#Hello

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austere gulchBOT
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AI-generated Answer for baymurat1

Hi! How can I help you with ElevenLabs products or API today? Tell me your goal (e.g., Text-to-Speech, Voice Cloning, Speech-to-Speech, Audio Native, or troubleshooting the API), and I’ll give you precise, doc-verified steps.

night perch
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Seems web rtc is too aggressive – it does not understand natural pause the agent speaks over, is there any feature similar to turn-detection where we can set a specific time?

austere gulchBOT
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AI-generated Answer for baymurat1

Yes. Use the agent’s Turn Timeout to control how long the assistant waits during user silence before it takes the turn. You can set it between 1 and 30 seconds in the Agent UI (Advanced tab) to reduce “speaking over” natural pauses. Shorter timeouts are more aggressive; longer timeouts wait more before responding. (elevenlabs.io)

If you configure agents via API, set conversation_config.turn.turn_timeout (example shows 7 seconds). Related fields exposed include mode and silence_end_call_timeout. (elevenlabs.io)

For intentional pauses (e.g., user says “give me a second”), enable the Skip Turn system tool so the agent explicitly waits instead of timing out. The May 26, 2025 changelog notes this prevents the turn timeout from triggering during intentional pauses. (elevenlabs.io)

Note: Interruption settings are separate—they control whether users can interrupt the assistant while it’s speaking, not how long the assistant waits before taking a turn. (elevenlabs.io)

WebRTC is supported for Conversational AI; these conversation-flow controls apply at the agent level, not the transport. (elevenlabs.io)

Sources:
Conversation flow | ElevenLabs Documentation
Update agent | ElevenLabs Documentation
Skip turn | ElevenLabs Documentation
Interruptions — ElevenLabs Documentation
ElevenLabs Conversational AI now supports WebRTC | ElevenLabs

night perch
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it is set to 10 seconds now

austere gulchBOT
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AI-generated Answer for baymurat1

Yes. You can raise the agent’s Turn Timeout above 10 seconds. In Conversational AI, Turn Timeout is configurable between 1 and 30 seconds in the agent’s Advanced tab. (elevenlabs.io)

If you want the agent to stay silent until the user speaks again (no fixed timeout), enable the Skip Turn system tool; it explicitly pauses the agent until user re‑engagement. (elevenlabs.io)

If you control a client, you can also send periodic user_activity events over the WebSocket to reset the turn-timeout timer during longer pauses. (elevenlabs.io)

Note: the separate “10 seconds of silence” mentioned in pricing only reduces billing during extended silence; it does not control turn-taking behavior. (elevenlabs.io)

Sources:
Conversation flow | ElevenLabs Documentation
Skip turn | ElevenLabs Documentation
Client to server events | ElevenLabs Documentation
Introduction - Conversational voice AI agents | ElevenLabs Documentation

night perch
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seems mode of speaking and listening of the agent is not working in web rtc, is this reported issue?

austere gulchBOT
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AI-generated Answer for baymurat1

Short answer: there’s no active outage now, but there have been recent, resolved incidents that could match what you’re seeing.

  • Current status: The status page reports “We’re fully operational.” (status.elevenlabs.io)
  • Related resolved incidents:
    • Feb 13, 2025: turn detection wasn’t working properly; some agents were stuck in listening mode. Resolved. (status.elevenlabs.io)
    • Jun 9, 2025: reports of turn‑taking hanging and agents stopping responding. Resolved. (status.elevenlabs.io)
    • Jul 23, 2025: intermittent turn‑taking failures affecting ~10% of calls. Resolved. (status.elevenlabs.io)

What to check on your side (WebRTC or WebSocket):

  • Ensure turn/interrupt settings are configured as intended:
    • Turn timeout (1–30s) in the agent’s Advanced tab. (elevenlabs.io)
    • Interruptions enabled via Client Events if you want the user to be able to barge in while the agent is speaking. (elevenlabs.io)
  • If you’re using the React SDK with WebRTC, confirm you’re starting the session with connectionType: 'webrtc' and that you’re reading the isSpeaking state to reflect speaking vs. listening in your UI. (elevenlabs.io)
  • WebRTC support and expected behavior are documented in our announcement. (elevenlabs.io)

If this is still happening now, please share a recent conversationId and timestamp so we can investigate against the resolved incidents and your agent’s configuration. (elevenlabs.io)

Sources:
ElevenLabs Status
Degraded Turn Detection in Conversational AI - ElevenLabs Status
Conversational AI turn taking stops responding - ElevenLabs Status
Some Conversational AI calls failing - ElevenLabs Status
Conversation flow | ElevenLabs Documentation
Interruptions — ElevenLabs Documentation
React SDK | ElevenLabs Documentation
ElevenLabs Conversational AI now supports WebRTC | ElevenLabs
React SDK - ElevenLabs

night perch
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what is vad score?

