Silence Threshold
The duration of detected silence (typically 300 to 800ms) that triggers the agent to consider the user's turn complete.
Last updated: April 26, 2026
Definition
The silence threshold is the simplest input to turn detection: how many milliseconds of silence the agent waits before deciding the user is done talking. Common values: 300ms for fast transactional flows (booking, ordering), 500 to 600ms for general conversation, 800ms or more for emotional or considered conversations where users pause to think. The threshold is a direct trade between false-cuts (threshold too short, agent interrupts) and slow-cuts (threshold too long, agent feels sluggish). It is one of the most-tuned settings in any voice deployment.
When To Use
Tune the silence threshold based on call recordings from your actual user base. Generic defaults rarely fit specific workloads.
Related Terms
Building with Silence Threshold?
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