profanity filter: Clean up transcriptions
  • Email notifications: Forward to inbox
  • Ring duration: Set time before voicemail

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Professional greeting examples

Standard business greeting “Thank you for calling [Business Name]. We’re currently assisting other customers. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message, and we’ll return your call within one business day.” After-hours greeting “You’ve reached [Business Name]. Our office hours are Monday through Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern. Please leave a message and we’ll respond on the next business day. For emergencies, press 0.” Department-specific greeting “You’ve reached the [Department] team at [Business Name]. All representatives are currently busy. Leave a detailed message including your account number, and we’ll call back within 4 hours.” Holiday greeting _“Happy holidays from [Business Name]! We’re closed from [Date] through [Date]. Please leave a message and we’ll respond when we return. For urgent matters, email us at this address. _ Personal voicemail “Hi, you’ve reached [Name] at [Business Name]. I’m either on another call or away from my desk. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
Need more inspiration? Check out 45 Professional Voicemail Greeting Examples for industry-specific scripts.

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Managing voicemail settings

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On web/desktop

  1. Navigate to Settings → Phone numbers
  2. Select the number to configure
  3. Scroll to Voicemail section
  4. Configure:
    • Greeting selection
    • Transcription settings
    • Profanity filter
    • Ring duration

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On mobile

  1. Tap settings gear ⚙️
  2. Tap Manage next to phone numbers
  3. Select your number
  4. Tap Voicemail
  5. Record or upload greeting
  6. Selected greeting shows purple ✔️

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Advanced voicemail strategies

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Time-based greetings

Use business hours for different messages:
  • During hours: Brief, professional greeting
  • After hours: Detailed info with return timeframe
  • Weekends: Special weekend message
  • Holidays: Closure dates and emergency contacts

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Department routing

Create specific voicemail boxes: 
Phone menu → Department selection → Specific voicemail
  Sales → Sales voicemail
  Support → Support voicemail with SLA info
  Billing → Billing voicemail with payment options

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Language options

Serve multilingual customers:
  1. Main greeting in primary language
  2. Phone menu for language selection
  3. Language-specific voicemail boxes
  4. Transcriptions in detected language

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Overflow handling

When team is at capacity: 
Ring users (30 sec) → Play message → Voicemail
"All representatives are busy. Your call is important..."

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Voicemail features

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Transcription accuracy

Improve transcription quality:
  • Clear greeting prompts callers to speak clearly
  • Request name spelling for accuracy
  • Enable profanity filter for cleaner text
  • Review and correct important transcriptions

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Ring duration settings

Customize when voicemail activates:
  • Default: 30 seconds
  • Quick to voicemail: 15-20 seconds
  • Extended ringing: 45-60 seconds
  • Per group: Different times for different ring groups
Ring duration configuration

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Profanity filtering

Keep transcriptions professional:
  1. Go to Settings → Phone numbers
  2. Select your number
  3. Scroll to Voicemail section
  4. Enable Filter profanity

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Accessing voicemails

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In conversation threads

All voicemails appear in the relevant conversation:
  • Audio player for playback
  • Full transcription below
  • Download option for archiving
  • Timestamp and duration

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Notifications

Stay informed about new messages:
  • Badge icons: Unread count in inbox
  • Push notifications: Mobile alerts
  • Email forwards: Transcriptions in email
  • Slack integration: Team notifications

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Do Not Disturb mode

Send calls directly to voicemail:
  • Set duration: 30 min, 1 hour, 8 hours, or custom
  • Texts still received normally
  • Voicemail notifications continue
  • Doesn’t affect shared numbers

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Storage and retention

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Message storage

  • Duration: Indefinite (until deleted)
  • Location: Within conversation threads
  • Backup: Automatic cloud storage
  • Export: Available through data export

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After cancellation

  • Messages guaranteed for 14 days
  • Export data before cancelling
  • Download important voicemails
  • Request full data export if needed

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Integration options

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Email notifications

Receive voicemails in your inbox:
  1. Configure email integration
  2. Select voicemail notifications
  3. Transcriptions included
  4. Multiple recipients supported

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Webhooks and APIs

Automate voicemail handling:
  • Trigger CRM updates
  • Create support tickets
  • Send to translation services
  • Archive to cloud storage

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Team collaboration

Share voicemail management:
  • Shared number access
  • Internal comments on messages
  • Assignment to team members
  • Status tracking (done/pending)

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Recording tips

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Professional quality

Create clear, effective greetings:
  • Quiet environment: No background noise
  • Speak slowly: Clear enunciation
  • Friendly tone: Warm but professional
  • Brief message: 20-30 seconds ideal

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Script best practices

  • State business name immediately
  • Set callback expectations
  • Request key information
  • Offer alternatives (email, website)
  • Thank caller for their message

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Regular updates

Keep greetings current:
  • Review monthly
  • Update for holidays
  • Reflect hour changes
  • Remove outdated info

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FAQs