Getting started with voice agents

​

Prerequisites

• A Cognigy organization and a Project.
• A browser with microphone access allowed. The test call uses your microphone.
• (Optional) Your own large language model (LLM) or speech provider. A new agent includes both, so you don’t need to configure them for this tutorial. To use your own, see LLMs and Set up a speech provider.

​

Restrictions

• The test call runs in your browser and doesn’t dial out.
• If your project offers the experimental speech-to-speech option, keep it turned off for this tutorial. When it’s on, the Voice section shows different settings.
• Any action in voice mode ends the current session and starts a new one.

​

Steps for this process

1

Open the new agent form

1. In the navigation menu of the Project, go to Design > Agent.
2. In the upper-right corner, click Add agent. The Create new agent page opens.

2

Describe the agent

1. In the Agent name field, enter Nelly Voice.
2. In the Role field, enter Customer service assistant.
3. Select an avatar.
4. In the Instructions field, enter the following text:
   You are Nelly, a friendly voice assistant. You answer questions during voice calls.
   Greet the caller with one short sentence and ask how you can help.
   Answer in one to three short sentences. Ask only one question at a time.
   Don't use lists, formatting, or URLs, because the caller hears your answer.
   When the caller says goodbye, thank them and end the call politely.
   
5. Under Brand persona, keep the preselected persona or select another one. Every agent needs a brand persona.

Keep answers short. Callers hear the answer instead of reading it.

3

Set up the voice

On the right side of the page, go to the Voice section and check the following settings:

• Text-to-speech provider and Speech-to-text provider: Keep the included speech provider.
• Text-to-speech language: Select English (United States).
• Voice: Select a voice. To hear a sample, click Play voice sample next to the voice.

For more settings, such as the greeting, turn-taking, and listening, click Voice studio.

4

Save the agent

Click Save. A message confirms that the changes are saved, and the agent page stays open.

5

Add the hang up tool

A voice tool lets the agent act during a call. The Hang up tool lets Nelly Voice end the call when the caller says goodbye.

1. Go to the Tools tab of the agent and click Add tool.
2. In the Add to this agent dialog, select the Voice tools tab.
3. Select Hang up.
4. Click Save.

By default, the agent hangs up when the caller says goodbye, the task is complete, the caller declines further help, or the agent can’t help.

6

Test the agent with a voice call

1. In the upper-right corner, click the chat icon to open the test 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. Say “Hi, who are you?” Nelly Voice answers with a short greeting, such as “Hi, I’m Nelly Voice, a customer service assistant. How can I help you today?” The exact wording can differ.
5. Keep talking to Nelly Voice to try out different questions.
6. Say “Thanks, goodbye!” Nelly Voice says a short closing sentence and ends the call.

To test with text instead, select Chat at the top of the panel.

​

What’s next

• Set up your first voice number to take calls from a phone.
• Learn more about testing in Voice preview.
• Read Getting started with Voice.