Hello everyone! In today's post, I'm going to walk you through how to create your very own conversational AI voice agent using ElevenLabs. Whether you're looking to enhance customer support, build an interactive game character, or create an educational tutor, this guide will help you set up an AI agent that can interact with users in a natural and engaging way. Let's dive in!

What is a Conversational AI Voice Agent?

A conversational AI voice agent is a system that can hold natural-sounding conversations with users through voice interactions. These agents use advanced language models and text-to-speech (TTS) technology to understand user input and respond appropriately. With ElevenLabs, you can create agents that serve various purposes, such as:

• Customer Support: Assist customers 24/7 with inquiries, troubleshooting, and more.
• Scheduling: Help users book or manage appointments seamlessly.
• Sales Outreach: Conduct personalized outreach calls at scale.
• Gaming: Develop dynamic non-player characters (NPCs) that enhance gameplay.
• Education: Offer personalized learning experiences across different subjects.
• Fan Engagement: Create interactive experiences for fans, like quizzes or character conversations.
• Task Automation: Automate tasks like sending emails or booking appointments.
• Accessibility: Communicate in over 30 languages to reach a global audience.
• Data Collection: Gather valuable information during conversations for analysis.

Getting Started: Creating Your Agent on ElevenLabs

1. Set Up Your ElevenLabs Account

• Visit the ElevenLabs website and sign up for a free account.
• Log in and navigate to the "Conversational AI" section (or similarly named area).

2. Create a New Agent

• Click on "Create New Agent".
• Choose a template to start with (like "Support Agent" or "Math Tutor") or create from scratch.

Agent Details

• Name Your Agent: Give your agent a distinctive name.
• Select Language: Pick the language your agent will use (ElevenLabs supports 31 languages).
• First Message: Customize a welcome message, like "Hi, I'm [Agent Name], how can I assist you today?"

Define the Agent's Role with a System Prompt

• System Prompt: This is where you define your agent's personality, role, and how it should behave.

  Example:

  "You are a customer support agent named [Agent Name]. You are friendly and enthusiastic, and you aim to help customers resolve their issues concisely and efficiently."

• Tips:

  • Be specific about the agent's style—should it give short answers or detailed explanations?
  • Mention any tools or functions the agent can use.
  • You can use advanced tools (like Claude) to craft complex prompts.
  • ElevenLabs provides sample prompts for different agent types (e.g., philosopher, librarian).

Choose the Language Model (LLM)

• Select an LLM like Gemini, Claude, or GPT that your agent will use to generate responses.

  • For Speed: Choose models like Gemini 1.5 Flash if response time is crucial.
  • Versatility: GPT-4 Turbo is great for general applications.
  • Code Assistance: Claude 3.5 excels at code-related queries.
  • Note: In the future, you'll be able to integrate custom LLMs.

Adjust the Temperature Settings

• Temperature controls the randomness of the AI's responses.
  • Lower Values (close to 0): Responses are more predictable and focused.
  • Higher Values (up to 1): Responses are more creative and varied.

Add a Knowledge Base

• Upload Documents: Add PDFs or text files, or include URLs to websites.
  • Purpose: Provides your agent with specific information about your products, services, or company.
  • Limitations for Free Users: Up to 5 files or links, 20MB total, and 300,000 characters.

Configure Tools/Functions

• Set Up Functions: Allow your agent to perform actions like booking appointments or accessing databases.
  • Use Webhooks: Integrate with external platforms (e.g., Make, Zapier) or custom endpoints.
  • Details to Provide:
    • Request Type (GET or POST)
    • URL
    • Parameters (header, path, body)
    • Authentication details

Secure Your Secrets

• Store API Keys Securely: Use the "Secrets" section to keep sensitive information safe.

3. Personalize Your Agent's Voice

Choose a Voice

• Select from the Library: Pick a voice that fits your agent's personality.
• Use a Custom Voice: Upload or clone a voice for a more authentic experience.

