All Tools
Vapi logo

Vapi

Vapi is a developer platform for building and deploying voice AI agents that handle phone calls and conversations.

What is Vapi?

Vapi is a developer platform for building voice AI agents that can make and receive real phone calls. Instead of stitching together a speech recognizer, a language model, and a text-to-speech engine yourself, you configure all three inside Vapi and let the platform handle the real-time infrastructure that keeps a phone conversation running smoothly. Vapi supports both a no-code dashboard for launching an agent in minutes and full API and SDK access for developers who need custom logic. That combination matters for anyone building production voice systems, because a support line or booking agent has to work at scale, under real latency constraints, not just in a demo.

How Vapi works

A Vapi voice agent is really three technologies wired together into one real-time pipeline. When someone speaks, Vapi converts their voice into text, sends that text to a language model for a response, then converts the reply back into speech, all within a few hundred milliseconds so the conversation feels natural.

Speech-to-text (STT): Converts the caller’s spoken words into text the agent can process, using providers like Deepgram, Gladia, or AssemblyAI.
Large language model (LLM): Reads the transcribed text and decides how to respond, with support for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and other model providers.
Text-to-speech (TTS): Turns the model’s reply into natural-sounding audio using voice providers such as ElevenLabs or Cartesia.
Telephony layer: Connects the agent to real phone numbers through built-in numbers or your own SIP trunk and carriers like Twilio.
Squads: Chains multiple specialized assistants together with context-preserving handoffs, so one agent can triage a call and transfer it to another without losing the conversation’s context.

What you can build with Vapi

Inbound support line: Build an agent that answers customer calls, looks up account details through a connected knowledge base, and escalates to a human only when it genuinely needs to.
Outbound sales and lead qualification: Launch a voice agent that calls leads, asks qualifying questions, and books a follow-up meeting straight into a calendar.
Appointment scheduling assistant: Handle inbound booking requests, check real-time availability, and confirm appointments without manual back-and-forth.
Medical triage and scheduling: Use Squads to route urgent calls to emergency handling and routine calls to scheduling, a pattern healthcare teams use to cut patient wait times.
Multilingual customer service: Deploy an agent that detects the caller’s language and responds naturally across more than 100 supported languages.
Voice-embedded product feature: Add a “talk to us” button inside your own web or mobile app with the Web SDK, so users get live voice support without leaving your product.

Key Features

  • Build and deploy voice agents in minutes with a no-code dashboard or full SDK access
  • Make and receive phone calls with built-in numbers, SIP trunking, and carrier support
  • Plug in any speech-to-text, language model, or text-to-speech provider you prefer
  • Orchestrate multi-assistant workflows with Squads for complex call routing and handoffs
  • Track and improve agents with real-time call analytics, evals, and monitoring
  • Meet enterprise requirements with SOC 2, HIPAA, and PCI compliance built in

FAQ

What is Vapi used for? +

Vapi is used to build voice AI agents that make and receive phone calls, handling customer support, sales lead qualification, appointment scheduling, and workflows like order tracking or medical triage. Developers embed these agents into phone lines, websites, and mobile apps, then connect them to existing business systems so the agent can pull data and complete tasks mid-conversation.

How does Vapi work? +

Every Vapi agent combines three components. Speech-to-text turns the caller's audio into text, a large language model decides how to respond, and text-to-speech converts that response back into natural speech. Vapi lets developers mix providers for each layer, then handles the real-time infrastructure connecting phone calls, web calls, and tool integrations so the conversation runs smoothly.

Is Vapi free to use? +

Vapi offers a free tier that includes a Vapi phone number and enough credits to build and test a voice agent without a credit card. Production use is billed based on call minutes and the AI providers you choose for speech and language processing, so cost scales with usage instead of a flat monthly subscription.

Explore Similar AI Tools

Newsletter

The Twice-Monthly AI Briefing

Updates from the AI world — what shipped, what we’re using in production, and what’s worth your attention. Two emails a month, no spam.