Skip to content
TriedDocs
Test

Testing with audio

Talk to your agent in the browser with Test Audio, share it with a Voice Orb link, and check speech, voice and turn-taking before you connect a number.

Test Audio places a real web call from the builder to your agent. You speak through your microphone and hear the agent's voice, so it tests what a text chat cannot: speech recognition, the voice and its settings, end-of-turn timing, interruptions, backchannels and latency.

Needs keys Audio needs LiveKit configured on the API (LIVEKIT_URL and credentials) and a running voice worker. Real speech and voice also need the speech recognition and voice provider keys.

Run a test call#

Open the Test Audio tab#

In the agent builder's test panel, select Test Audio. The panel shows the note "Please note call transfer is not supported in web calls."

Set dynamic variables (optional)#

Use the { } button to set Dynamic variables for the call.

Choose Run Test#

Allow microphone access when the browser asks. Your pending edits are saved first, then the API creates a web call with your variables and the browser joins its room.

Talk#

The orb shows who is speaking ("Agent speaking", "Listening" or "Connected") and the call time. The transcript fills in below as both sides speak.

End the call#

Choose End call. Test again starts a new call.

During the call, the microphone button mutes and unmutes you.

The call is a normal web_call. It appears in Call History with its recording, transcript, latency and post-call analysis, and it is billed like any other call.

What to listen for#

Check Setting to adjust
The agent replies too early or too late Responsiveness, dynamic responsiveness
The agent stops for coughs or "uh-huh" Interruption Sensitivity
Words or names are misheard Speech recognition settings, boosted keywords
A word is mispronounced Pronunciation dictionary
The voice is too fast or flat Voice Speed, Voice Temperature, the voice itself
The agent never checks in after silence Reminder Frequency

These live in Speech Settings and Realtime Transcription Settings in the builder.

When Test Audio is not available#

  • Mock mode. If the dashboard or API runs with mock providers, the call is simulated: a scripted conversation plays in the transcript with no audio, and the panel says "Simulated call: the API is in mock mode".
  • No LiveKit on the API. The API registers the call, then the panel stops it and shows "LiveKit isn't configured on the API, so there's no audio. Call ... was registered and stopped. Set LIVEKIT_URL on the API and run the agent worker, or use Test LLM."
  • Microphone blocked. The panel shows "Microphone access was blocked. Allow mic access and try again."
  • Testing a single flow component. The Test Audio tab is hidden; use Test LLM or the simulated user.

Limits of web calls#

  • No transfers. Transfers need a phone leg. Test them with a phone call.
  • Keypad menus. Test DTMF menus and the press_digit tool on a phone call.
  • No caller number. A web call has no from_number or to_number, so prompts that use the caller's number need a dynamic variable for testing.

A Voice Orb link is a public page where anyone with the link can talk to the agent in their browser, without a dashboard login. Use it to let a client or teammate try the agent.

Open Share#

Choose the share button in the agent header ("Share a Voice Orb link"). The Share with a Voice Orb link dialog opens: "Anyone with the link can talk to this agent in their browser. Calls are billed to this workspace. Revoke a link to stop access."

Choose Create link. The link has the form https://<dashboard host>/orb/<token>. Copy it or choose Open link.

Revoke when done#

Choose Revoke link (the bin icon) to stop access. The page then shows "This link is not active."

The Voice Orb page answering by text in mock mode

On the page, visitors choose Start talking and Talk again to call the agent. Calls made from the page are web calls with metadata.source set to voice_orb.

If the API has no LiveKit, the page says "Voice isn't available on this server, so the orb answers by text." and shows a text box ("Say something") that chats with the agent instead.

If spending is blocked for the workspace, the page cannot start a call and the API returns 402.

The links API:

Method and path Description
GET /agents/{agent_id}/share-links List an agent's links.
POST /agents/{agent_id}/share-links Create a link. Returns share_link_id, token, url_path.
DELETE /share-links/{share_link_id} Revoke a link.

Web calls from your own code#

To test from your own page, create a web call with create web call (agent_id, optional agent_version, retell_llm_dynamic_variables, metadata) and join the returned room with the web SDK using access_token and livekit_url.