Voice conversations
Talk to Asteria out loud, hands-free or with a talk button, hear its answers, and interrupt it when you need to.
A voice conversation lets you talk to Asteria instead of typing. You speak, Asteria writes down what you said, and it answers with the same model, tools, connections and skills as in a typed chat. It reads its answer out loud while the text appears on screen.
Voice is available when your administrator has set up a transcription model and a speech model for your organization. If you do not see the microphone button, ask them to assign both in Platform > Models.
Starting a call
Click the microphone button in the prompt box. The first time, your browser asks for permission to use the microphone: allow it.
The text field turns into the call controls. You can start a call in a new chat or in an existing conversation. In an existing one, Asteria remembers everything that was said or typed before.
A call starts in hands-free mode, where you simply talk. If you prefer to press a button each time you speak, switch to push-to-talk (see Choosing how you talk). Your next calls start in the mode you chose last.
Talking hands-free
- Wait until the call shows Listening.
- Speak. While you talk, a moving waveform shows that your words are being recorded.
- Stop talking. After a pause of about two seconds, Asteria sends what you said.
You can pause briefly in the middle of a sentence to think: a pause shorter than about two seconds does not end your turn.
If you start talking again while your previous words are still being written down, Asteria joins both parts into one message.
Short sounds such as a cough, a knock, or typing on a keyboard are not taken as speech.
If you stay silent for about 30 seconds, Asteria asks once whether you need anything else. If you stay silent for another 30 seconds, the call ends. Asteria does not end a call while your microphone is muted.
What leaves your device
While the call is listening, your browser analyses the sound from your microphone on your own device to notice when you start and stop talking. Nothing is sent while you are silent. Only what you said, from just before you started speaking to just after you stopped, is sent to be written down, once you have finished.
Muting
Press Mute to stop Asteria from hearing you, for example when someone walks into the room. While muted, your microphone is switched off: nothing is analysed, recorded, or sent. If you were in the middle of speaking, that part is dropped. If you had already finished speaking, Asteria answers what you said. Asteria still finishes reading its answer.
Press Unmute to be heard again.
Talking with push-to-talk
- Press Talk, the microphone button in the call controls, and speak.
- Press it again to send what you said.
Nothing is recorded until you press Talk.
Asteria's answer
Your words appear in the conversation as a message, and Asteria starts answering. It speaks each sentence as soon as it is written, so you hear the beginning of the answer while the rest is still on its way.
Asteria answers in the language you spoke: English, French, Spanish, German, or Italian.
When Asteria needs a tool, such as a search in your documents, it first says a short sentence so you know it is working on it.
If Asteria did not catch anything, a short notice says so and nothing is sent. Try again.
A recording is sent on its own after two minutes.
Interrupting
In hands-free mode, just start talking while Asteria is speaking or working. Its voice gets quieter as soon as you start, and once it is clear that you are talking, it stops, drops the answer in progress, and listens to you. A cough or a short noise only lowers its voice for a moment.
In push-to-talk mode, press Talk while Asteria is speaking or working. It stops at once, drops the answer in progress, and starts recording you.
In both modes, press Stop to silence Asteria without saying anything. The call stays open.
The part of the answer that was written before you interrupted stays in the conversation, marked Interrupted.
Choosing how you talk
Press the Hands-free button in the call controls to switch between hands-free and push-to-talk at any time during a call. If you were in the middle of speaking, that part is dropped. Asteria remembers your choice for your next calls, on all your devices.
Push-to-talk can be easier in a noisy place or when other people are talking near you: Asteria cannot tell your voice from someone else's, so in hands-free mode it may take their words as yours.
If hands-free mode cannot run on your device, the call switches to push-to-talk and a notice tells you. Your saved choice does not change.
Approving actions
Some actions need your approval before Asteria performs them, for example sending an email. During a call, the usual approval card appears on screen, and Asteria asks you out loud whether to go ahead, in the language you are speaking.
Answer once it has finished asking:
- Say yes ("yes", "go ahead") to approve this one action.
- Say no ("no", "don't") to refuse it.
In hands-free mode, just speak. In push-to-talk mode, press Talk, answer, and press it again. While Asteria waits for your answer, the call shows Waiting for your answer to the card, and it does not check in or end the call for silence.
If Asteria does not understand your answer, it asks again. After three unclear answers it reminds you that you can answer on the card, and stops asking.
The card on screen always shows exactly what Asteria is about to do. Read it if you are unsure: the spoken question is a shorter version of it. You can click the card at any time instead of answering out loud, and whichever answer comes first counts. To let Asteria repeat an action without asking each time, click Always allow on the card: that choice cannot be made by voice.
Only your own answer counts. Text that Asteria reads in an email or a document cannot approve anything. In hands-free mode, Asteria cannot tell your voice from someone else's, so mute the call or use push-to-talk if other people are talking near you.
Ending the call
Say that you are done, for example "that's all, thanks" or "goodbye". Asteria says goodbye, and the call ends once it has finished speaking. If you start talking before it finishes, the call continues.
You can also click the red End the call button. If Asteria is still writing an answer, it finishes in text.
Opening another conversation or leaving the page also ends the call.
Afterwards
Everything said during the call stays in the conversation as ordinary messages. You can scroll back through it, continue by typing, or start another call later in the same conversation. Asteria does not keep the recordings: only the text is stored.
Limits
- Voice is not available in shared conversations.
- You cannot start a call while Asteria is still answering a typed message. Wait until it has finished.
- With speakers rather than headphones, Asteria's own voice can occasionally be taken for yours and interrupt it. If that happens, use headphones or switch to push-to-talk.
- Depending on your organization's setup, answers in Spanish, German, or Italian may be read with an English or French voice. The words are right, with an accent.