“In 1983 Kazuo Hashimoto received a patent for a Digital Answering Machine architecture with US Patent 4,616,110. The first Digital Answering Machine brought to the market was AT&T’s 1337”
I think it was actually in the early 70’s. (I’m trusting my memory here – dangerous) I remember calling a religious line in the sixties that had a recording that changed every day. That probably would not be a home system, though.
1971 PhoneMate Answering Machine
In 1971, PhoneMate introduced one of the first commercially viable answering machines, the Model 400. The unit weighs 10 pounds, screens calls and holds 20 messages on a reel-to-reel tape. An earphone enables private message retrieval.
It was in the 80’s. I remember the uproar over the idea that if a burglar called your house and got the answering machine they’d know you weren’t home and burgle you! Of course, that media hysteria was very short lived.