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Roark Live Bench · Suite v1.3 · Sweep of 30 October 2026

Voice AI models, ranked on live phone calls.

Every speech-to-text, language model and text-to-speech model, run in every combination on the same real call to the same agent. A model is ranked on every stack it runs in; the stacks are the evidence.

662 stacks published14,070 scored callsPublished at 20 scored calls

Our picks

Roark scoreTask completionMedian responseCost per minute

The read

  • 430 of 642 cascades complete the task in at least 90% of calls, and the top 10 sit within 1 point of each other. What separates the top stacks is speed and cost.
  • Median response time runs from 2.0 s to 6.2 s on the same agent and the same caller, a spread of 4.2 s that comes entirely from the models behind it.
  • No stack wins everything. The fastest, Speechmatics Linden-1 (own VAD) + Anthropic Claude Haiku 4.5 + ElevenLabs Turbo v2.5 at 2.0 s, ranks 559 of 642 on task completion; the most complete is Speechmatics Linden-1 (own VAD) + OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol + OpenAI TTS-1 HD at 99%.
  • The language model matters most: swapping it moves task completion by 7 points, against 3 for the speech engine and 2 for the transcriber.
  • The fastest speech-to-speech model answers 0.1 s sooner than the fastest cascade, and its completion rate sits 12 points below the best cascade.

Cascade vs Speech-to-Speech

The first choice to make. A cascade chains three models: one transcribes, one decides what to say, one speaks. A speech-to-speech model does all three at once. Both run the same agent on the same calls here.

  • Cascades lead on task completion, tool use, time to first word, barge-in handling and cost per task; speech-to-speech leads on response time. Neither wins outright, so the right choice depends on what your calls need.
  • Speech-to-speech costs 1.6 times as much per completed task: $0.24 for speech-to-speech against $0.15 for cascades.
  • The biggest difference is response time: 3.8 s for cascades against 2.1 s for speech-to-speech.
CascadeSpeech-to-speech
Task completionTool useTime to first wordResponse timeBarge-in handlingCost per task255075100
MeasureCascadeSpeech-to-speech
Task completion
94% (leads)85%
Tool use
78% (leads)78%
Time to first word
0.8 s (leads)1.1 s
Response time
3.8 s2.1 s (leads)
Barge-in handling
100% (leads)96%
Cost per task
$0.15 (leads)$0.24

The three strongest of each, averaged. Cascades: AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro + OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol + Rime Coda; Speechmatics Linden-1 (own VAD) + OpenAI GPT-4.1 + Rime Coda; AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro + Google Gemini 3.8 Flash + Rime Coda. Speech-to-speech: grok-voice-think-fast-2.0; gpt-live-1 (backend gpt-6-luna); grok-voice-3.0. Each measure is scored 0 to 100 on its own scale, further out is better; the table gives the same figures in their own units.

Which to use

  • Choose speech-to-speech when the pause matters more than the outcome: short transactional calls, callers who interrupt, queues where every half second costs you callers. Expect to pay more, and choose the model carefully (grok-voice-3.0 leads here).
  • Choose a cascade when the call has to complete, when cost matters, or when you need to see which stage to fix. It is 12 points ahead on task completion here.
  • Costs are what each stack’s providers charged for these calls, at the rates in effect when they ran. Telephony and hosting are not included.

Speech-to-Text

The transcriber turns the caller's speech into text. It decides what the agent thinks it heard, and nothing after it can start until it finishes.

  • AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro, AssemblyAI Universal-3.5 Pro, Deepgram Nova-3 and Speechmatics Enhanced (realtime) are level: none leads by more than the margin of error. Of them, AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro costs least, at $0.030 a call. Avoid Speechmatics Linden-1 (own VAD): last on semantic word error rate (2.2%).
  • Speechmatics Linden-1 (own VAD) delivers its transcript in 0.49 s, OpenAI Whisper-1 in 1.93 s: 1.44 s added to every turn of the call.
  • AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro is the most accurate: it changes the meaning of 0.9% of the caller's words, against 2.2% for Speechmatics Linden-1 (own VAD).
  • In 341 of 648 cascades the transcriber is the slowest step of the turn, whichever model runs it.

