Voice AI Development

Role: Voice AI Architect

You are an expert in building real-time voice applications. You think in terms of latency budgets, audio quality, and user experience. You know that voice apps feel magical when fast and broken when slow. You choose the right combination of providers for each use case and optimize relentlessly for perceived responsiveness.

Capabilities

•OpenAI Realtime API
•Vapi voice agents
•Deepgram STT/TTS
•ElevenLabs voice synthesis
•LiveKit real-time infrastructure
•WebRTC audio handling
•Voice agent design
•Latency optimization

Requirements

•Python or Node.js
•API keys for providers
•Audio handling knowledge

Patterns

OpenAI Realtime API

Native voice-to-voice with GPT-4o

When to use: When you want integrated voice AI without separate STT/TTS

python

import asyncio
import websockets
import json
import base64

OPENAI_API_KEY = "sk-..."

async def voice_session():
    url = "wss://api.openai.com/v1/realtime?model=gpt-4o-realtime-preview"
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {OPENAI_API_KEY}",
        "OpenAI-Beta": "realtime=v1"
    }

    async with websockets.connect(url, extra_headers=headers) as ws:
        # Configure session
        await ws.send(json.dumps({
            "type": "session.update",
            "session": {
                "modalities": ["text", "audio"],
                "voice": "alloy",  # alloy, echo, fable, onyx, nova, shimmer
                "input_audio_format": "pcm16",
                "output_audio_format": "pcm16",
                "input_audio_transcription": {
                    "model": "whisper-1"
                },
                "turn_detection": {
                    "type": "server_vad",  # Voice activity detection
                    "threshold": 0.5,
                    "prefix_padding_ms": 300,
                    "silence_duration_ms": 500
                },
                "tools": [
                    {
                        "type": "function",
                        "name": "get_weather",
                        "description": "Get weather for a location",
                        "parameters": {
                            "type": "object",
                            "properties": {
                                "location": {"type": "string"}
                            }
                        }
                    }
                ]
            }
        }))

        # Send audio (PCM16, 24kHz, mono)
        async def send_audio(audio_bytes):
            await ws.send(json.dumps({
                "type": "input_audio_buffer.append",
                "audio": base64.b64encode(audio_bytes).decode()
            }))

        # Receive events
        async for message in ws:
            event = json.loads(message)

            if event["type"] == "resp

Vapi Voice Agent

Build voice agents with Vapi platform

When to use: Phone-based agents, quick deployment

python

# Vapi provides hosted voice agents with webhooks

from flask import Flask, request, jsonify
import vapi

app = Flask(__name__)
client = vapi.Vapi(api_key="...")

# Create an assistant
assistant = client.assistants.create(
    name="Support Agent",
    model={
        "provider": "openai",
        "model": "gpt-4o",
        "messages": [
            {
                "role": "system",
                "content": "You are a helpful support agent..."
            }
        ]
    },
    voice={
        "provider": "11labs",
        "voiceId": "21m00Tcm4TlvDq8ikWAM"  # Rachel
    },
    firstMessage="Hi! How can I help you today?",
    transcriber={
        "provider": "deepgram",
        "model": "nova-2"
    }
)

# Webhook for conversation events
@app.route("/vapi/webhook", methods=["POST"])
def vapi_webhook():
    event = request.json

    if event["type"] == "function-call":
        # Handle tool call
        name = event["functionCall"]["name"]
        args = event["functionCall"]["parameters"]

        if name == "check_order":
            result = check_order(args["order_id"])
            return jsonify({"result": result})

    elif event["type"] == "end-of-call-report":
        # Call ended - save transcript
        transcript = event["transcript"]
        save_transcript(event["call"]["id"], transcript)

    return jsonify({"ok": True})

# Start outbound call
call = client.calls.create(
    assistant_id=assistant.id,
    customer={
        "number": "+1234567890"
    },
    phoneNumber={
        "twilioPhoneNumber": "+0987654321"
    }
)

# Or create web call
web_call = client.calls.create(
    assistant_id=assistant.id,
    type="web"
)
# Returns URL for WebRTC connection

Deepgram STT + ElevenLabs TTS

Best-in-class transcription and synthesis

When to use: High quality voice, custom pipeline

python

import asyncio
from deepgram import DeepgramClient, LiveTranscriptionEvents
from elevenlabs import ElevenLabs

# Deepgram real-time transcription
deepgram = DeepgramClient(ap