crooked-vr-68387
01/02/2026, 3:29 PMtall-airline-16756
01/02/2026, 3:30 PMtall-airline-16756
01/02/2026, 3:30 PMcrooked-vr-68387
01/02/2026, 3:31 PMtall-airline-16756
01/02/2026, 3:32 PMupdate_instructions call are taking too long. I can help speed that up.
A few quick questions so I can give targeted steps:
1. Is the tool implemented server-side (your backend) or run inside a client/agent runtime?
2. Can you share a short pseudo-code snippet of how you currently call update_instructions (no secrets)?
3. Do you observe the delay before the tool runs, during the tool, or between the tool returning and the model responding?
Immediate actions you can apply now
• Update first, do everything else later: Make the tool perform the instruction update as the very first line and return immediately with a short confirmation. Example flow:
a. Receive tool call.
b. Call update_instructions(new_instructions) immediately.
c. Return "Instructions updated." without doing additional work in the same call.
• Avoid blocking work after update: Do not perform long-running work (I/O, heavy processing, sleeps) in the same tool execution after the update. If you need follow-up tasks, schedule them asynchronously outside the update call.
• Minimize preemptive generation interference: If your agent uses preemptive or background generation, try disabling it briefly while performing instruction updates so it doesn’t add extra prediction latency.
• Keep confirmations tiny: Return a single short string rather than large payloads so the agent can continue the conversation quickly.
If you want a concrete code example for your stack, tell me whether you use Python, Node, or another runtime and paste the current function body. I’ll rewrite it to ensure the update happens immediately and show how to offload follow-up work.
Sources: Introducing LiveKit Inference: A unified model interface for voice AI | Live Conversations with AI using ChatGPT and WebRTCcrooked-vr-68387
01/02/2026, 3:33 PMtall-airline-16756
01/02/2026, 3:33 PMawait self.update_instructions(...) as the first action in the branch so the update happens before any session messages.
• Return a short confirmation quickly (don’t await long work after the update).
• Offload any non‑urgent follow‑ups to background tasks (use asyncio.create_task) that do not block returning to the model.
Refactored example (Python):
@function_tool()
async def workflow_classification(self, workflow: str):
"""Classify user workflow and update instructions immediately."""
try:
<http://logger.info|logger.info>(f"Customer Workflow: {workflow}")
if workflow == "NO Referance number or Case Number":
# update instructions immediately
await self.update_instructions(instructions=CUSTOMER_DONT_HAVE_CASE_NO_OR_REFERANCE_NUMBER)
# return quickly so the agent can continue
await self.session.say("Please allow me a moment.")
await self.session.say("May I please have your name, email address to send the form?")
# any extra work can run in background if needed
# asyncio.create_task(do_background_logging(...))
elif workflow == "Referance number or Case Number":
await self.update_instructions(instructions=CUSTOMER_HAVE_CASE_NO_OR_REFERANCE_NUMBER)
await self.session.say("Please allow me a moment.")
# prompt for digits or schedule follow-up background task
else:
await self.update_instructions(instructions=CUSTOMER_LOST_HAVE_CASE_NO_OR_REFERANCE_NUMBER)
await self.session.generate_reply(instructions="Please allow me a moment.")
return "Instructions updated."
except Exception as e:
logger.exception(f"Error In Intent Classification: {e}")
return "Failed to update instructions."
If you must not await update_instructions (for architectural reasons), call it first and return immediately while using asyncio.create_task(self.update_instructions(...)), but that can introduce a small race where the model continues before instructions are applied. Awaiting the update ensures the model sees the new instructions as soon as possible.
Quick question: do you have any long-running work immediately after the update that must run before the model responds (e.g., heavy I/O or external API calls)? If yes, tell me which so I can show how to move it to a true background task.crooked-vr-68387
01/02/2026, 3:36 PMtall-airline-16756
01/02/2026, 3:36 PMupdate_instructions immediately so instructions are applied before the model continues.
• Return/continue the conversation right after that awaited call.
• Move any heavy I/O or processing into an independent background task using asyncio.create_task.
• If background tasks must send messages into the session, use a non-blocking queue or session-safe async method so they don’t block the main request.
Refactored pattern (Python — concise):
@function_tool()
async def workflow_classification(self, workflow: str):
try:
<http://logger.info|logger.info>(f"Customer Workflow: {workflow}")
# apply new instructions immediately (await so update is in effect)
if workflow == "NO Referance number or Case Number":
await self.update_instructions(instructions=CUSTOMER_DONT_HAVE_CASE_NO_OR_REFERANCE_NUMBER)
# continue conversation immediately
await self.session.say("Please allow me a moment.")
await self.session.say("May I please have your name and email to send the form?")
# offload heavy work (e.g., DB/API calls, form generation) to background
asyncio.create_task(self._handle_no_ref_followups(workflow))
elif workflow == "Referance number or Case Number":
await self.update_instructions(instructions=CUSTOMER_HAVE_CASE_NO_OR_REFERANCE_NUMBER)
await self.session.say("Please allow me a moment.")
asyncio.create_task(self._handle_with_ref_followups(workflow))
else:
await self.update_instructions(instructions=CUSTOMER_LOST_HAVE_CASE_NO_OR_REFERANCE_NUMBER)
await self.session.generate_reply(instructions="Please allow me a moment.")
asyncio.create_task(self._handle_other_followups(workflow))
return "Instructions updated."
except Exception as e:
logger.exception(f"Error In Intent Classification: {e}")
return "Failed to update instructions."
# Example background handler
async def _handle_no_ref_followups(self, workflow):
try:
# heavy work: DB/API calls, email sending, form generation, etc.
# do NOT await these inside the main function
result = await some_heavy_io_call() # runs in background
# if you must send messages back to user from background:
await self.session.say_nonblocking("Follow-up completed.") # use a non-blocking session API if available
except Exception:
logger.exception("Background follow-up failed")
Notes and practical tips:
• Awaiting update_instructions removes the race where the model continues before instructions take effect.
• If your runtime lacks a safe non-blocking session.say for background tasks, use a message queue (Redis, SQS) that a worker consumes to send messages, keeping the main request path fast.
• If you cannot await update_instructions (due to architecture), call it first synchronously and still return quickly — this risks a short race if the update hasn’t fully propagated.
• Keep the confirmation messages minimal so the conversation isn't delayed by large responses.
One quick question to fine-tune this: what exactly does the long-running work do (external API calls, DB writes, sending emails, large file processing)? I’ll show a tailored example for safely sending any follow-up messages to the user.crooked-vr-68387
01/02/2026, 3:39 PMtall-airline-16756
01/02/2026, 3:39 PM