Skip to main content
Voices sometimes mispronounce brand names, surnames, place names, acronyms, or industry terms. A pronunciation dictionary fixes this: you list the words, define how each should sound, and the agent uses that pronunciation every time the word appears in what it says. The dictionary changes only how the agent speaks. To help the agent understand a word when the contact says it, use Speech recognition vocabulary.

​
How it works

Each entry has: When the agent speaks, every match of the word is replaced with its defined pronunciation before the voice reads it.

​
Add a pronunciation to an agent

1

Open the agent's voice settings

Open the agent and click Agent in the editor header (see Agent settings), then expand Pronunciation Dictionaries.
2

Enter the word

Type the word in Word. When you leave the field, Callers generates suggested pronunciations.
3

Choose or write the IPA

Click the IPA field to see the suggestions. Play each one with the speaker icon to hear it in the agent’s voice, then select the right one. You can also type your own IPA.
4

Add it

Click Add. The entry appears as a chip below the fields. Click its speaker icon to hear it, or remove it with the delete icon.
5

Save and test

Save the agent and make a test call that uses the word.
If none of the suggestions sound right, start from the closest one and edit the IPA by hand. Small changes, such as moving the stress mark ˈ, often fix the problem. For how to write numbers, emails, and names so the agent says them correctly, see Prompting voice agents.

​
Shared dictionaries

This feature is enabled per account. Contact support@callers.ai to turn it on.
If several agents use the same names and terms, keep them in a shared dictionary for your organization instead of repeating entries in each agent. Contact support to set up shared dictionaries for your account. To use a shared dictionary in an agent:
  1. Open the agent, click Agent, and expand Pronunciation Dictionaries.
  2. Click Connect Pronunciation Dictionaries and select the dictionaries this agent should use.
  3. Save the agent. The button changes to Pronunciation Dictionaries Connected.
You can combine connected dictionaries with entries added directly to the agent.

​
Best practices

  • Add only words that are wrong. Most words are pronounced correctly; extra entries add maintenance without benefit.
  • Include common variants. Add plural or possessive forms separately if they appear in your script, for example Acme and Acme's.
  • Spell out acronyms you want read letter by letter, such as CRM or HVAC, if the voice reads them as a word.
  • Re-check after changing the voice or language. Different voices interpret IPA slightly differently. Play your entries again with the new voice.
  • Keep variable values in mind. Names that come from contact data (for example {{name}}) are matched too, so add frequent surnames or city names your contacts have.

​
Troubleshooting

Check that the Word matches how it is written in the script or how the agent writes it in replies, including spaces and hyphens. Whole-word matching means Acme doesn’t match AcmeCorp.
Both Word and IPA are required. Select a suggestion or type IPA first.
The button appears only when shared dictionaries are enabled for your account and at least one dictionary exists. Contact support.

Speech recognition vocabulary

Help the agent understand names and terms.

Voices and sounds

Choose and tune the agent’s voice.

Supported languages

Languages and dialects.

Variables

Personalize scripts with contact data.