Create a High-Performance AI Voice Agent in Under an Hour

Since the rise of generative AI, with models like ChatGPT, many industries have been transformed.

Telephony is no exception.

Until now, businesses relied on traditional callbots or interactive voice response (IVR) systems, often perceived as rigid and impersonal. But AI voice agents change everything: these intelligent assistants understand and respond to calls in real-time, offering a much smoother and more natural interaction.

Even better, they don’t just talk—they take action, such as scheduling appointments, qualifying leads, or updating records.

In this article, we’ll show you how to create a high-performance AI voice agent on Rounded in less than an hour, without requiring advanced technical skills. 🚀

Why a high-performance AI voice agent is essential for your business?

A good AI voice agent does more than just answer calls. It must be able to interact naturally with users and perform useful tasks.

Traditional solutions, such as IVRs or basic callbots, often force users through rigid voice menus, leading to frustration and high abandonment rates.

In contrast, a well-designed AI voice agent delivers tangible benefits:

• A smoother, more natural interaction: adapts to requests without following a fixed script.

• Significant time savings: automates tasks like appointment scheduling and information retrieval.

• A better customer experience: understands context and provides more relevant responses.

A well-configured AI voice agent isn’t just an assistant—it’s a powerful tool for improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Why choose Rounded to create an AI voice agent?

Building a high-performance AI voice agent requires coordinating multiple essential technologies to ensure a seamless and effective interaction.

An AI voice agent doesn’t just generate text—it relies on three key components that must be perfectly integrated:

• A voice transcriber (Speech-to-Text): Converts the caller’s speech into text for processing.

• A language model (LLM): Understands the intent behind the text and generates an appropriate response.

• A speech synthesizer (Text-to-Speech): Converts the response into natural-sounding speech for the caller.

Managing these different components and making them work together can be complex and technical.

That’s where Rounded makes a difference.

• A ready-to-use platform that seamlessly connects Speech-to-Text, LLM, and Text-to-Speech.

• An intuitive interface, accessible without advanced technical skills.

• An open API to integrate with your business tools (CRM, databases, etc.).

• Built-in phone number management to attach a line and launch calls with just a few clicks.

With Rounded, you can create and deploy an AI voice agent in less than an hour, without handling all the technical complexities behind the scenes.

In the next section, we’ll guide you through the step-by-step configuration process. 🚀

🛠️ Step 0: Define the foundation of your AI voice agent (10 min)

Before configuring your agent, ask yourself these key questions to structure it properly:

• Main objective: What is your agent’s primary role? (appointment scheduling, lead qualification, customer support, etc.)

• Target audience: Who will interact with the agent? (customers, patients, job applicants, etc.)

• Tone and personality: Should the agent be formal, friendly, or directives.

• Common use cases: What are the most frequent requests the agent will handle?

• Action capabilities: Should the agent just provide responses or also perform actions (e.g., scheduling, updating records, sending confirmations)?

• Specific constraints: Are there any sensitive data or rules that the agent must follow?

Taking 10 minutes to clarify these points will help avoid time-consuming revisions later. Once these foundations are set, we can move on to the technical configuration.

⚙️ Step 1: Configure general settings (10 min)

Once your agent's role is defined, you need to adjust its core settings to ensure smooth interactions.

1️⃣ Choosing the right LLM
Rounded allows you to select the language model that powers your agent. Your choice depends on your needs:

• Fast and lightweight model (GPT-3.5 & 4o Mini) → Ideal for simple tasks and short responses.

• Advanced model (GPT-4o & 4o Turbo) → Recommended for more complex and personalized conversations.

2️⃣ Selecting the voice

• Should it be natural and engaging or more neutral and professional?

• Should the tone inspire trust, energy, or friendliness?

3️⃣ Setting the introduction phrase
Your agent should introduce itself and set the tone from the start:

 "Hello, you’ve reached [your company name]. I’m your AI voice assistant. How can I help you today?"

4️⃣ Defining the base prompt (Agent’s core personality and behavior)
This prompt establishes the agent’s role, personality, and general rules. It should include:

Role: "You are a voice assistant responsible for..."
Behavior: "You must be clear, concise, and friendly..."
Context: "Users typically call for..."
Rules: "Never disclose sensitive information, rephrase if needed..."

A well-configured base prompt ensures the agent is consistent and effective from its very first interactions.

📝 Step 2: Define prompts and tasks (25 min)

A successful agent depends on well-structured prompts. You need to organize its instructions clearly and effectively.

🔹 Single-prompt (simple task) vs. Multi-prompt (multiple tasks)

• If the agent performs only one task (e.g., appointment scheduling), a single prompt is enough.

• If the agent manages several actions (e.g., answering questions + handling requests), you need to create separate prompts for each use case.

🔹 How to structure an effective prompt?
1️⃣ Objective → Clearly define what the agent should accomplish.
2️⃣ Instructions → Explain how to respond (style, format, details).
3️⃣ Best practices → What the agent should always include.
4️⃣ Restrictions → What the agent should never say or do.

Example prompt:

Role: "You are a voice assistant responsible for scheduling medical appointments."
Instructions: "Ask the following questions and offer an available time slot : ..."
Best practices: "Be clear and patient"

A well-structured prompt ensures that the agent responds accurately and efficiently from the start.

🔄 Step 3: Test and refine the agent (25 min)

Once your agent is configured, testing is essential to ensure it handles different situations correctly.

🔹 Why is testing crucial?

• Verifies that the agent understands requests and responds appropriately.

• Identifies areas for improvement in prompts.

• Tests edge cases to see how the agent reacts.

🔹 How to test effectively?

• Make multiple test calls with varied requests.

• Challenge the agent with unexpected inputs.

• Analyze responses: Are they clear? Relevant?

• Refine prompts based on test results.

Iteration is key—adjusting the agent over time ensures optimal performance before full deployment.

📈 Going further: Integrating and automating your AI voice agent

Once your AI voice agent is operational, you can enhance its capabilities by integrating it with your business tools and automating processes.

• Connect it to your API to allow real-time interaction with your systems (CRM, databases, etc.)

• Import a Knowledge Base to feed your agent with comprehensive company information.

• Launch outbound call campaigns by uploading a CSV file with phone numbers and contact details.

📚 For more advanced features, check out the Rounded documentation.

📌 Conclusion

Building a high-performance AI voice agent has never been easier. By following these steps, you can automate key interactions, improve efficiency, and enhance the user experience.

With Rounded, you get an intuitive, ready-to-use solution that requires no technical expertise.

🚀 Ready to transform your customer interactions?
👉 Start building your AI voice agent today on the Rounded platform.