Voice Chat
Voice chat lets you speak to Snippbot agents and hear their responses using speech-to-text (STT) input and text-to-speech (TTS) output.
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”- A microphone and speaker (or headphones)
- A modern browser (Chrome or Firefox recommended) for microphone access
- For cloud providers: an API key for your chosen TTS/STT provider (OpenAI, ElevenLabs, or Hume AI). Local and Browser providers work without API keys.
Supported providers
Section titled “Supported providers”Text-to-speech (TTS)
Section titled “Text-to-speech (TTS)”| Provider | Key setting | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Local (piper-tts) | (none) | Offline local TTS, no API key needed |
| OpenAI TTS | openai_api_key | High quality cloud TTS |
| ElevenLabs | elevenlabs_api_key | Highest quality, many voices |
| Hume AI | hume_api_key | Emotionally expressive voice |
| Browser (Web Speech) | (none) | Built-in browser TTS, no API key needed |
Speech-to-text (STT)
Section titled “Speech-to-text (STT)”| Provider | Notes |
|---|---|
| Local (faster-whisper) | Offline local STT, no API key needed |
| OpenAI Whisper | Higher accuracy, requires OpenAI API key |
| ElevenLabs Scribe | High-accuracy transcription via ElevenLabs |
Setting up TTS
Section titled “Setting up TTS”ElevenLabs
Section titled “ElevenLabs”-
Create an account at elevenlabs.io and get an API key
-
Add the key in Snippbot: Settings → Integrations → ElevenLabs API Key
-
Enable in chat — click the TTS icon (speaker) in the chat toolbar and select ElevenLabs
-
Choose a voice from the voice selector dropdown
Hume AI
Section titled “Hume AI”-
Create an account at hume.ai and get an API key
-
Add the key in Snippbot: Settings → Integrations → Hume API Key
-
Enable in chat — click the TTS icon in the chat toolbar and select Hume AI
Browser TTS (no setup)
Section titled “Browser TTS (no setup)”No API key needed. In the Chat UI: TTS icon → select Browser.
Browser TTS quality varies by OS and browser. System voices are used.
Using voice in the Chat UI
Section titled “Using voice in the Chat UI”-
Open a chat with any agent
-
Click the microphone icon in the message input area — the browser will request microphone access
-
Speak your message — recording is active while the icon is animated
-
Click the microphone again (or press Space) to stop recording
-
The speech is transcribed and sent as a chat message
-
When TTS is enabled, the agent’s response is read aloud automatically
Keyboard shortcuts
Section titled “Keyboard shortcuts”| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Space (when focused) | Start/stop recording |
Escape | Cancel recording |
S | Toggle TTS on/off |
Continuous voice mode
Section titled “Continuous voice mode”Enable Continuous mode to keep the microphone active after each agent response:
-
Open voice settings — in the Chat UI toolbar, click Settings → Voice → Continuous mode: On
-
Start talking — after each response, recording automatically restarts
-
Exit — press
Escapeto leave continuous mode
Voice commands
Section titled “Voice commands”While recording, you can use voice commands:
| Voice command | Action |
|---|---|
| ”Stop recording” | Sends the message |
| ”Cancel” | Discards the recording |
| ”New conversation” | Starts a fresh chat session |
TTS settings
Section titled “TTS settings”Configure TTS behavior in Settings → Voice:
| Setting | Options | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Local (piper-tts) / OpenAI TTS / ElevenLabs / Hume AI / Browser (Web Speech) | TTS engine |
| Voice | (provider-specific) | Voice selection |
| Speed | 0.5 – 2.0 | Playback speed |
| Auto-play | On / Off | Auto-speak agent responses |
| Skip code blocks | On (default) | Don’t read code aloud |
STT settings
Section titled “STT settings”| Setting | Options | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Local (faster-whisper) / OpenAI Whisper / ElevenLabs Scribe | STT engine |
| Language | (locale) | Recognition language |
| Auto-send | On / Off | Send immediately after recording stops |
Privacy notes
Section titled “Privacy notes”- Microphone access is browser-gated — you grant permission per site
- Audio is processed locally (browser STT) or sent to the selected provider (ElevenLabs, Hume, Whisper)
- Snippbot does not record or store your voice
- Review the privacy policy of your chosen TTS/STT provider
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”Microphone not working
Section titled “Microphone not working”- Check browser microphone permission:
chrome://settings/content/microphone - Ensure no other app has exclusive microphone access
- Try refreshing the page and granting permission again
TTS plays but sounds wrong
Section titled “TTS plays but sounds wrong”- Check the selected voice in Settings → Voice
- Reduce playback speed if the voice is too fast
- Verify the API key is valid (test at the provider’s website)
Transcription inaccurate
Section titled “Transcription inaccurate”- Speak clearly and close to the microphone
- Switch to Whisper for better accuracy (requires OpenAI key)
- Set the correct language in STT settings
