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

# Customize the greeting and barge-in of a voice agent

> Change what the voice agent Nelly says when it picks up a call, and control whether callers can interrupt Nelly (barge-in) in the voice studio.

> [!NOTE]
>
> **Intermediate** · 15 minutes · Voice

In this tutorial, you customize Nelly, a voice agent for the fictional company Nice Express. You change what Nelly says when it picks up a call. You also set up barge-in. Barge-in happens when a caller interrupts the agent while the agent speaks. In the voice studio, the **Interruptions** setting controls barge-in.

Nice Express callers often read out tracking numbers and say short sounds such as "uh-huh". Nelly keeps talking when a caller says a short sound.

You make both changes in the voice studio. The voice studio stores an agent's voice settings in one place. The Voice endpoint doesn't have its own greeting setting. A Voice endpoint that targets an agent inherits the agent's speech settings.

## Prerequisites

Complete the following prerequisites:

* A voice agent named Nelly with text-to-speech and speech-to-text providers. To create a voice agent, follow [Getting started with voice agents](https://docs.cognigy.com/tutorials/voice-gateway/getting-started-with-voice-agents.md) and name the agent `Nelly`.
* Speech to speech turned off for the agent. With speech to speech on, the **Voice studio** card isn't available.
* A Voice endpoint that targets the agent.
* A browser with microphone access allowed. The test call uses your microphone.

## Steps

**1. Find where the voice endpoint gets its speech settings**

1. In the navigation menu of the project, go to **Deploy > Endpoints** and open the Voice endpoint that targets Nelly.
2. On the **Setup** tab, find the **Speech** card. The **Set on the agent** badge means that the agent defines the speech settings.
3. Click **Edit speech on Nelly**. The agent opens.

Changes that you make to the agent apply to calls on the endpoint.

**2. Open the voice studio**

1. On the **Configuration** tab of the agent, find the **Voice** section on the right side of the page.
2. Click **Voice studio**. The voice studio opens in a full-page view.

**3. Change the greeting**

1. Scroll to the **Greeting** section. This section describes what the agent says when it answers the call.

2. Select **User defined**. With **Agent decides**, the agent creates its own greeting.

3. In the **Greeting text** field, enter the following text:

   ```text theme={null}
   Hi, I'm Nelly from Nice Express. How can I help you with your shipment today?
   ```

4. To hear the greeting, click the play button next to the field.

![The Greeting section of the voice studio with User defined selected and the greeting text.](https://mintcdn.com/cognigy-15abf2ba/E7J_TZl63DS6FFRh/_assets/tutorials/voice-studio/greeting.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=E7J_TZl63DS6FFRh\&q=85\&s=b67d3a01b5f3aaa03d256fd3ab20994b)

> [!TIP]
>
> Keep the greeting to one or two short sentences. Callers hear the greeting; they don't read it.

**4. Set up barge-in**

1. Scroll to the **Turn taking** section.
2. From the **Interruptions** list, select **Deliberate**.

The **Interruptions** list has the following options:

| Option | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Natural** | Any word interrupts the agent. This is the default. |
| **Deliberate** | The caller needs at least two words to interrupt the agent. Short sounds such as "uh-huh" don't interrupt. |
| **Never** | The agent always finishes. |

![The Interruptions list in the voice studio with the options Natural, Deliberate, and Never.](https://mintcdn.com/cognigy-15abf2ba/E7J_TZl63DS6FFRh/_assets/tutorials/voice-studio/barge-in.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=E7J_TZl63DS6FFRh\&q=85\&s=140ded2becea2b40e6bbc18aad52a656)

**5. Save your changes**

1. In the upper-right corner of the voice studio, click **Save**. The voice studio closes.
2. On the **Configuration** tab, click **Save changes**.

**6. Test the changes with a voice call**

1. In the upper-right corner, click the chat icon to open the interaction panel.
2. At the top of the panel, select **Voice**.
3. Click **Start a call**. If your browser asks for microphone access, allow it.
4. Listen to the greeting. Nelly says the text that you entered.
5. While Nelly speaks, say "uh-huh". The short sound doesn't interrupt Nelly.
6. While Nelly speaks, say a full sentence. Nelly stops and answers.
7. End the call in the interaction panel.

## What you built

You changed Nelly's greeting in the voice studio and set up barge-in so that only deliberate interruptions stop Nelly. You also saw that the Voice endpoint takes the agent's speech settings. You tested the result with a voice call.

## What's next

* [Getting started with voice agents](https://docs.cognigy.com/tutorials/voice-gateway/getting-started-with-voice-agents.md)
* [Tune barge-in and speech timing](https://docs.cognigy.com/tutorials/voice-gateway/tune-barge-in-and-speech-timing.md)