When callers can't reach you, voicemail captures their messages so you don't miss anything important. dialnote automatically transcribes voicemails and shows them in your inbox alongside recordings, so you can read or listen and respond fast.

Setting Up Voicemail#

There are two ways to configure voicemail: through the call flow builder and through phone number settings. Most teams use both — the call flow controls when voicemail triggers, and the phone number settings control how it behaves.

Adding Voicemail to a Call Flow#

Voicemail usually sits at the end of a call flow — after ringing your team or playing an IVR menu. If nobody picks up, the call falls through to voicemail.

1. Go to Settings → Phone Numbers and select your number
2. Open the Call Flow section
3. Add a Voicemail action to your flow

The voicemail node has a two-step setup wizard:

Voice Config — Create the greeting callers hear before leaving a message. You can type a message for text-to-speech or upload a custom audio file (MP3 or WAV). If you don't set a greeting, callers hear a default message: "Sorry, no one is available to take your call. Please leave a message after the beep."

Recording Settings — Control how the recording works:

• Max recording length — Choose from 30 seconds up to 10 minutes (in 30-second increments). The default is 2 minutes.
• Finish recording key — The key callers press to stop recording early. Options include # (default), *, or any digit 0-9.
• Play beep — Toggle the beep sound before recording starts.

Phone Number Voicemail Settings#

Each phone number also has a dedicated Voicemail section in its settings. These settings apply when calls redirect to voicemail outside the call flow — for example, when no team members are available during a simultaneous ring.

• Enabled — Turn voicemail on or off for this number (off by default)
• Custom greeting — Text-to-speech message or audio URL played before recording
• Max length — Maximum recording duration, up to 10 minutes
• Transcription — Automatically transcribe voicemail recordings to text

Viewing Voicemails#

You can find voicemails in two places: your Inbox and the Voicemails report.

In Your Inbox#

Voicemails appear in your conversation timeline like other call entries. Each voicemail shows:

• The caller's name or number
• Recording duration and timestamp
• An audio player to listen to the message
• Full transcript text (if transcription is enabled)

Click the audio player to listen, or read the transcript below it. Voicemails show up with a distinct icon so you can spot them quickly in your conversation list.

Voicemails Report#

Go to Reports → Voicemails for a dedicated view of all voicemail recordings across your phone numbers. This page shows:

• Total voicemail count and combined duration
• Caller name and number for each voicemail
• Inline audio player for quick playback
• Timestamps with relative time display (e.g., "5m ago")
• Filters by date range and phone number

You can also load more voicemails with pagination if you have a high volume.

Auto-Replies for Voicemails#

You can send automatic text responses when callers leave voicemails. This is great for letting people know you got their message and will call back.

1. Go to your phone number's Auto-Replies section
2. Find Missed call with voicemail
3. Enable the auto-reply and write your message

The SMS goes out right after the voicemail recording ends.

Best Practices#

Include your business name in greetings — Callers want to know they've reached the right place. Mention your company name and set expectations for a callback.

Keep recordings reasonable — 2-3 minutes is plenty for most voicemails. Longer recordings rarely contain more useful information and take longer to review.

Turn on transcription — Reading a transcript is faster than listening to audio, especially when you're triaging a busy inbox. You can scan the text and prioritize callbacks.

Set up auto-replies — A quick "Got your message, we'll call you back shortly" text goes a long way. It reassures callers that their voicemail didn't vanish into the void.

Review daily — Voicemails from new leads or urgent customer issues need timely responses. Don't let them pile up.