> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getrivet.ca/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The voicemail inbox

> Voicemails arrive transcribed, tagged, and ready to act on — usually within a minute of the caller hanging up.

The voicemail tab is the inbox half of the Gmail-for-voicemail idea. Every voicemail your practice line takes shows up as a row, sorted newest first, with two lines of transcript visible without tapping in. You scan the list, decide which to open, and the rest can wait.

## How a voicemail gets to the inbox

When a caller leaves a message, four things happen in sequence:

<Steps>
  <Step title="The audio is captured">
    The caller's voicemail is recorded the moment they finish speaking.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Rivet transcribes it in Canada">
    The audio is transcribed on Canadian hardware — not sent to a cloud AI service. The transcript is the raw text the caller spoke. Typical wait: under a minute from hangup to inbox row.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The call gets categorized">
    The transcript is read and assigned one of eleven categories: Missed Call, New Client, Booking, Reschedule, Urgent, Emergency, Insurance, Referral, Pricing, Hours, or Other. The category is just a tag — it drives which auto-reply text the caller receives, and gives you a colored chip to scan in the inbox.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The caller receives an auto-reply text">
    Based on the category, Rivet sends the caller a text message acknowledging the call. The text is a template you control — not AI-generated. See [How auto-reply works](/practice-phone/auto-response).
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Audio and transcription run on Canadian infrastructure. The transcript text is not sent to any cloud AI service. See [Privacy & security](/privacy/index) for the full picture.
</Note>

## What you see on the inbox row

Each row in the Voicemail tab shows:

* The caller's name (if they're in your Contacts) or formatted phone number.
* The first two lines of the transcript, in quotes.
* The date.
* The voicemail length in `m:ss` format.
* An info glyph and a chevron — tapping anywhere on the row opens the detail.

If the caller didn't speak (a recording with empty or too-short transcript), the row still appears, marked as a missed call without a quoted line.

## What you see when you open one

Tap a row and you get the detail page:

* **The caller** — a large avatar and the name (or phone number) at the top, with the timestamp underneath.
* **Action tiles** — Message, Call, and Send video link buttons, side by side. Tap Message to reply by SMS, Call to dial them back, or Send video link to text them your waiting-room URL.
* **The audio player** — play, pause, scrub, and a duration display. Same audio the caller left.
* **The full transcript** — under a "Transcript" label.
* **A contact action** — "Open contact" if they're saved, or "Create new contact" if they aren't.

The audio plays directly from Rivet. The transcript is the same text that appeared on the inbox row, expanded to full length.

## Missed calls without a voicemail

If a caller hangs up before leaving a message, no voicemail row is created in this tab. The call shows up in the **Recents** tab instead, marked as missed. The caller still receives the "Missed Call" auto-reply.

This is deliberate — the Voicemail tab is for messages with actual content. The Recents tab is the full call log.

## Multiple voicemails from the same caller

If the same caller leaves multiple voicemails, each one is a separate row in the inbox. They're also grouped under one conversation in the **Messages** tab — one thread per phone number, with each voicemail showing inline as an event card alongside the SMS replies. This way you can see the full back-and-forth in one place even when several voicemails are involved.

## Related articles

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Recording a greeting" icon="microphone" href="/practice-phone/voicemail-greeting">
    What your caller hears before the beep.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sending texts" icon="message" href="/practice-phone/sending-texts">
    Replying to the conversation a voicemail kicks off.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>