austere gulchBOT
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AI-generated Answer for baymurat1

In ElevenLabs Conversational AI, the VAD score is a real-time “vad_score” client event that represents the Voice Activity Detection probability that the user is currently speaking. It’s a numeric value from 0.0 to 1.0, where higher values mean higher confidence of speech. The event payload looks like: { "type": "vad_score", "vad_score_event": { "vad_score": <number> } }. (elevenlabs.io)

Sources:
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation

night perch
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how can I benefit from it?

austere gulchBOT
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AI-generated Answer for baymurat1

Here’s how you can benefit from the VAD (Voice Activity Detection) score in ElevenLabs Conversational AI:

  • Drive real-time UX: Subscribe to the vad_score client event (0–1 probability that the user is speaking) to light up a “listening” indicator or mic level in your UI. The event is delivered over the realtime channel, and SDKs surface it (e.g., Kotlin’s onVadScore callback). (elevenlabs.io)
  • Implement client-side logic: Because the vad_score is streamed continuously, you can use it in your app logic (e.g., treat higher scores as “user is speaking now”) alongside the SDK’s speaking/listening mode callbacks to inform UI state. (elevenlabs.io)
  • Understand related flow controls: If your goal is pausing/turn-taking, configure Turn Timeout (1–30 s) and Interruption handling directly on the agent; these govern how long the agent waits in silence and whether the user can interrupt while the agent speaks. The VAD score complements these by telling you, in real time, whether speech is present. (elevenlabs.io)
  • Cost awareness during silence: The platform automatically reduces billing during extended silence—after 10 seconds of no voice activity, usage drops to 5% of the per‑minute rate until speech resumes. (elevenlabs.io)

References:

Sources:
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation
Conversation flow | ElevenLabs Documentation
Introduction - Conversational voice AI agents | ElevenLabs Documentation
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation
Agent WebSockets | ElevenLabs Documentation
Kotlin SDK | ElevenLabs Documentation
Conversation flow | ElevenLabs Documentation
Introduction - Conversational voice AI agents | ElevenLabs Documentation

night perch
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how can I optimize turn taking?

To improve turn detection (Voice Activity Detection or VAD) in ElevenLabs' conversational agents, here are some suggestions:

Optimize Turn-Taking Settings: Ensure your system is configured for optimal turn-taking, including fine-tuning interruption detection and response timing to handle short answers effectively.

austere gulchBOT
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AI-generated Answer for baymurat1

Here are the levers ElevenLabs exposes to optimize turn‑taking, all from the official docs:

  • Set an explicit turn timeout. In the Agent UI (Advanced → Turn Timeout) choose 1–30 seconds based on your use case; shorter = snappier, longer = more patient. You can also set it via API under conversation_config.turn.turn_timeout. (elevenlabs.io)

  • Control interruptions (barge‑in). Enable or disable “Interruptions” in the Agent UI (Advanced → Client Events). When enabled, handle the agent_response_correction and interruption events in your client to truncate/replace any already‑playing TTS. (elevenlabs.io)

  • Use the vad_score stream. Subscribe to the vad_score client event; it’s a 0–1 probability that the user is speaking. You can use it to drive UI indicators or custom logic around when to accept input. (elevenlabs.io)

  • Keep the turn alive without speaking. Send periodic user_activity client‑to‑server events to reset the turn timeout timer during long pauses so the agent doesn’t jump in prematurely. (elevenlabs.io)

  • Let the agent explicitly wait. Enable the Skip Turn system tool so the LLM can pause (no speech) when the user says things like “give me a second,” preventing timeout prompts during intentional pauses. (elevenlabs.io)

  • If you manage multiple websocket contexts, close and reopen on interruption. When a user cuts in, close the interrupted context and start a new one to avoid overlap. (elevenlabs.io)

  • Prefer WebRTC transport for live UX. Start sessions with connectionType: "webrtc" for built‑in echo cancellation and noise removal, which reduces false VAD triggers and talk‑over. (elevenlabs.io)

  • Reduce response latency to keep cadence natural. Use low‑latency TTS models and streaming/websocket generation per ElevenLabs’ latency best‑practices. (elevenlabs.io)

Notes:

  • Longer silent gaps cost less after 10 seconds (priced at 5% of the usual per‑minute rate), which can make larger turn timeouts viable if your users need thinking time. (elevenlabs.io)

If you share your current timeout value, whether interruptions are enabled, and your

night perch
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what benefits can after enabling vad_score?

austere gulchBOT
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AI-generated Answer for baymurat1

