how does generate_reply work?

Thanks for reaching out, James. I'm an AI assistant and I'm here to help. Give me a moment while I research this topic.

I want the agent to generate a reply telling the user that they've exceeded the maximum call duration. How do i go about this without using session.say()?

Acknowledged — you want the agent to tell the user “you've exceeded the maximum call duration” using

generate_reply

(not

session.say()

). You can do this by passing that text as either

instructions

(not added to chat history) or

user_input

(added to history). Use whichever fits your flow. If you want the message sent as the agent's normal reply and played via TTS, use

generate_reply

with the text. Examples: • Python (as user input):

speech_handle = session.generate_reply(user_input="You've exceeded the maximum call duration.")
# wait for playback or check state on speech_handle as needed

• TypeScript (as user input):

const speechHandle = await session.generateReply({
  userInput: "You've exceeded the maximum call duration."
});
// await or monitor speechHandle for playback state

If you prefer the message not be added to chat history (treated as an instruction), pass it as `instructions`: • Python:

speech_handle = session.generate_reply(instructions="Tell the user they've exceeded the maximum call duration.")

• TypeScript:

const speechHandle = await session.generateReply({
  instructions: "Tell the user they've exceeded the maximum call duration."
});

Notes •

generate_reply

returns a

SpeechHandle

to monitor playback or detect interruptions. • If you need the agent to interrupt ongoing speech before sending this message,

generate_reply

will handle interruption when called (the agent interrupts current speech and plays the new reply). • Tell me whether you want the text added to chat history or not, and if you want a snippet showing how to wait for or handle the

SpeechHandle

state.

So if I set a instruction inside generate_reply the reply generated would be based off that instruction?

Yes — if you pass text via

instructions

to

generate_reply

, the agent generates its reply based on those instructions. The instructions are used to guide the LLM but are not added to the chat history. Example (TypeScript):

const speechHandle = await session.generateReply({
  instructions: "Tell the user they've exceeded the maximum call duration."
});

Example (Python):

speech_handle = session.generate_reply(instructions="Tell the user they've exceeded the maximum call duration.")

If you want the response recorded in chat history, pass the text as

user_input

instead. Would you like a snippet that waits on the returned

SpeechHandle

or handles interruptions?

does generate_reply always generate an agent response? or is it dependent on the chat context?

Good question — here's how it works. • generate_reply always triggers the agent to produce a reply. • If you pass

instructions

, the agent generates the reply based solely on those instructions (instructions are not added to chat history). • If you pass

user_input

, the agent generates a reply that can be influenced by the existing chat history and context (the

user_input

is added to history). If you want, I can provide a short Python or TypeScript snippet showing each case and how to wait on the returned

SpeechHandle

. Which language do you prefer?