If you run a business in Wales, some of the people who ring you would rather speak Welsh. Answering in Welsh, or simply letting callers know they can use it, is one of the easiest ways to make them feel welcome. This guide covers how many people speak Welsh where you are, what callers expect, the free help available, and the practical ways to cover your phone in Welsh even if you do not speak it yourself.
The short answer
Greet callers bilingually, or in Welsh first, so they know Welsh is welcome. If someone answers in Welsh, carry on in Welsh if you can, or take their details and arrange for a Welsh speaker to call back. For the times nobody who speaks Welsh is free, a recorded bilingual greeting, a Welsh-speaking answering service or an AI receptionist that speaks Welsh can fill the gap.
For most small private businesses this is a choice, not a legal duty. The Welsh language standards are legal duties that apply to the organisations that receive a compliance notice from the Welsh Language Commissioner, and those are mainly public bodies. The Commissioner encourages businesses to offer Welsh and supports them to do it.
How many of your callers speak Welsh
In the 2021 Census, about 538,000 people in Wales aged three and over, or 17.8%, said they could speak Welsh. The figure varies a lot by area, according to the Welsh Government's summary of the Census:
| Area | People aged 3 and over able to speak Welsh |
|---|---|
| Gwynedd | 64.4% |
| Isle of Anglesey | 55.8% |
| Carmarthenshire | 39.9% |
| Cardiff | 12.2% |
| Blaenau Gwent | 6.2% |
| Wales as a whole | 17.8% |
So in Gwynedd most of your callers can speak Welsh, while in Cardiff it is about one in eight. Carmarthenshire had around 72,800 Welsh speakers, the second highest number of any area. Even where the share is low, those callers are often the ones who notice when a business makes the effort.
What Welsh-speaking callers expect
Callers cannot tell whether Welsh is on offer until they hear it. That is why the greeting matters: if the first words they hear are in English, a Welsh speaker has to decide whether to ask, and many will simply carry on in English.
The Welsh Language Commissioner's support for businesses makes the same point about showing customers what you offer. Its Cynnig Cymraeg (Welsh Offer) page says 94% of Welsh speakers feel that offering a service in Welsh helps a business make a good impression.
In practice, callers tend to want three things:
- To be offered the choice early. Hearing Welsh at the start of the call tells them they are welcome to use it.
- Not to be passed around. If you cannot continue in Welsh, say so politely and offer a call back, rather than putting them on hold to search for someone.
- For their details to be taken properly. Welsh names and place names spelled correctly, and the message passed on accurately.
Simple ways to answer the phone in Welsh
You do not need to be fluent to start. A bilingual greeting such as "Bore da, good morning, [business name]" in the morning, or "Prynhawn da, good afternoon" after midday, tells callers Welsh is welcome. If someone replies in Welsh and you cannot carry on, apologise, take their name and number, and arrange for a Welsh speaker to ring them back.
Some more ideas:
- Write your greeting down and keep it by the phone, so whoever answers says the same thing.
- Get your wording checked. The Welsh Government's free Helo Blod service translates up to 500 words a month for businesses and checks up to 1,000 words a year, which is plenty for a phone greeting and a voicemail message. It can also send Iaith Gwaith badges and lanyards so customers know who speaks or is learning Welsh.
- Make your voicemail bilingual with the same greeting, so callers out of hours still hear Welsh. Our guide to diverting calls on a UK mobile explains how to send unanswered calls somewhere useful instead of voicemail.
- Use one number for both languages. The Commissioner's guidance on technology and Welsh recommends offering callers a language choice as early as possible in the call, rather than running two separate phone numbers.
Free help from the Welsh Language Commissioner
The Commissioner's Hybu team supports businesses and charities that want to use more Welsh. It can help you assess how you use Welsh now, write a Welsh Language Development Plan, and work towards official recognition under the Cynnig Cymraeg scheme, which lets you show customers the services you offer in Welsh. Free badges, lanyards and posters are also available.
If answering the phone in Welsh is one of the things you want to offer, listing it in your Welsh Offer is a good way to let customers know before they ring.
Your options for covering the phone in Welsh
| Option | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Welsh-speaking staff | Full conversations in Welsh, face to face as well | Cover for lunch, holidays and evenings |
| Bilingual greeting, call back in Welsh | Businesses with one or two Welsh speakers | Callers waiting for a call back |
| Bilingual voicemail | Out of hours | Many callers do not leave a message |
| Answering service with Welsh speakers | Busy lines, no Welsh speakers on site | Availability and cost per call |
| AI receptionist that speaks Welsh | Every call, at any hour | Not a person, so not right for every caller |
If you are weighing up hiring, our guide to what a receptionist costs in the UK runs through the full cost of a full or part-time employee.
Where an AI receptionist fits
An AI receptionist answers every call, so Welsh speakers get Welsh at 7am, at lunch and at the weekend, not just when the right person is in. Tilly can be set to answer in Welsh, from the greeting to taking the whole message, with native Welsh-speaking voices: Ffion, Angharad or Rhodri. On the Pro and Business plans she can also switch to English as soon as a caller speaks it, and back again. Every message and call summary reaches you in English, so you do not need to speak Welsh yourself.
Welsh as her main language is on every plan, and switching between Welsh and English on the same call is on Pro and Business. Read more about how she handles Welsh and other languages, or listen to sample calls with the Welsh switch on. Plans start at £29 a month with a 14-day free trial.
It is not the right fit for everything. If your customers want a long, detailed conversation in Welsh with someone who knows their case, such as a solicitor discussing a family matter, a Welsh-speaking member of staff is still the answer. Many businesses use both: their own staff in working hours, and an AI receptionist for the calls they cannot get to.
A simple plan to get started
- Look at where your customers are. In the north and west, Welsh is likely to matter for a large share of calls.
- Agree a bilingual greeting and have it checked, for free, by Helo Blod.
- Record a bilingual voicemail, or divert unanswered calls to a service that can answer in Welsh.
- Decide what happens when someone speaks Welsh and nobody free can reply: a call back from a named person, or cover that speaks Welsh.
- Tell customers. Put it on your website and in your Welsh Offer if you join the Cynnig Cymraeg scheme.
Figures checked against the Welsh Government's Census 2021 summary, the Welsh Language Commissioner and Business Wales (Helo Blod) on 14 October 2026.