Sometimes there can be long pauses between what the caller says and the AI phone assistant responding. Typically anything over 2 seconds is noticeable.
There are usually two causes:
The underlying AI provider (usually Google, Anthropic or OpenAI) can have a temporary performance issue. We monitor this and if a model is underperforming long-term, Bot Bureau will replace it.
Your knowledge base or instructions have something confusing in them - like contradictory information - which causes the assistant to think too long about what the correct response should be.
On your Metrics page refer to the chart called Latency (speed) for First Agent Response (last 30 days).
If the Max Latency is high and the Average Latency is low on a particular day, this is most likely caused by a temporary performance issue on one of the AI providers. You are unlikely to need to take action here.
If the Max Latency and Average Latency are constantly both high - especially if you have more than 5 calls per day that you are reviewing, there is possibly something in your instructions or knowledge base which is confusing your assistant and making it think too long. Reach out for support if needed.