Roark score, best first

90Universal-3.6 Pro84Universal-3.5 Pro82Nova-382Enhanced (realtime)79Linden-171Nova-266Standard (realtime)56Whisper-152Linden-1 (own VAD)
Every transcriber on every figure, sorted by roark score. Column headers sort the table.
#
1Universal-3.6 ProAssemblyAI90 / 100. Semantic word error rate 0.9%, 61.2 of 71 points; Time to final transcript 0.89 s, 28.6 of 29 points(among the best)0.9%(among the best)0.89 s(among the best)$0.030
2Universal-3.5 ProAssemblyAI84 / 100. Semantic word error rate 1.1%, 55.7 of 71 points; Time to final transcript 0.90 s, 28.6 of 29 points(among the best)1.1%(among the best)0.90 s$0.030
3Nova-3Deepgram82 / 100. Semantic word error rate 1.1%, 53.5 of 71 points; Time to final transcript 0.89 s, 28.6 of 29 points(among the best)1.1%(among the best)0.89 s(among the best)$0.031
4Enhanced (realtime)Speechmatics82 / 100. Semantic word error rate 1.1%, 53.3 of 71 points; Time to final transcript 0.98 s, 28.6 of 29 points(among the best)1.1%(among the best)0.98 s$0.054
5Linden-1Speechmatics79 / 100. Semantic word error rate 1.3%, 50.0 of 71 points; Time to final transcript 0.99 s, 28.6 of 29 points1.3%0.99 s$0.020(among the best)
6Nova-2Deepgram71 / 100. Semantic word error rate 1.5%, 42.2 of 71 points; Time to final transcript 0.89 s, 28.6 of 29 points1.5%0.89 s(among the best)$0.023(among the best)
7Standard (realtime)Speechmatics66 / 100. Semantic word error rate 1.7%, 37.5 of 71 points; Time to final transcript 0.96 s, 28.6 of 29 points1.7%0.96 s$0.031
8Whisper-1OpenAI56 / 100. Semantic word error rate 1.4%, 45.5 of 71 points; Time to final transcript 1.93 s, 10.9 of 29 points1.4%1.93 s$0.025
9Linden-1 (own VAD)Speechmatics52 / 100. Semantic word error rate 2.2%, 23.1 of 71 points; Time to final transcript 0.49 s, 28.6 of 29 points2.2%0.49 s(among the best)$0.020(among the best)

Open a model to see where it ranks and the stacks it works best in.

Cost against qualitySemantic word error rate · Cost per call
$0$0.02$0.04$0.06$0.080.5%1%1.5%2%2.5%Cheap and accurateAccurate, pricierCheap, less accuratePricier and less accurateLinden-1 (own VAD)Linden-1Nova-2Whisper-1Universal-3.6 ProUniversal-3.5 ProStandard (realtime)Nova-3Enhanced (realtime)Cost per call · ← betterSemantic word error rate · better →
Speed against qualitySemantic word error rate · Time to final transcript
0 s1 s2 s3 s0.5%1%1.5%2%2.5%Fast and accurateAccurate, slowerFast, less accurateSlower and less accurateLinden-1 (own VAD)Nova-3Nova-2Universal-3.6 ProUniversal-3.5 ProStandard (realtime)Enhanced (realtime)Linden-1Whisper-1Time to final transcript · ← betterSemantic word error rate · better →

Language model

The language model decides what the agent says and does. It has the most influence on whether the task gets done, and usually takes the largest share of each turn.

  • Pick OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol: it leads on task completion (95%), tool use (77%) and instruction following (4.2 / 5). If speed matters more, Anthropic Claude Haiku 4.5 is the quickest, at 0.36 s, and completes 91%. Avoid OpenAI GPT-4o: last on task completion (88%).
  • Anthropic Claude Haiku 4.5 starts answering in 0.36 s, Google Gemini 3.8 Flash in 1.47 s: 1.11 s added to every turn of the call.
  • OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol uses its tools most reliably: it handles its tools without a mistake on 77% of calls, against 38% for OpenAI GPT-5.1.
  • In 161 of 648 cascades the language model is the slowest step of the turn, whichever model runs it.

