I am having an issue with the bot, as it stops speaking unless the caller speaks again. For instance, the caller coughed, so the bot got interrupted and then it never spoke again. Call ID: 8a00e41d-eb8e-4d1f-abd9-aabb79d21eb4 time: 1758855439830

To help your assistant recover after being interrupted (like by a cough), try lowering the

backoffSeconds

value in your stop speaking plan. For example:

json
"stopSpeakingPlan": {
  "numWords": 0,
  "voiceSeconds": 0.2,
  "backoffSeconds": 0.5
}

This setting allows the assistant to resume speaking more quickly after an interruption. Test this adjustment to see if it resolves the issue in your scenario. For more details, see the voice pipeline configuration documentation. Source: - [Voice pipeline configuration](https://docs.vapi.ai/customization/voice-pipeline-configuration)

Thank you. backoffseconds is currently at 1. I'm trying to lower it down, but it only goes straight to 0?

Hi Yssa Mae Amper, This relates to the voice pipeline configuration, specifically the

stopSpeakingPlan

settings. Here's how to handle the interruption issue: 1. The

backoffSeconds

setting controls how long the assistant waits after an interruption before speaking again:

{  "stopSpeakingPlan": {    "numWords": 0,    "voiceSeconds": 0.2,    "backoffSeconds": 1.0  // This can be adjusted  }}

The

backoffSeconds

range is 0-10 seconds (Default: 1.0). Recommended settings are[1](https://docs.vapi.ai/customization/voice-pipeline-configuration): - 0.5s: Quick recovery for fast-paced interactions - 1.0s: Natural pause for most conversations - 2.0s: Deliberate pause for formal settings To prevent the bot from stopping permanently after interruptions: 1. Adjust

voiceSeconds

(range: 0-0.5 seconds) to control how long voice must be detected before triggering interruption 2. Set

numWords

to control interruption sensitivity: - 0: Uses Voice Activity Detection (more sensitive) - > 0: Waits for specific number of transcribed words For your case, try this configuration:

{  "stopSpeakingPlan": {    "numWords": 1,  // More resistant to coughs/background noise    "voiceSeconds": 0.3,  // Slightly higher threshold    "backoffSeconds": 0.5  // Faster recovery  }}

If this doesn’t resolve the issue, please let us know and we’ll be happy to step in and assist further.