I have completed my first agent, a receptionist, and it is working ok.
There is one thing I would like to fine-tune, though.
When the caller asks for a staff member’s availability, the agent should check with colleagues and get back to the caller with "I’m sorry, XXX is not available.”
I tried various solutions and asked ChatGPT and Claude for assistance, but none of their suggestions worked.
I used <break time="5s" /> SSML-style, - - - - -, and plenty of others. I can’t believe that pausing like this is such a big problem.
Below is the prompt I use; it sometimes works.
If caller asks for Mike:
Say: “Let me check Jan’s availability.”
Then stop talking. Be silent. Wait for 5 seconds.
After the silence, say: “Mike is currently with a client. I can arrange for him to call you back, or we can schedule a consultation. What works better for you?”
I would greatly appreciate any help and suggestions.
For your receptionist agent prompt, try this approach:
If caller asks for Mike:
Say: “Let me check Mike’s availability - - - -” (this creates a pause)
Then say: “Mike is currently with a client. I can arrange for him to call you back, or we can schedule a consultation. What works better for you?”
Alternatively, if you want the agent to completely stop responding during the check, you can use the NO_RESPONSE_NEEDED sequence(2). Prompt your LLM like this:
- if user asks for staff availability, say "Let me check their availability" then reply exactly: "NO_RESPONSE_NEEDED".
This will make the agent hold and not respond(2). However, this approach requires you to trigger the agent to speak again afterward, which may not fit your use case as well as the spaced dashes approach.
The key detail: spaces around the dashes are critical for proper pausing behavior(1).
If you want the agent to pause until it checks “Jan’s availability,” and you have a function to do that, the agent will automatically wait for the function’s result—no manual pauses are needed.
However, if you’re not using a function and simply want the agent to pause for a short duration (e.g., while using Eleven Labs), you can use the tag <break time="1.0s" />, though the maximum allowed pause is 3 seconds for this tag.
Alternatively, please let me know your exact use case so I can assist you further and share the call ID and where you’d like the pause to be inserted.
Your guidance is mostly accurate. When using function calls in Retell AI, the agent automatically waits for the function to return results before continuing the conversation—no manual pauses are required for that workflow(1).
For adding pauses in agent speech (when not waiting on a function), Retell AI officially supports using spaced dashes(1). You can control speech pacing by adding - with spaces around them in the agent’s response(1):
Regarding the <break time="1.0s" /> SSML tag you mentioned, this approach has been discussed in community channels(2)(3). Some users report success with ElevenLabs SSML tags like <break time="3s" />(2), though the official documentation focuses on the spaced dash method(1). The maximum pause supported by ElevenLabs SSML is 3.5 seconds(3).
If you’re experiencing issues with pauses not working as expected, note that some users have reported the dash method causing unexpected sounds with certain TTS providers and voices(4). In those cases, wrapping the break tag in a <speak> tag or adjusting the prompt to use natural language pauses has helped(4).
For the specific use case of checking “Jan’s availability,” if you’re using a function call, the agent will naturally wait. If you want to add a conversational pause while the function executes, you could prompt the agent to say something like “Let me check that for you” before the function call, then use the dash method or SSML tags for any additional pauses needed in the response.
I tried the tag, but it completely stopped the agent from talking.
I now use a custom function and call an n8n webhook for it.
feels a bit over the top but it seems to be working:
**If the caller asks for Mike:
Use this exact instruction style:
If the caller asks for Mike, you MUST call the tool check_callback with {“person”:“Mike”}.
After you say “Let me check Mike’s availability,” call the tool immediately.
While waiting for the tool result, say nothing else.
When the tool returns:
If available=true: offer to connect/proceed.
If available=false, return the message and offer a callback or scheduling.
I don’t have enough context about what specific issue or feature you’re asking me to reproduce in a call. Could you clarify what you’d like me to help you test or demonstrate?
If you’re looking to test an agent with a phone call, you can test outbound calls directly from the Retell AI dashboard by clicking “Make an outbound call” and entering the phone number with country code(1). You can also create outbound calls programmatically using the Create Phone Call API(1).
If you’re experiencing a specific error or issue, please provide more details so I can better assist you.