Greeting & Intro
By default both surfaces open with an AI-written greeting: the chat widget asks the assistant to introduce itself when it opens, and voice mode speaks a short greeting when the session connects. That greeting is helpful, but it isn't free — every open costs a model call (and, for voice, voice minutes). The Intro setting lets you choose how each surface opens.
Modes
| Mode | Behaviour | Cost |
|---|---|---|
Generated (default) | The assistant writes a fresh greeting each session. | A model call per open; voice minutes for the spoken greeting. |
Custom message | A fixed message you provide is used every time. | Chat renders it instantly with no model call. Voice speaks it verbatim (still uses voice minutes). |
No intro | The widget opens silent and waits for the user to speak or type. | None — no greeting is generated. |
Chat and voice are configured independently. A common setup is a generated chat greeting with no spoken voice intro, so voice sessions don't burn minutes before the user has said anything.
Configure it
Open your application's intro settings and set the mode for Chat and Voice separately. When you choose Custom message, a text box appears — the message is saved when you click away. Voice settings apply once voice mode is enabled under Modes.
Leaving the setting untouched keeps today's behaviour (a generated greeting), so existing applications are unchanged until you opt in.
A custom voice greeting is spoken by the realtime model, so it still consumes voice minutes — it's predictable, not free. Choose No intro if you want voice sessions to stay silent until the user speaks.
Next steps
- Voice Mode — enable voice and pick the language and voice
- Styling — tune the widget's appearance