Business Voicemail Greeting Examples (20 Scripts)

What should a business voicemail greeting say?

A business voicemail greeting should state your business name, ask for the caller's name, number and reason for calling, and say when they can expect a call back. If you handle anything urgent, it should also say what to do in an emergency. The whole greeting should take no more than about 20 seconds to hear.

The examples below are grouped by situation. Replace the bracketed parts with your details, record in a quiet room, and listen to the result on a phone before you rely on it.

What every voicemail greeting needs

Callers reach voicemail wanting to know three things: did I call the right place, is it worth leaving a message, and when will someone get back to me. A greeting that answers all three, briefly, gets more usable messages than one that only says nobody is available.

Your business name, and your own name if it is a direct line.
A reason nobody answered, in a few words: closed, on another call, with a customer.
Exactly what to leave: name, number, and a short reason for the call.
A realistic callback promise, such as within one business day.
An alternative for urgent needs: another number, a text line, a website, or emergency services.
Your opening hours, if being closed is the reason they reached voicemail.

General business voicemail greeting examples

Use one of these as your everyday greeting, the one callers hear when you are open but cannot answer.

General: "Thank you for calling [business name]. We cannot take your call right now. Please leave your name, number and a short message, and we will call you back within one business day."
General with hours: "You have reached [business name]. Our hours are [days], [open] to [close]. Please leave your name, number and the reason for your call, and we will get back to you as soon as we can."
Direct line: "Hi, you have reached [your name] at [business name]. I am away from my phone. Leave your name, number and a brief message, and I will return your call by the end of the next business day."
With a text option: "Thanks for calling [business name]. We are helping other customers right now. Leave a message after the tone, or text this number and we will reply as soon as we are free."

After-hours and holiday voicemail greetings

After-hours greetings should lead with the fact that you are closed and when you reopen, since that is the caller's first question. Holiday greetings need exact dates, and they need to be removed when the holiday ends. A greeting that still mentions a holiday two weeks later tells callers nobody is paying attention.

After hours: "Thank you for calling [business name]. Our office is closed. We are open [days] from [open] to [close]. Please leave your name, number and a message, and we will call you back on the next business day."
After hours with emergency option: "You have reached [business name] outside our normal hours. If this is an emergency, please call our on-call line at [number]. Otherwise, leave your name, number and a message, and we will return your call when we reopen at [time]."
Weekend: "Thanks for calling [business name]. We are closed for the weekend and will be back Monday at [time]. Leave a message and we will call you Monday morning, or book online at [website]."
Holiday closure: "Thank you for calling [business name]. We are closed for [holiday] from [date] through [date] and will reopen on [date]. Messages left during this time will be returned when we are back. We wish you a happy holiday."
Holiday with reduced hours: "You have reached [business name]. During the holiday period, from [date] to [date], we are open [reduced hours]. Please leave a message and we will call you back during those hours."

On the other line and out-of-office greetings

Short absences deserve their own greeting when callers would otherwise assume you are closed. A message saying you are on another call tells the caller that someone is there and a reply will be quick. Out-of-office greetings should give the return date and a named alternative contact.

On the other line: "Thanks for calling [business name]. We are on another call right now. Please leave your name and number and we will call you back within the hour."
With a customer: "You have reached [business name]. We are with a customer at the moment. Leave your name, number and what you need, and we will call you back as soon as we are finished, usually within [timeframe]."
Out of office: "Hi, this is [your name] at [business name]. I am out of the office until [date]. For anything that cannot wait, please contact [colleague name] at [number]. Otherwise leave a message and I will reply when I return."
Extended leave: "You have reached [your name]. I am away until [date] and will not be checking messages. Please call our main line at [number] and the team will help you."

Voicemail greeting examples by trade

Callers in different trades need different things from a greeting. A dental patient wants to know what to do about pain. A legal caller wants to know the message is confidential and not to leave sensitive details. A homeowner with a leak wants the emergency number. A salon client mostly wants to book.

