How to Use ElevenLabs Agents in 2026: Step-by-Step Guide
ElevenLabs' platform for building voice AI agents that can answer calls, handle support inquiries, and hold natural spoken conversations in real time.
ElevenLabs Agents extends ElevenLabs' voice-synthesis technology into full conversational agents — combining speech-to-text, an LLM, and ElevenLabs' own text-to-speech into a single low-latency voice pipeline.
Core Capabilities
Real-Time Voice Conversations Handles natural, low-latency spoken dialogue including interruptions and turn-taking, aiming to feel like talking to a person rather than a phone tree.
Custom Voice Selection Agents can speak in any of ElevenLabs' voice library or a cloned custom voice, letting businesses match an agent's voice to their brand.
Phone and Web Deployment Deployable as an inbound/outbound phone agent (via telephony integrations) or embedded as a voice widget on a website.
Knowledge Base Grounding Agents can be given a knowledge base or documents to ground answers in, similar to text-based support bots, but delivered conversationally by voice.
Positioning
Competes with Vapi and Retell AI in the voice-agent infrastructure space, with ElevenLabs' differentiator being its widely-used, high-quality voice models as the foundation.
Pricing
Usage-based, billed per conversation minute; free trial credits available on signup.
What You'll Need
- A ElevenLabs Agents account (starting from Pay-as-you-go)
- A modern web browser or the ElevenLabs Agents app
- Payment method for paid features
Getting Started
Create Your Account
Visit https://elevenlabs.io/agents and sign up for a usage-based account. You'll need an email address to register.
Start Your First Conversation
Once logged in, you'll see the main chat interface. Type a question or task in the input box and press Enter. ElevenLabs Agents supports voice-agent, real-time-conversation, custom-voice, telephony-integration — start with a simple text prompt to get familiar.
Pro Tips
- Be specific: The more context you provide, the better the response. Instead of "write an email," try "write a professional follow-up email to a client who hasn't responded in two weeks."
- Iterate: If you don't get what you need, ask for clarification or refinement: "Make it shorter" or "Use a more formal tone."
- Use examples: Show ElevenLabs Agents what format you want by including an example in your prompt.
- Save useful conversations: Most platforms let you name and revisit conversations — organize by project or topic.
Common Use Cases
Customer Support
AI agents built to handle customer inquiries, troubleshooting, and service requests.
Browse Customer Support chatbots →Productivity
AI tools for task management, scheduling, summarization, and workflow optimization.
Browse Productivity chatbots →Troubleshooting
- Responses seem generic or unhelpful
- Add more context to your prompt. Specify the audience, tone, length, and format you need. Try starting over with a clearer description of your goal.
- The tool isn't responding or is slow
- AI chatbots can experience high traffic. Refresh the page and try again. Check the service's status page if issues persist.
- Output is too long or too short
- Explicitly specify the length: "in 100 words," "as a brief summary," or "in detail with examples."
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is ElevenLabs Agents free to use?
- ElevenLabs Agents requires a paid subscription, starting from Pay-as-you-go.
- Do I need an account to use ElevenLabs Agents?
- Yes, you need to create an account to use ElevenLabs Agents.
- What can I use ElevenLabs Agents for?
- ElevenLabs' platform for building voice AI agents that can answer calls, handle support inquiries, and hold natural spoken conversations in real time.
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