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Voicemail Handling

Configure how your AI assistant behaves when outbound calls reach voicemail.

Last updated: April 19, 2026
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In outbound calling campaigns, a significant portion of calls will reach voicemail rather than a live person — often 40–60% depending on your list and calling times. How you handle these voicemail drops can significantly impact your campaign's overall effectiveness.

Live Bots 365 gives you full control over voicemail behavior: you can choose to leave a pre-recorded or AI-generated message, hang up silently, or play a custom audio file. Each approach has trade-offs, and the right choice depends on your campaign goals.

Voicemail Detection

Live Bots 365 uses automated voicemail detection (AMD) to identify when a call has reached voicemail. The system listens for the characteristic patterns of a voicemail greeting — the beep, the silence, the recorded message — and triggers the configured voicemail behavior. AMD is accurate in most cases but may occasionally misidentify a live person as voicemail (or vice versa). You can adjust the AMD sensitivity settings to tune this behavior for your specific use case.

Voicemail Options

Leave a Text-to-Speech Message

The AI assistant reads a configured message using its text-to-speech voice. This is the easiest option to set up — just write the message you want left and the assistant will speak it. Keep voicemail messages under 30 seconds for best results.

Leave a Custom Audio File

Upload a pre-recorded MP3 or WAV file to use as the voicemail message. This gives you full control over the voice, tone, and production quality of the message. A professionally recorded voicemail message often performs better than TTS.

Hang Up (No Message)

The platform detects voicemail and immediately disconnects without leaving a message. This is useful when you want to maximize live-answer conversations and avoid cluttering recipients' voicemail boxes. The lead will be retried according to your campaign's retry settings.

Writing an Effective Voicemail Script

If you choose to leave a voicemail, the script matters. A good voicemail message is brief, clear, and gives the recipient a compelling reason to call back or take action.

Example Voicemail Script

"Hi [First Name], this is Alex calling from Sunrise Dental. I'm reaching out about your upcoming appointment on Thursday. Please give us a call back at 555-0100 to confirm, or visit our website to reschedule. Thanks and have a great day."

Tip: Use the lead's first name variable if available — personalized voicemails have higher callback rates.