Voicemail greeting copy with AI: structure, length limits, and recording it

The prompt

Paste this, with your own details:

Write 3 voicemail greetings for my business. Each must be
under 20 seconds when read out loud. Business: [NAME].
Hours: [HOURS]. If it's urgent, callers should [URGENT
OPTION]. Ask callers to leave their name, phone number,
[ADDRESS OR OTHER DETAIL], and what they need. Calm and
friendly, no jokes, no music cues.

Here's the kind of thing you'll get, for a made-up plumbing company:

"You've reached Maple Street Plumbing. We're in Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. If it's an emergency, text 555-0142. Otherwise, leave your name, address, and what's wrong, and we'll call you back."

Pick the one that sounds like you

Read all three out loud. The right one is the one you can say without stumbling. Ask for changes in plain words: "Make version 2 warmer," "Shorter," or "Say the phone number slowly." Don't promise "we'll call back within the hour" unless you really will.

Record it

On iPhone, Apple's steps depend on which Phone app layout you use:

• Classic layout: open Phone, tap Voicemail, then Greeting, choose Custom, and record.
• Unified layout: open Phone, tap Calls, tap Edit, then Edit Voicemail Greeting.

Apple notes that custom greetings aren't supported by every carrier. On Android, and on many carriers, you can also record a greeting by calling your own voicemail and following the menu. Office phone systems usually have a greeting option in their settings.

Tips that help: record in a quiet room, stand up, smile while you talk, and say your business name clearly at the start. Listen to it once by calling yourself.

Keep it current

Update it for holidays, closures, and new hours. A greeting that says you're open when you're closed is worse than a plain one.

If callers reach voicemail before you can grab the phone, make it ring longer first.

A greeting doesn't answer the phone

Even a great greeting only gets you a message. Some callers won't leave one and will call the next business on the list. If you'd rather calls got answered and booked, that's what Deeplathe builds. Here's a plain explanation of how AI voice answering works for missed calls.

Under the hood

Spoken copy has different constraints from written copy:

• Time budget. Callers are waiting to talk, so short wins. Twenty seconds is a sensible limit. Ask the model to keep to it, then time it yourself.
• Slot order. Identity first (did I reach the right place?), urgent path second (so urgent callers don't wait), message fields last (what they'll act on next).
• Numbers. Phone numbers in a greeting should be said slowly and in groups. Ask for that explicitly.

The model has no access to your hours or emergency policy. Every fact in the slots is yours. Recording paths depend on carrier and device: iOS shows custom greetings only where the carrier supports them, and business phone systems keep greetings in their own settings.

Short close

Give AI your real hours, your urgent option, and what callers should leave. Ask for three versions under 20 seconds, pick the one that sounds like you, record it, and keep it up to date.