Added: Speak During Execution Setting for Agent Knowledge Bases

Voice Agents can now speak while searching a knowledge base instead of leaving callers in silence during longer lookups.

What's included

1. 

   A new "Speak during execution" toggle on the Knowledge Base page in the Agent editor

2. 

   The setting can be configured before or after attaching a knowledge base to an Agent

3. 

   Two speech modes: speak while searching, or search first and speak once results are ready

How it works

Open the Agent editor and go to the Knowledge base page. Turn on "Speak during execution" to have the Agent speak while it searches. Leave it off and the Agent will search the knowledge base first, then speak once it has an answer. The setting applies per Agent, so different Agents can use different behavior depending on their use case.

Why it matters

Knowledge base search time varies with the size of the knowledge base, and larger knowledge bases take longer to search. Without this setting, callers had no indication the Agent was still working during longer searches, which could read as dead air or a dropped call. This setting gives customers control over the call experience: Agents handling large knowledge bases can speak during the search to reassure callers, while Agents with fast lookups can keep the search-then-speak flow.

Setup

1. Open the Agent editor for the Agent you want to update.
2. Go to the Knowledge base page.
3. Toggle "Speak during execution" on or off.
4. Save the Agent.

No knowledge base needs to be attached first. The setting can be turned on or off at any time, before or after a knowledge base is added.

Notes

By default, "Speak during execution" is off. Agents search the knowledge base first and speak after the search completes unless this setting is turned on.