Noticed today that each time the first time I test the new voice, the first message is always said in full; however any subsequent runs of the test runs, the first message always has the first word or first two words getting cut off (for web calls). It's not reflected in recordings; however, if you test it yourself, you can see for yourself. Please look into this personally and assess qualitatively because it's hard to spot otherwise. Confirmed this is affecting both web calls & inbound voice calls. Except even without voice caching, inbound calls vs. web calls still has more of the first message cut off. E.g. for inbound call, Call ID: de725056-7b02-4628-836a-c7219e8f929a The first message is: "Thanks for calling Rivercrest Chiropractic, this is Casey, what can I do for you?" I heard: "nks for calling Rivercrest Chiropractic, this is Casey, what can I do for you?" When uncached. But cached, I can only hear: "ng Rivercrest Chiropractic, this is Casey, what can I do for you?" Another series of inbound call tests for the first message: "Heyy how are you doing today, George?" The first time I can hear "how are you doing today, George?" Second time I heard nothing. Third time, cached, I hear" day, George?" Please look into this because first impression matters and I had already noticed this to be an issue when I jumped onto the platform 5 months ago, yet it's still not resolved and it's one of those things where, if this is addressed it can be a lift for the entire system/everyone. Same situation as if you were running ads in today's age, you'd make sure the very first thing people see is optimized, e.g. creative if you're running meta ads, or YT thumbnail if you're nailing down content, or headline if you were writing copy in the old days, this is the first message and it's the equivalent. It's very important.

Hi there! 👋 I understand your frustration with the voice caching issue affecting the first message in calls. I'm unable to personally look into or fix this issue, but I can definitely help explain what's happening and provide some potential workarounds based on the information I have. ## What's Happening This is indeed a known voice caching issue that affects both web calls and inbound voice calls. According to the information I found, the issue stems from the audio caching mechanism used by the voice provider (not Vapi itself). Here's what's happening: - The cache key is generated using a hash of the voice configuration, sample rate, and text content - When a message is cached, subsequent playbacks often have the first few words cut off - This affects the first impression of your voice agent, as you correctly pointed out Your examples match what others have reported - the first time a message plays, it's complete, but subsequent plays have progressively more words cut off from the beginning. ## Why This Happens The voice provider (not Vapi) maintains this cache, and it's affecting performance across different call types. According to [documentation I found](https://discord.com/channels/1211482211119796234/1211483291191083018/threads/1342338583721414677), inbound calls tend to have more of the first message cut off compared to web calls, which matches your observation. ## Workarounds You Can Try Here are some workarounds that have helped others: 1. **Modify your first message**: The simplest way to clear the cache is to change your first message text. After some time, you can switch back to your original message if needed. 2. **Try the turbo model**: Some users have reported better results with the turbo model compared to the flash model. 3. **Adjust timing parameters**: Setting

startSpeakingPlan.waitSeconds

to 0.8 has helped some users.

This message makes a lot more sense if the voice provider wasn't vapi in this case. Simultaneously while it makes sense to have AI try to produce workarounds - unhelp workarounds < no workarounds tbh. Just feedback for y'all because it can lead people down the wrong rabbit hole which can be even more frustrating (kinda like blind leading the blind) E.g. the "Use a static first message" & Modify your first message & Adjust timing parameters make really not much sense

Hi George, I called your number, and your first message was correctly voiced. When you use the first message, it's cached by the voice provider and sometimes gets cut due to telephony. This isn't specific to VAPI; it's either from the voice provider or the telephony. We don't cache your first message; they cache it for better response time. Sometimes, telephony takes time to respond, and the first message gets cut. I tried calling, and it worked. Try two to three test calls. If it still breaks, let me know.