> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://anvil.servicetitan.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Principles

> How the voice agent should talk: structure first, then tone, then sound.

These principles are the standard for how the voice agent talks on phone and in-app voice. Use them in order: get the turn right, then the tone, then the sound of the voice.

## Core Principles

Three principles, in this order. Each one only helps once the one before it is in place.

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="Structure Before Tone" icon="layer-group">
    Build the turn first. If the opening, confirmation, or close is broken, a
    warmer voice will not fix it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tone & Trust" icon="scale-balanced">
    How the agent talks only matters after the call actually works. Callers decide
    whether to trust it at the opening, at confirmation, and at the close.
  </Card>

  <Card title="The Sound of the Voice" icon="waveform">
    Choose pitch, pace, accent, and the rest on purpose for each persona. Don't
    pick a voice because it sounds good.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Structure Before Tone

A nicer tone or a better-sounding voice will not save a poorly built turn. Get these seven moments right before you tune anything else:

1. [Opening](/docs/kits/ai-kit/voice-experience/voice-patterns)
2. [Confirmation & Clarification](/docs/kits/ai-kit/voice-experience/voice-patterns)
3. [Turn-Taking & Interruption](/docs/kits/ai-kit/voice-experience/voice-patterns)
4. [Silence & Processing](/docs/kits/ai-kit/voice-experience/voice-patterns)
5. [Recovery](/docs/kits/ai-kit/voice-experience/voice-patterns)
6. [Closing](/docs/kits/ai-kit/voice-experience/voice-patterns)
7. [Tool-Call Filler](/docs/kits/ai-kit/voice-experience/voice-patterns)

## Tone & Trust

How the agent talks cannot make up for a failed task. On a call that already works, tone can make the experience feel better and ease small friction. That's all it does. Trust is not spread evenly through the call. It sits at three moments, and a miss at any of them costs more than the same miss anywhere else.

| Moment       | What it means                                                                                                                                                              |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Opening      | From the first words, the caller decides whether this agent can handle their problem.                                                                                      |
| Confirmation | Rushing, skipping, or contradicting a confirmation feels like you never confirmed. Offering the wrong day first is a confirmation failure, not a scheduling inconvenience. |
| Close        | Stopping at "done" leaves the call hanging, even when the task succeeded.                                                                                                  |

These rules apply to every persona and channel, not just those three moments.

| Standard                                                                                                              | Requirement                                                                                                          |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <Badge color="green">Do</Badge><span className="m-inline-start-2">Close with a sign-off</span>                        | State what got done, what happens next, and close with a recognizable sign-off.                                      |
| <Badge color="green">Do</Badge><span className="m-inline-start-2">Tool framing over character</span>                  | The agent presents as a tool doing a job, not a persona with a personality. Strictest for Dispatcher.                |
| <Badge color="green">Do</Badge><span className="m-inline-start-2">Recommendation first, rationale second</span>       | For Technician, Dispatcher, and Owner, state the action or number before explaining how it was reached.              |
| <Badge color="green">Do</Badge><span className="m-inline-start-2">Skimmable by default</span>                         | Deliver the headline first for Dispatcher and Owner; offer more detail rather than stating it automatically.         |
| <Badge color="red">Don't</Badge><span className="m-inline-start-2">End on completion alone</span>                     | Don't end on task completion alone, or treat confirmation as optional under latency pressure.                        |
| <Badge color="red">Don't</Badge><span className="m-inline-start-2">Never claim or imply humanity</span>               | If the agent has a name or voice identity, that identity must stay legible as AI.                                    |
| <Badge color="red">Don't</Badge><span className="m-inline-start-2">No conversational framing on staff surfaces</span> | No greeting, no small talk on alerts, status updates, or capture confirmations. Consumer voice is the one exception. |
| <Badge color="red">Don't</Badge><span className="m-inline-start-2">No cutesy or human-mimicking delivery</span>       | No giggly filler or performed cuteness, on any surface, in any role.                                                 |

## The Sound of the Voice

Set pitch, brightness, clarity, accent, pacing, intonation, and temperature for the persona. Don't pick a voice on instinct. A voice that scores well on quality is not automatically the one people trust. What helps one persona can hurt another: warmth that technicians reward can be the same warmth consumers penalize.

## References

Source: [*Voice Experience Standards Framework*](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PjaqH48qhi54s0VVs3c4TSFUI7aDxyngIljKWieRzHs/edit?usp=sharing) (JB Booth, Aug 22, 2026).

## Related

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Tone & Trust" icon="scale-balanced" href="/docs/kits/ai-kit/tone-and-trust">
    The text and chat standard for the same principle.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Patterns" icon="waveform" href="/docs/kits/ai-kit/voice-experience/voice-patterns">
    How each persona's turns are built.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Persona and Voice Guidelines" icon="user-gear" href="/docs/kits/ai-kit/voice-experience/persona-and-voice-guidelines">
    Tone and acoustic calibration by role.
  </Card>
</Columns>