I’m using Vapi for a real-time voice AI agent integration. I’ve noticed that when users say short filler or acknowledgment words such as “oh,” “ya,” “yes,” “hmm,” “okay,” etc. — the agent’s speech (TTS) gets interrupted multiple times. These are not actual interruptions but natural backchannel cues from the user to show they are listening. However, Vapi currently treats them as speech events and stops the agent mid-sentence. I’d like your guidance on how to handle this gracefully. Specifically: Is there a way in Vapi to ignore very short speech segments or filter out filler words before triggering interruption? Can we implement a minimum speech duration or intent-based check (e.g., classify as filler vs. actual interruption)? Are there any built-in settings, hooks, or recommended best practices to reduce false interruptions in conversational flows? Appreciate any suggestions or sample configurations you can share to help make the interaction smoother and more natural.

Hi there, Thank you for your message. Our team is currently out of the office. We operate Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST). We’ll get back to you as soon as possible during our normal business hours. If your message is urgent, please mark it accordingly or include “URGENT” in the subject line, and we’ll do our best to respond promptly. Warm regards, Vapi Customer Support Team

I can help you make the agent ignore short filler words by setting a minimum speech duration and filtering common acknowledgments like “oh,” “yeah,” or “okay” before triggering interruption. You can handle this through Vapi’s onSpeechStart or onSpeechEnd hooks with a simple NLP check. This keeps the flow natural while still allowing real interruptions to break in smoothly. Have you already tested adjusting the speech event sensitivity in your config? @KennyBenso4

I am little knew on vapi so didn't knew about them

Hi KennyBenso4, To address issues with the Vapi assistant, such as speech interruptions or silence, here are some features and configurations you might find useful: 1. **Interruptions**: Vapi can detect user interruptions to stop the assistant's speech. This feature helps manage when the user wants to interject. [Learn more about interruptions](https://docs.vapi.ai/how-vapi-works). 2. **Idle Messages**: You can set idle messages using assistant hooks to keep users engaged during pauses in conversation. These are configured to trigger after a specific timeout and can be repeated based on configuration. [Check how to configure idle messages](https://docs.vapi.ai/assistants/idle-messages). 3. **Endpointing**: Ensures the system knows when the user has finished speaking, minimizing response delays and avoiding interruptions. Vapi uses a fusion audio-text model to manage this. [Details on endpointing](https://docs.vapi.ai/how-vapi-works). 4. **Background Noise/Voice Filtering**: These features help in maintaining the quality of conversations by canceling unwanted noises and focusing on the primary speaker. If you need further specific adjustments, consider the above options for potential configurations to better suit your needs.