Adjust Pronunciation

• Use the Pronunciation Dictionary: Ensure your agent pronounces specific words correctly (like company names or technical terms).

Fine-Tune Voice Settings

• Latency: Balance between response speed and audio quality.
• Stability: Higher values make the speech more consistent but can sound monotone.
• Similarity: Higher values make the voice closer to the original and enhance clarity.

4. Set Up Evaluation and Data Collection

Define Evaluation Criteria

• Set Success Metrics: Decide how you'll measure the effectiveness of conversations.

  • Did the agent provide the needed information?
  • Was the user satisfied?
  • Did the agent complete a specific task (e.g., booking an appointment)?

• Add a Prompt for Evaluation: The AI will use this to assess conversations.

• Review Evaluations: Results will appear in your conversation history.

Specify Data to Collect

• Identify Key Data Points: Such as the user's name, email, phone number, or the purpose of their call.
• Automate Data Collection: Instruct your agent to gather this information during the conversation.

5. Configure Security and Advanced Settings

Enhance Security

• User Authentication: Require users to authenticate before accessing the agent to prevent unauthorized use.

Explore Advanced Options

• Conversation Limits: Set a maximum duration for interactions.
• Event Notifications: Decide which events to send to the client during chats (e.g., when the agent starts speaking).
• Collect User Feedback: Enable options for users to provide feedback after the conversation.

6. Integrate Your Agent with Your Platform

Add a Website Widget

• Implement the Agent on Your Site: Embed a widget so users can interact with the agent directly.
• Customize the Widget:
  • Adjust colors, text, buttons, and avatars to match your site's design.
• Embed Code: Copy and paste the provided code into your website's HTML.

Set Up a Phone Number (Optional)

• Use Twilio Integration: Allow users to interact with your agent via phone calls.
• Requirements:
  • Twilio Account SID
  • Authentication Token

7. Test Your Agent

• Use ElevenLabs' Testing Interface: Simulate conversations to ensure everything works as intended.
• Monitor Interactions:
  • Review call recordings, transcripts, and conversation summaries.
  • Make adjustments based on your observations.

8. Integrate with External Systems

Configure Webhooks

• Send Data Externally: Set up webhooks to transfer information from your agent to other platforms (e.g., CRM systems).

Set Up API Requests

• Real-Time Data Retrieval: Allow your agent to fetch data from external sources and perform specific actions.

Additional Important Information

Costs

• Agent Creation: Free!
• Testing and Configuration Calls: Cost 500 credits per minute.
• Production Calls: Cost 1,000 credits per minute.
• Call Duration Measurement: From when you click "Call AI Agent" until you end the call or close the window.
• Note: Currently, ElevenLabs doesn't charge for using LLMs, but this may change in the future.

Concurrent Calls

• Free Account Limit: Up to 4 simultaneous calls.
• Paid Plans:
  • Starter, Creator, Pro, Scale: Increasing allowances.
  • Business Plan: Up to 30 simultaneous calls.
• Need More Capacity? Contact ElevenLabs' Enterprise team for a custom plan.

Free Plan Details

• Credit Limit: Free accounts have 10,000 credits to explore the platform.
• Usage: Remember, one minute of conversation costs 1,000 credits.

Low Latency Models

• For Quick Responses:
  • Flash v2/v2.5 Models: Latency under 75 ms.
  • Turbo v2/v2.5 Models: Latency around 300 ms, balancing quality and speed.

Wrapping Up

By following these steps, you can effectively set up and deploy a conversational AI voice agent using ElevenLabs. Whether you're enhancing customer interactions, automating tasks, or creating immersive experiences, your new AI agent will help you engage with users in a natural and personalized way.

Ready to get started? Head over to ElevenLabs and begin building your agent today!

Thanks for reading! If you found this guide helpful, please share it with others who might be interested. Feel free to leave comments or questions below—I’d love to hear about your experiences with building AI agents.