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Voice settings control how your agent sounds. Choose from multiple voice providers, adjust speaking style, and fine-tune the audio experience.

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Voice Providers

Retone supports two premium TTS providers:

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Basic Settings

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Voice Selection

Choose from available voices:
  1. Click the Voice dropdown
  2. Browse available voices by provider
  3. Preview voices before selecting
  4. Click to apply

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Speed

Control speaking rate:
ValueEffect
0.5Half speed (very slow)
0.8Slightly slower
1.0Normal speed
1.2Slightly faster
2.0Double speed (very fast)
For phone calls, 0.9-1.1 typically sounds most natural.

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Volume

Output volume level (0-100): 
Volume: 80  # Recommended for clear audio

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Responsiveness

How quickly the agent starts speaking (1-10):
ValueEffect
1-3Slower, more deliberate responses
4-6Balanced (recommended)
7-10Faster, may interrupt caller

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Emotional Expression (Cartesia)

Cartesia Sonic 3 supports emotional speech:

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Emotion Types

EmotionWhen to Use
neutralProfessional, business contexts
friendlyCustomer service, general conversations
excitedSales, promotions, positive news
sympatheticHandling complaints, showing empathy
curiousAsking questions, gathering information
confidentAssertions, recommendations

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Intensity

LevelEffect
lowSubtle emotional undertone
mediumNoticeable but not exaggerated
highStrong emotional expression
Emotion:
  Type: friendly
  Intensity: medium

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Back-channeling

Natural acknowledgment sounds during conversation: 
Back-channeling:
  Enabled: true
  Frequency: 5        # How often (0-10)
  Words:
    - "mm-hmm"
    - "I see"
    - "right"
    - "okay"
    - "got it"

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When Back-channeling Triggers

  • During caller’s longer statements
  • At natural pauses
  • When caller shares information
  • To indicate active listening
Higher frequency (7-10) sounds very engaged but may feel excessive. Lower (1-3) is more subtle.

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Pre-response Phrases

Filler phrases before AI generates a response: 
Pre-response:
  Enabled: true
  Phrases:
    - "Let me check that for you..."
    - "One moment please..."
    - "Good question..."
    - "I can help with that..."

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Benefits

  • Reduces perceived latency
  • Sounds more natural
  • Gives AI processing time

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Conditional Pre-responses

Trigger different phrases based on context: 
Conditions:
  - trigger: "complex_query"
    phrase: "Let me look into that..."
  - trigger: "simple_query"
    phrase: "Sure..."
  - trigger: "emotional"
    phrase: "I understand..."

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Laughter Injection

Add natural laughter to appropriate moments: 
Laughter:
  Enabled: true
When enabled, the AI may add subtle laughter in response to humorous comments from callers.

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Pronunciation Overrides

Custom pronunciations for specific words: 
Pronunciations:
  "Acme": "ACK-mee"
  "API": "A P I"
  "SQL": "sequel"
  "GIF": "jiff"
  "nginx": "engine-x"

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Adding Pronunciations

  1. Go to Voice Settings
  2. Click Pronunciation Overrides
  3. Add word and phonetic spelling
  4. Test with voice preview

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Auto-enabled Features

These settings are enabled by default:
FeatureDescription
Allow interruptionsCaller can interrupt agent
Speech normalizationNumbers read naturally
Noise filteringBackground noise reduced
Background speech detectionHandles side conversations

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Configuration Example

Complete voice configuration: 
Voice Settings:
  Provider: Cartesia
  Voice: "Sonic 3 - Professional Male"
  Speed: 1.0
  Volume: 80
  Responsiveness: 5

  Emotion:
    Type: friendly
    Intensity: medium

  Back-channeling:
    Enabled: true
    Frequency: 5
    Words: ["mm-hmm", "I see", "right"]

  Pre-response:
    Enabled: true
    Phrases:
      - "Let me check..."
      - "One moment..."

  Pronunciations:
    "TechFlow": "TECH-flow"
    "API": "A P I"

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Testing Voice Settings

  1. Open the Test Call panel
  2. Have a conversation with your agent
  3. Listen for:
    • Natural pacing
    • Clear pronunciation
    • Appropriate emotion
    • Smooth back-channeling
  4. Adjust settings and retest

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Best Practices

Match Brand Voice

Choose a voice that fits your company’s personality.

Test on Phone

Audio sounds different on phone vs. computer. Test both.

Moderate Back-channeling

Too much feels robotic; too little feels distant.

Add Key Pronunciations

Ensure company names, products, and jargon sound correct.

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Related

System Prompt

Define agent personality

Environment

Background sounds and ambience

Test Call

Test voice settings