Introduction

A voice agent feels responsive when it can process and return audio as a conversation unfolds. That requires coordination among audio capture, transport, model processing, playback, and conversational state. A model response alone is only one part of the experience.

Treat it as a reported outcome, not a verified benchmark or a guarantee for another deployment.

Map the audio path

Write down each stage from the user's microphone to returned audio: capture and buffering, connection setup, audio transmission, model processing, response streaming, and playback. This map helps identify where delay or failure can occur and clarifies what the application controls versus what depends on network and provider behavior.

Streaming can let processing begin before a complete recording is available.…