Dental practice: "Thank you for calling [practice name]. We are closed or with patients right now. If this is a dental emergency, please call [emergency number]. If it is life threatening, call 911. Otherwise, leave your name, number and the reason for your call, and we will get back to you on the next business day."
Dental practice, new patients: "You have reached [practice name]. We are welcoming new patients. Please leave your name, number and the best time to reach you, and our front desk will call you back to schedule your first visit."
Law firm: "You have reached [firm name]. We are unable to take your call. Please leave your name, number and a brief description of your matter. Do not include confidential details in your message. A member of our team will return your call within one business day."
Law firm, existing clients: "Thank you for calling [firm name]. If you are an existing client, please leave your name and case reference and your attorney's office will call you back. If you are calling about a new matter, leave your name and number and our intake team will be in touch."
Home services: "Thanks for calling [business name]. We are out on jobs right now. For an emergency such as [example], call or text [emergency number]. For everything else, leave your name, address, number and a description of the problem, and we will call you back today."
Home services, after hours: "You have reached [business name] after hours. For emergency service, call [on-call number]. Emergency rates may apply. For routine service, leave your name, number and address and we will call you first thing in the morning."
Salon or spa: "Hi, you have reached [salon name]. We are with clients right now. To book, reschedule or cancel, leave your name, number and the service you would like, or book online at [website]. We return calls between appointments."

Common voicemail greeting mistakes

Most weak greetings fail in the same few ways, and all of them are easy to fix in one re-recording.

Too long. Few callers will sit through a 45-second greeting. Cut the mission statement and the list of services.
No business name. The caller cannot tell whether they reached you or a wrong number.
A promise you do not keep. 'We will call you right back' followed by two days of silence is worse than an honest 'within one business day'.
Out of date. Old holiday dates, former staff names and wrong hours all suggest neglect.
No route for urgent calls. If you are in a trade with emergencies, say where they should go.
A full mailbox. Check that the mailbox can accept messages, and clear it regularly.
Poor audio. Wind, traffic, a speakerphone echo or a rushed delivery make a small business sound careless. Record indoors, standing, at a normal pace.
The carrier default. A robotic voice reading out a phone number tells the caller nothing.

When voicemail is fine and when answering live is better

Voicemail is not a failure. For many businesses it is a reasonable tool. If you get a few calls a day, mostly from existing customers who know you and are happy to wait an hour for a callback, a clear greeting and a habit of returning calls promptly is enough. The same goes for direct lines, for calls that arrive overnight about things that can wait, and for businesses whose customers mostly book online or by text.

It works less well for people who do not know you yet. Someone searching for a service and calling down a list has no reason to wait for you. An older Google and Ipsos study from 2013 found that 70% of mobile searchers had used click-to-call from search results, which points to how many first contacts start as a phone call from a search page. Whether those callers leave a message depends on the caller and the trade, so the reliable test is your own call log: compare the calls that reached voicemail against the messages actually left.

Voicemail is also the wrong tool for anything urgent, for booking requests that could have been settled in a minute, and for callers who need a simple fact such as whether you are open on Saturday. In those cases the caller wanted an answer, not a recording.

The alternatives are a person or an AI. A person, whether a staff member or an answering service, brings judgment and warmth and costs the most per call. An AI receptionist, such as Masheev or the others in this category, answers in conversation, handles routine questions and bookings through a connected calendar, and passes the rest to you with a summary. It costs less than a human service and it is not a person, so sensitive calls should still reach one. A sensible middle path is to keep voicemail on direct lines and put a live answer on the main number during the hours when new customers call.

Common questions

How long should a business voicemail greeting be?

Aim for 15 to 20 seconds. That is enough for your business name, what to leave, when you will call back and an urgent alternative. Anything longer tests the patience of someone who only wants to leave a message.

What is a good professional voicemail greeting?

'Thank you for calling [business name]. We cannot take your call right now. Please leave your name, number and a short message, and we will call you back within one business day.' It names the business, tells the caller what to leave and sets a clear expectation.

Should I mention my hours in my voicemail greeting?

Yes, if callers are likely to reach voicemail because you are closed. Stating your hours answers one of the most common questions and tells callers when to try again. Keep it to one sentence and update it when your hours change.

How often should I update my voicemail greeting?

Change it for every holiday closure and extended absence, and change it back the day you return. Review the standard greeting at least twice a year and whenever your hours, staff or emergency number change. Put a reminder in your calendar, because outdated greetings are easy to forget.

Is voicemail enough for a small business?

It can be, if call volume is low, callers are mostly existing customers, and you return messages quickly. It is weaker for new customers comparing providers and for urgent requests. Check your call log to see how many voicemail calls result in a message, and consider a live answer for the hours when that gap is largest.

Sources

Prices and figures in this guide come from the publishers' own pages, checked on October 5, 2026. They change, so confirm before you rely on them. Product names are trademarks of their owners. Masheev is not affiliated with or endorsed by the other services named.

Google/Ipsos, The Role of Click to Call in the Path to Purchase (2013)

Business voicemail greeting examples