A customer leaves a long voicemail about a wrong order, and the person who can fix it isn't you. You want to send it on, ideally with the recording and a transcript, so they can hear the details without a game of telephone. Most phones can do this now, as long as you have visual voicemail (the list of voicemails inside your Phone app) and not the old dial-in kind.
Here's how on iPhone and Android, how to get voicemails sent to email automatically, and what to do on a business line. We checked each step against Apple's and Google's help pages on October 19, 2026.
First, check whether you have visual voicemail
Open your Phone app. If you see a list of voicemails you can tap and play, you have visual voicemail, and sharing is a few taps. If the only way to hear messages is to call your mailbox and press keys, you have basic voicemail: there's no file to share, and you'll need your carrier's voicemail app or a service that records the message for you.
Forward a voicemail on iPhone
These steps follow Apple's Check your voicemail on iPhone for iOS 27:
- Open the Phone app.
- Find the message. In the unified layout, tap Calls and tap a message in Recents (tap the Filter button, then Voicemails, to see only voicemails). In the classic layout, tap Voicemail, then the message.
- Tap the Share button.
- Pick how to send it: Messages, Mail, AirDrop, a notes app or a shared drive. The recipient gets an audio file.
The same screen shows a transcript in the bottom half, where available. To send the words instead of the audio, select the transcript text, copy it, and paste it into a text or email.
Two cautions from Apple's page: in some countries or regions, deleted voicemails may be erased permanently by your carrier, and voicemails may be deleted if you change your SIM. Share or save anything important before you switch phones or SIMs.
Forward a voicemail on Android
On phones that use Google's Phone app (Pixel and many others), Google's help page How to check your voicemail gives these steps:
- Turn on visual voicemail: Open the Phone app, tap More options (the three dots) at the top right, then Settings, Voicemail, and turn on Visual voicemail. Google lists AT&T, T-Mobile, Google Fi and a few others as supported, and your data plan must include it.
- Share the audio: Tap Voicemail at the bottom, expand the voicemail, tap Send to, and pick the app to send it with.
- Share the transcript: Where transcripts are available, tap Share and pick an app. Google says transcription works in English and Spanish on Android 8.0 and up, with certain carriers.
Samsung phones and some carriers use the carrier's own visual voicemail app instead. Google notes that when you use your carrier's voicemail app, the Phone app's visual voicemail turns off. Those apps usually have a Share, Save or Forward option on each message; check your carrier's help page for the exact steps.
Save a voicemail you need to keep
Forwarding and saving are the same move: you share the audio somewhere outside the Phone app. Keep a copy when a voicemail is a record you may need later, such as a customer complaint, a delivery dispute or an agreed price change.
- iPhone: Tap Share on the voicemail, then Save to Files. Choose a folder on the iPhone or in iCloud Drive.
- Android: Use Send to and pick a drive or file app, or email it to yourself.
- Name it clearly: Date, caller and topic in the file name, for example "2026-10-14 Maya Chen missing coffee."
- Store it with the customer record: A recording in one person's camera roll is as good as lost. Attach it where the team keeps customer notes.
No visual voicemail? Your options
- Ask your carrier: Visual voicemail may be included with your plan, or available as an app.
- Pass on the details instead: Listen, then text or email the caller's name, number, what they need and when they called. Often that's all the next person needs.
- Forward unanswered calls elsewhere: Conditional call forwarding can send unanswered calls to a voicemail service that emails recordings. The setup codes depend on your carrier.
Get every voicemail sent to email automatically
If you'd rather not forward each message by hand, send them all to an inbox:
- Google Voice: On voice.google.com, click Settings, then Voicemail, and turn on Get voicemail via email (from Google's Google Voice help page). The email includes the transcript, and you can play the message from it.
- Carrier and business phone services: Many offer voicemail to email, sometimes as a paid add-on. Search your carrier's help pages for "voicemail to email."
- Shared inbox: Send voicemail emails to an address your team shares, such as support@, so it's clear who's handling each one.
On a business line: make voicemail somebody's job
Forwarding solves "the right person heard it." It doesn't solve "someone called the customer back." A few habits close that gap:
- One owner per message: When you forward a voicemail, say who is calling back, and by when.
- Include what you know: Forward the recording with the order number and any context. "Listen to this" alone means the next person starts from zero.
- Call back the same day: Customers who leave a voicemail are waiting. Our post on what missed calls cost explains why speed matters, and the missed-call cost calculator puts a number on it.
- Mind what's inside: Voicemails often contain addresses, phone numbers and payment issues. Send them to the person who needs them, not a group chat.
- Delete on schedule: Decide how long you keep voicemails and clean up shared copies too.
What to write when you forward one
The audio file alone makes the next person listen, work out who called and guess what you want them to do. Send it with three lines:
"Voicemail from [Maya Chen, 555-0142], [Tuesday 4:10 p.m.]. She's missing [the coffee from order 1042]. Can you call her back [today before 5]? I haven't replied."
The last part matters most. Saying whether you've already replied stops two people calling the same customer, or nobody calling.
A voicemail greeting that makes forwarding easier
Ask callers for the details the next person will need. For example: "You've reached Northfield Coffee. Please leave your name, your order number if you have one, and the best number to reach you. We return calls the same business day." The message is then useful to whoever gets it.
What Chargezen does instead
Chargezen doesn't forward voicemail. It tries to make fewer voicemails happen: Concierge answers calls on your business number, so customers get help on the first call instead of leaving a message.
- Calls answered live: Concierge works as an AI receptionist that can look up orders, subscriptions and your policies while the caller is on the line.
- A person can step in: Teammates listen in from the Finn app on iPhone or the browser and tap Join the call, and Concierge tells the caller they've joined. See join and transfer calls.
- Missed calls and voicemails in Finn: The Finn app shows missed calls and voicemails with transcripts, and you can call or text back in one tap.
- One thread for the team: What was said on the call is saved in the customer's conversation in the team inbox, next to their texts, so nothing needs forwarding.
We offer US (+1) numbers only, new or brought over from your provider. Concierge Starter is $20 a month with 20,000 credits. Pro is $199 a month with 199,000 credits, or $1,990 a year. Phone and text charges are billed as used. See pricing.
Glossary: AI answering service, AI receptionist and unified inbox. Read next: AI receptionist vs answering service vs voicemail, how to forward texts and what missed calls cost.
Frequently asked questions
Can I forward a voicemail as a text message?
Yes, if you have visual voicemail. On iPhone, tap the voicemail, tap Share, then Messages. In Google's Phone app, expand the voicemail, tap Send to and pick your texting app. The recipient gets an audio file.
Why can't I see a Share button on my voicemail?
You probably have basic voicemail, where messages stay on the carrier's system and you dial in to hear them. Ask your carrier about visual voicemail, or use a service that emails recordings.
Can I forward all my voicemails to email automatically?
Not from the iPhone or Google Phone app themselves. Google Voice has a Get voicemail via email setting, and many carriers and business phone services offer voicemail to email.
Does the caller know their voicemail was forwarded?
No. Sharing a voicemail doesn't notify the caller. If someone else will call them back, mention it when they do: "Hi Maya, Sam passed on your message about the missing coffee."
Is the transcript accurate enough to forward on its own?
Usually for the gist, not always for names, numbers and addresses. Forward the audio too when details matter.