Key benefits of subscribing to the vad_score client event:

  • Real-time speech probability: You receive a continuous 0–1 score indicating how likely it is that the user is speaking, delivered as a client event over the WebSocket. This gives precise, frame-level visibility into when the system detects voice activity. (elevenlabs.io)
  • Better observability and debugging: Logging vad_score alongside transcripts/audio lets you diagnose talk-over, missed pauses, or premature barge‑ins and verify what the platform believed was speech at each moment. (elevenlabs.io)
  • Drive client-side UX/logic: You can use the score to power mic activity visuals or inform your own client-side rules (e.g., when to accept input or hold UI). Note that this is telemetry to the client; it does not, by itself, change the server’s turn‑taking behavior. (elevenlabs.io)
  • Aligns with conversation flow tuning: The score can help you choose appropriate Conversation Flow settings (Turn Timeout and Interruptions) by showing how reliably speech is being detected in your environment. Actual turn-taking remains governed by those settings and the platform’s model. (elevenlabs.io)

Background: ElevenLabs added the vad_score client event on April 21, 2025. (elevenlabs.io)

Docs:

  • Client events (includes vad_score format and semantics). (elevenlabs.io)
  • Conversation flow (timeouts and interruptions configuration). (elevenlabs.io)
  • Changelog (feature introduction). (elevenlabs.io)

Sources:
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation
Conversation flow | ElevenLabs Documentation
April 21, 2025 | ElevenLabs Documentation
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation
Conversation flow | ElevenLabs Documentation
April 21, 2025 | ElevenLabs Documentation

night perch
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I wonder whether adding this system prompt will help:

IMPORTANT CONVERSATION RULES:

  • Speak in shorter sentences and pause frequently to allow interruptions
  • If you sense the user wants to speak, stop talking immediately
  • Keep responses concise to minimize talk-over opportunities
austere gulchBOT
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AI-generated Answer for baymurat1

Short answer: Yes—adding those rules to your agent’s System prompt can help. ElevenLabs lets you set or override the System prompt, and guiding the model to “keep responses concise” and to “pause frequently” is an appropriate, supported way to shape delivery style. (elevenlabs.io)

That said, prompt instructions don’t control the low‑level turn-taking logic. For minimizing talk-over, combine the prompt with the platform features below:

  • Enable interruptions: Turn on the Interruption client event so users can barge-in while the agent is speaking. (elevenlabs.io)
  • Configure turn timeouts: Set the Turn Timeout (1–30 s) to control how long the agent waits during silence before taking the turn. Your “10 seconds” setting fits within the supported range. (elevenlabs.io)
  • Consume vad_score events: Listen for vad_score (0–1 probability the user is speaking) and use it to react immediately when the user starts talking (e.g., stop/attenuate playback on the client). (elevenlabs.io)
  • Use the Skip Turn tool: Let the LLM explicitly pause (no TTS) when the user needs time, reducing accidental talk-over. (elevenlabs.io)

In summary: keep the System prompt you proposed, and also enable interruptions, tune the Turn Timeout, and react to vad_score to optimize turn-taking. (elevenlabs.io)

Sources:
Overrides | ElevenLabs Documentation
Interruptions — ElevenLabs Documentation
Conversation flow | ElevenLabs Documentation
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation
Skip turn | ElevenLabs Documentation
Overrides | ElevenLabs Documentation

night perch
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what is benefit of observing vad if 11labs handles all take-turning it internally?

austere gulchBOT
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AI-generated Answer for baymurat1

Short answer: observability and debugging.

  • ElevenLabs exposes a vad_score client event that reports, in real time, the probability the user is speaking (0–1). It’s informational and gives you visibility into speech detection. (elevenlabs.io)
  • Turn-taking itself is handled by your agent’s configured timeouts and interruption settings; you don’t need to process vad_score to get that behavior. Timeouts are configurable (1–30 s), and interruptions can be enabled/disabled in the agent’s Advanced settings. (elevenlabs.io)
  • Practical benefit of observing it: monitor and log when the system believes the user is speaking so you can diagnose talk-over or silence handling issues. The client-events docs explicitly recommend logging events for debugging. (elevenlabs.io)
  • FYI, ElevenLabs added the VAD score as a client event in April 2025; it’s meant to be consumed client-side. (elevenlabs.io)

If you’re satisfied with the built-in turn-taking and interruption handling, treating vad_score as an optional telemetry signal is appropriate. (elevenlabs.io)

Sources:
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation
Conversation flow | ElevenLabs Documentation
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation
April 21, 2025 | ElevenLabs Documentation
Client events | ElevenLabs Documentation

night perch
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explain what is interruption