Voice Agent doesn't speak numbers
I'm setting up a voice agent and when I test, it skips over any numbers. Times, pricing, etc. How can this be fixed?
TWhy the numbers disappear
When a Voiceflow agent is rendered as audio (Twilio/Vonage phone channel) the text is passed to a TTS engine.
If a message contains raw digits—but no SSML—the vendor’s default voice may drop them instead of pronouncing them.
Fix → add a tiny bit of SSML
• If you’re inserting a variable that is stored as a number, cast it to a string first (
• For quick tests you can also write the number in words (“fifty”) but SSML keeps it dynamic and works with variables.
More on formatting Message steps & SSML: https://docs.voiceflow.com/docs/message-step
Let me know if that solves it!
When a Voiceflow agent is rendered as audio (Twilio/Vonage phone channel) the text is passed to a TTS engine.
If a message contains raw digits—but no SSML—the vendor’s default voice may drop them instead of pronouncing them.
Fix → add a tiny bit of SSML
- Open the Message step that should speak the number.
- Click the
</>icon (toggle to SSML view). - Wrap the number (or the variable that holds it) in a
<say-as>tag:
•interpret-as="digits"– reads each digit (“five-zero”).
•interpret-as="cardinal"– reads the whole number (“fifty”).
•interpret-as="currency", "time", "date", etc.– for prices, times, dates. - Save and test the call again – the agent should now speak the numbers correctly.
• If you’re inserting a variable that is stored as a number, cast it to a string first (
price_str = price + '') or just reference it inside the SSML tag: <say-as interpret-as="digits">{{price}}</say-as>• For quick tests you can also write the number in words (“fifty”) but SSML keeps it dynamic and works with variables.
More on formatting Message steps & SSML: https://docs.voiceflow.com/docs/message-step
Let me know if that solves it!
VOk thanks. Where do I find the SSML view to insert the code within an Agent step?