Google Voice has a powerful voicemail function that allows you to not only listen to missed calls, but also read transcriptions of what they say! Another neat feature of it is that you can customize the voicemail greeting that callers get – even for individual people or groups! This tutorial will go over how to change your Google Voice greeting to:
- A standard greeting that uses your Google Voice number
- A standard greeting that uses your recorded name
- A custom standard greeting
- A custom greeting for individual people who contact you
- A custom greeting for people within a certain group who contact you
To change your standard Google Voice voicemail greeting:
1. Access your Google Voice account.
Open your preferred web browser and go to www.google.com/voice.
2. Find the main menu by clicking the “More Options” button.
You will be asked to log into your Google account, so go ahead and do that. Next, click the three bars in the top-left corner of the page to open Google Voice's main menu.
3. Switch back to the older version of Google Voice in order to access the settings you need.
Next, click Legacy Google Voice to switch back to the old version of Google Voice.
4. Access Google Voice settings to change your voicemail greeting.
Once you're in Legacy Google Voice, click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the page, and then click Settings.
5. Find the Voicemail options and click on it.
Next, click the Voicemail & Text tab.
(Image source: Google Voice Help Forum – ChuckBaker)
From here, there are 3 standard greetings you can choose from: a greeting with your number, a greeting with your name, and a customized greeting. The procedure is different depending on what kind of standard greeting you want to use. Here is how to set up each option.
How to select a Google Voice standard voicemail greeting
Method One: Standard greeting with your Google Voice number:
- Simply click the drop-down menu next to "Voicemail Greeting" and select System Standard.
(Image source: Google Voice Help Forum – ChuckBaker)
- Then, click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.
(Image source: Optimal Digital Marketing – Jeremy Sholz)
Method Two: Google Voice standard greeting with your name:
- First, next to the "Recorded Name" section, click Record New.
(Image source: Google Voice Help Forum – ChuckBaker)
- A box will pop up asking you which phone you want to record your name on. Click the drop-down menu and select one of the phone numbers linked to your Google Voice account, and then click Connect.
(Image source: The Unofficial Google Voice Blog)
- Google will call the number you selected. Answer the call and follow the prompts to record your name. After you hang up, your voicemail greeting will automatically be switched to a standard greeting that uses your name instead of your number.
Method Three: Custom Google Voice standard greeting:
- Start by going to the "Voicemail Greeting" section and clicking Record New Greeting.
(Image source: Google Voice Help Forum – ChuckBaker)
- A box will pop up asking you to name your greeting. Click in the field marked "Greeting Name" and type in a name for your greeting. Make sure the check box labelled "Make This My Default Greeting for Callers" is marked – if it isn't, click it to mark it – so that your greeting is automatically put into use when you're done recording it. Then click Continue.
(Image source: The Unofficial Google Voice Blog)
- Next, you will be asked to select a phone to record your greeting on. Click the drop-down menu marked "Phone to Ring" and select a number linked to your Google Voice account. Then click Connect.
(Image source: The Unofficial Google Voice Blog)
- Google will call you at the number you selected. Answer the call and follow the prompts to record your new greeting. When you hang up, your recording will be saved and will become your new default greeting.
That’s how you set up any of the three kinds of standard Google Voice voicemail greetings. Standard greetings are a simple way to have an active voicemail system that can keep track of missed calls. However, if you want to customize your voicemail a little more, then there are some ways you can do it.
You can create special voicemail greetings in Google Voice that will play when certain individuals call you, or when someone in a certain group of your contacts calls you. We’ll show you how in the instructions below.
To change your Google Voice voicemail greeting for specific people:
Whether you want to set up special voicemail for a specific contact or for contacts in a specific group, the first step is to go to www.google.com/voice and log into your account. Next, click the Main Menu button (the three bars) in the top-left corner of the page.
Again, you need to switch back to the old version of Google Voice in order to make changes to your voicemail greetings, so click Legacy Google Voice.
From here on out, the process will be different, depending on what you want to do.
First Method: Use a custom greeting for a specific person:
- Click Call History in the left-hand pane (if you're not already there). Then, click on the name of the person you want to create a custom voicemail greeting for.
(Image source: Lighton Phiri)
- Once you're on the contact's information page, scroll down to the section labelled "When This Contact Goes to Voicemail". Click the drop-down menu beneath this heading and select a greeting that you've created to use. Or, if you want to create a new greeting just for this person, click either Use Phone to Record a New Greeting or just Record New.
(Image source: YouTube – Doug Caldwell)
- If you opt for creating a new greeting, a box will appear asking you to give it a name. Click in the field marked "Greeting Name" and type in what you want to call your greeting. Then click Continue.
(Image source: The Unofficial Google Voice Blog)
- Now you will have to choose a phone linked to your Google Voice account to record your greeting on. Click the drop-down menu under "Phone to Ring" and select a phone for Google to call. Then click Connect.
(Image source: The Unofficial Google Voice Blog)
- Answer the phone you chose when Google calls you, and then follow the prompts to record your greeting. When you hang up, your new greeting will automatically be saved for the person you chose. Now, all you have to do is click the "X" in the top-right corner of the pop-up box to close it, and then click Save at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
Second Method: Use a custom greeting for contacts in a specific group:
To change the voicemail greeting for a specific group of people, they need to be part of the same group in your contacts. If you haven’t already done this, see this help article from Google. Once you’ve got that set up, you’re ready to customize your Google Voice voicemail.
- First, click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the page, and then select Settings from the drop-down menu that appears.
- Next, click the Groups & Circles tab. A list of your contact groups will appear; click Edit below the one that you want to change the voicemail greeting for.
(Image source: The Unofficial Google Voice Blog)
- Scroll down to the section labelled "When People in This Group Go to Voicemail". Click the drop-down menu and select a pre-existing greeting to use, and then click Save. Or, if you want to use a new greeting that you'll make from scratch, click either Use Phone to Record a New Greeting or just Record New.
(Image source: The Unofficial Google Voice Blog)
- If you choose to record a new greeting, a box will pop up asking you to name it. Click in the field marked "Greeting Name" and type in a title for your new greeting. Then click Continue.
(Image source: The Unofficial Google Voice Blog)
- Now you will actually need to record your greeting, so you have to pick a phone to record it on. Click the drop-down menu under "Phone to Ring" and select a phone linked to your Google Voice account for Google to call. Then click Connect.
(Image source: The Unofficial Google Voice Blog)
- Google will call the phone you chose. When they do, answer the call, and then follow the prompts to record your greeting. When you hang up, your new greeting will automatically be selected for the group. From here, simply click the "X" in the top-right corner of the pop-up box to close it, and then click Save at the bottom of the page.
Those are all of the different ways you can change your Google Voice greeting! Next, we'll cover how to turn your voicemail on Google Voice on or off for specific phones. This lets you forward voicemails to your Google Voice account or switch back to your phone's standard voicemail system as you see fit.
