This project is very similar to a real-time AI interview assistant I optimized 10 days ago in several important properties. Here’s how I’d lead your project: • Audit Phase – Measure latency at each stage of the VAPI pipeline and identify where delays or early cuts occur. • STT Optimization – Adjust silence windows, speech finalization thresholds, and partial transcript buffering. • Turn Detection Tuning – Replace static silence thresholds with adaptive confidence-based endpointing. • LLM Streaming Optimization – Reduce first-token latency and tune chunk streaming strategy. • TTS Acceleration – Implement early playback with streaming chunks to cut perceived latency. • Real-World Simulation – Test with edge-case speech patterns, interruptions, slow speakers, and fast speakers. • Fine Tuning & Balance – Adjust aggressiveness so assistant feels attentive but never interrupts.