A good voicemail greeting tells callers they reached the right place, what to leave and when they'll hear back. Copy any script below, change the names and hours, then paste it into the generator above to hear it in a natural AI voice.
Professional voicemail greeting examples
- Small business: "Thank you for calling Oak and Ember Bakery. We can't come to the phone right now. Please leave your name, number and a short message, and we'll call you back today."
- Doctor's or dental office: "You've reached Lakeside Family Clinic. If this is a medical emergency, please hang up and dial 911. Otherwise, leave your name, date of birth and phone number, and our staff will return your call."
- Law office: "Thank you for calling Reyes and Partners. Please leave your name, number and a brief description of your matter. A member of our team will return your call within one business day."
- Real estate agent: "Hi, you've reached Dana Brooks with Summit Realty. I'm probably showing a home right now. Leave your name, number and the property you're interested in, and I'll call you back shortly."
- Contractor or plumber: "You've reached Harbor Street Plumbing. We're on a job right now. Leave your name, address and a short description of the problem, and we'll call you back to schedule a visit."
- Salon or spa: "Thanks for calling Willow Salon. We're with clients at the moment. To book or change an appointment, leave your name, number and preferred time, and we'll confirm by phone."
- Restaurant: "Thank you for calling Bella Cucina. For reservations, please leave your name, party size, date and time, and we'll call to confirm. Our hours are Tuesday to Sunday, five to ten."
- Sales or account manager: "You've reached Jordan Lee at Brightpath Software. I'm away from my desk. Leave your name, company and number, and I'll get back to you before the end of the day."
Personal voicemail greeting examples
- Simple: "Hi, you've reached Alex. Leave a message and I'll call you back."
- Friendly: "Hey, it's Sam. Sorry I missed you. Leave your name and number, and I'll call you back as soon as I can."
- Professional, for your own phone: "You've reached Morgan Taylor. I'm unable to take your call. Please leave your name, number and a short message, and I'll return your call today."
- Funny: "Hi, this is Chris. I'm either away from my phone or avoiding you. Leave a message and find out which one."
- Traveling: "Hi, it's Jamie. I'm traveling this week with limited service. Leave a message, or send a text if it's urgent."
Holiday and out-of-office greetings
- Holiday closure: "Thanks for calling. Our office is closed for the holidays and reopens on Monday, January fourth. Leave a message and we'll call you back then. Happy holidays!"
- Vacation: "You've reached Riley. I'm out of the office until the fifteenth. For anything urgent, please call our front desk. Otherwise, leave a message and I'll call you back when I return."
- Weekend: "Thanks for calling. We're closed for the weekend and back Monday at nine. Leave a message and we'll return your call first thing."
What to say in a voicemail greeting
Keep it short and cover four things: who the caller reached (your name or business), that you can't answer right now, what to leave (name, number and the reason for the call) and when you'll call back. Businesses can add their hours, a website or an emergency number. Read it aloud once: if it runs past about 20 seconds, trim it. For live-answer lines, phone menus and on-hold messages, see our professional phone greeting examples.
Why use an AI voice for your voicemail greeting?
Recording a greeting yourself takes several tries and a quiet room. With Lazybird you type the greeting, pick a voice and get a clean, evenly paced recording in seconds. You can update it for holidays or new hours without re-recording, keep the same voice on every line, and make the same greeting in another language: every Lazybird voice can read Spanish, French, Hindi and many other languages.
