Turn-taking controllability - Amazon Nova
API configurationSensitivity levelsPause duration reference

Turn-taking controllability

Turn-taking is a fundamental aspect of natural conversation. Amazon Nova 2 Sonic provides fine-grained control over when the AI takes its turn to speak through the turnDetectionConfiguration parameter. This allows you to optimize the conversation flow for different use cases, balancing responsiveness with accuracy. The endpointingSensitivity parameter controls how quickly Amazon Nova 2 Sonic detects the end of a user's turn and begins responding. This setting affects both the latency of responses and the likelihood of interrupting users who are still speaking.

API configuration

Configure turn detection sensitivity in the sessionStart event:


                {
    "event": {
        "sessionStart": {
            "inferenceConfiguration": {
                "maxTokens": 1000,
                "topP": 0.9,
                "temperature": 0.7
            },
            "turnDetectionConfiguration": {
                "endpointingSensitivity": "HIGH" | "MEDIUM" | "LOW"
            }
        }
    }
}

Sensitivity levels

The endpointingSensitivity parameter accepts three values: HIGH, MEDIUM, and LOW. Each level balances response speed against the risk of interrupting users who are still speaking.

HIGH

Fastest response time, optimized for latency. Nova Sonic responds as quickly as possible after detecting the end of speech. Pause duration: 1.5 seconds. Best for quick Q and A, command-and-control applications, and time-sensitive interactions.

MEDIUM

Balanced approach with moderate response time. Reduces false positives while maintaining responsiveness. Pause duration: 1.75 seconds. Best for general conversations, customer service with complex queries, and multi-turn discussions.

LOW

Slowest response time with maximum patience. Nova Sonic waits the longest before responding, minimizing interruptions of users who pause while thinking. Pause duration: 2 seconds. Best for thoughtful conversations, elderly or speech-impaired users, and complex problem-solving.

Pause duration reference

Sensitivity level Pause duration (seconds)
High (fast) 1.5
Medium 1.75
Low (slow) ~2.0