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The AI sounds robotic or too slow

Most "sounds off" complaints come from one of four knobs — voice choice, speaking speed, conversation tone, or custom greeting — all in Settings → AI Voice. This article maps each symptom to the exact control. Interruption sensitivity and silence timing are tuned on the backend by support; the user-facing controls cover the changes that matter for 95% of practices.

Updated May 27, 20262 min read

Map the symptom to the setting

What you're hearingLeverWhere
Wrong gender, accent, or general vibeVoice SelectionSettings → AI Voice → Voice Selection (12 voices, click to switch — autosaves)
Too fast — patients ask the AI to slow downSpeaking Speed ↓ (try 0.9 or 0.8)Settings → AI Voice → Personality & Behavior
Too slow — feels sluggishSpeaking Speed ↑ (try 1.1 or 1.2)Same place
Too stiff/corporateConversation Tone → Friendly & Warm or Casual & RelaxedSame place
Too casual for your specialtyConversation Tone → Professional & Polished or Formal & Business-likeSame place
Opening line is genericCustom GreetingSettings → AI Voice → Custom Greeting (500-char textarea)
Doesn't mention your services/parking/policiesBusiness Knowledge fieldSettings → AI Voice → Business Knowledge (2,000-char textarea) — but for substantial info use the Knowledge Base instead

All of these are on the same page: Settings → AI Voice → Settings tab.

Speaking speed: how to pick a number

  • 0.8–0.9 — older patient populations, complex medical info, callers who often ask the AI to repeat itself.
  • 1.0 — default. Comfortable for most callers.
  • 1.1–1.2 — high-volume practices where shaving 5–10 seconds off every call meaningfully changes throughput. Don't go higher than 1.2 in clinical settings — patients miss details.

Change it, then test by calling your number. Adjust by 0.1 at a time.

Tone: what actually changes

The tone setting doesn't change the voice — it changes word choice and sentence structure across every reply the AI generates.

  • Friendly & Warm — uses contractions, more "happy to help" phrasing, a little softer on declines.
  • Professional & Polished — neutral, business-clinical, fewer fillers. Good default for medical/dental.
  • Casual & Relaxed — most informal. Fits spas, wellness, fitness.
  • Formal & Business-like — full sentences, no contractions, "thank you for calling" structure. Good for legal/specialty.

Things you can't tune yourself (yet)

The following knobs exist on our side but aren't exposed in the user UI:

  • Interruption sensitivity — how many words the caller has to say before the AI stops talking (the "stop speaking" plan). Currently set to 2 words globally.
  • Endpoint detection wait time — how long the AI waits after a pause to be sure the caller is done. Currently smart-tuned per language.
  • Silence timeout — how long before the AI re-prompts a silent caller. Default 30 seconds.
  • Background noise denoising — on by default.

If patients consistently report the AI cutting them off, dragging silence, or background noise issues, open a support ticket with one or two affected call IDs. We can adjust the speaking plans for your practice — these are intentionally not user-controls because bad settings break calls.

After you change something — test it

A 30-second test call is worth more than 10 minutes of guessing. Call your number, listen for the specific thing you just changed, and decide if it's better. See Test call walkthrough for the four scenarios we recommend.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I change how fast the AI talks?
Settings → AI Voice → Personality & Behavior → Speaking Speed slider. Range is 0.5x (slow) to 1.5x (fast); the default is 1.0x.
The voice itself sounds wrong. Can I switch?
Yes. Settings → AI Voice → Voice Selection. There are 12 voices (6 female, 6 male) with previews. Click a voice card to switch — it saves automatically.
The AI cuts me off or won't let me finish. Can I fix that?
Not from the user UI today. Interruption sensitivity (how many words the caller has to say before the AI yields, and how long the AI waits to be sure the caller is done) is tuned on our side. Open a support ticket with the call ID and we'll adjust the speaking plans for your practice.
The AI sounds too formal. Can I make it friendlier?
Settings → AI Voice → Personality & Behavior → Conversation Tone. Pick Friendly & Warm, Casual & Relaxed, Professional & Polished, or Formal & Business-like. The tone affects word choice and phrasing across every reply.
My patients complain it doesn't sound like our front desk. What's the lever?
Two levers. (1) Voice choice — try the male/female options in your preferred accent until one fits your brand. (2) Custom Greeting — write the opening line in your own voice; the AI will use it verbatim. After that, tone + speaking speed shape everything in between.

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