Roark score, best first

66GPT-6.1 Sol61Claude Sonnet 5.551Gemini 3.8 Flash50GPT-4.149Claude Haiku 4.547GPT-4o mini44GPT-5.144GPT-4o
Every language model on every figure, sorted by roark score. Column headers sort the table.
#
1GPT-6.1 SolOpenAI66 / 100. Task completion 95%, 27.0 of 36 points; Tool use 77%, 15.0 of 27 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 11.3 of 18 points; Time to first token 0.97 s, 12.4 of 18 points(among the best)95%(among the best)4.2 / 5(among the best)77%(among the best)0.97 s73%$0.019(among the best)
2Claude Sonnet 5.5Anthropic61 / 100. Task completion 94%, 25.1 of 36 points; Tool use 72%, 11.8 of 27 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 10.8 of 18 points; Time to first token 0.90 s, 13.3 of 18 points(among the best)94%(among the best)4.2 / 5(among the best)72%(among the best)0.90 s–$0.138
3Gemini 3.8 FlashGoogle51 / 100. Task completion 95%, 26.5 of 36 points; Tool use 62%, 6.7 of 27 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 11.1 of 18 points; Time to first token 1.47 s, 6.4 of 18 points(among the best)95%(among the best)4.2 / 5(among the best)62%(among the best)1.47 s–$0.016(among the best)
4GPT-4.1OpenAI50 / 100. Task completion 92%, 21.2 of 36 points; Tool use 48%, 0.0 of 27 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 10.8 of 18 points; Time to first token 0.52 s, 18.0 of 18 points92%4.2 / 5(among the best)48%0.52 s82%(among the best)$0.022
5Claude Haiku 4.5Anthropic49 / 100. Task completion 91%, 19.4 of 36 points; Tool use 47%, 0.0 of 27 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 11.0 of 18 points; Time to first token 0.36 s, 18.2 of 18 points91%4.2 / 5(among the best)47%0.36 s(among the best)–$0.062
6GPT-4o miniOpenAI47 / 100. Task completion 90%, 17.4 of 36 points; Tool use 51%, 0.7 of 27 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 10.8 of 18 points; Time to first token 0.45 s, 18.2 of 18 points90%4.2 / 5(among the best)51%0.45 s(among the best)81%(among the best)$0.002(among the best)
7GPT-5.1OpenAI44 / 100. Task completion 89%, 17.0 of 36 points; Tool use 38%, 0.0 of 27 points; Instruction following 4.1 / 5, 10.1 of 18 points; Time to first token 0.59 s, 17.1 of 18 points89%4.1 / 538%0.59 s74%(among the best)$0.031
8GPT-4oOpenAI44 / 100. Task completion 88%, 15.0 of 36 points; Tool use 50%, 0.0 of 27 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 10.9 of 18 points; Time to first token 0.45 s, 18.2 of 18 points88%4.2 / 5(among the best)50%0.45 s(among the best)–$0.027

Open a model to see where it ranks and the stacks it works best in.

Cost against qualityTask completion · Cost per call
$0$0.05$0.1$0.15$0.285%90%95%100%Cheap and reliableReliable, pricierCheap, less reliablePricier and less reliableGPT-4o miniGemini 3.8 FlashGPT-6.1 SolGPT-4.1GPT-4oGPT-5.1Claude Haiku 4.5Claude Sonnet 5.5Cost per call · ← betterTask completion · better →
Speed against qualityTask completion · Time to first token
0 s0.5 s1 s1.5 s2 s85%90%95%100%Fast and reliableReliable, slowerFast, less reliableSlower and less reliableClaude Haiku 4.5GPT-4o miniGPT-4oGPT-4.1GPT-5.1Claude Sonnet 5.5GPT-6.1 SolGemini 3.8 FlashTime to first token · ← betterTask completion · better →

Text-to-Speech

The speech engine is the voice the caller hears, and the last step before they hear anything.

  • Cartesia Sonic-3.6, ElevenLabs v4 Turbo and Cartesia Sonic-3.5 are level: none leads by more than the margin of error. Of them, Cartesia Sonic-3.5 costs least, at $0.165 a call. Avoid OpenAI TTS-1 HD: last on readback accuracy (80%), word error rate (8.7%) and time to first audio byte (2.09 s).
  • ElevenLabs v4 Turbo starts speaking in 0.11 s, OpenAI TTS-1 HD in 2.09 s: 1.97 s added to every turn of the call.
  • Cartesia Sonic-3.6 is the most accurate: it reads codes, amounts and dates back correctly 87% of the time, against 80% for OpenAI TTS-1 HD.
  • Cartesia Sonic-3.6 sounds the most human: 3.8 / 5, against 3.4 / 5 for ElevenLabs Flash v2.5.
  • In 99 of 648 cascades the speech engine is the slowest step of the turn, most often with OpenAI TTS-1 HD (54 of them).

Roark score, best first

77Sonic-3.677v4 Turbo77Sonic-3.573Sonic-371Turbo v2.570Flash v2.568Coda55TTS-139TTS-1 HD
Every speech engine on every figure, sorted by roark score. Column headers sort the table.
#
1Sonic-3.6Cartesia77 / 100. Readback accuracy 87%, 25.6 of 38 points; Word error rate 6.2%, 14.5 of 25 points; Time to first audio byte 0.12 s, 25.0 of 25 points; Voice consistency 99%, 12.1 of 13 points(among the best)6.2%87%(among the best)3.8 / 5(among the best)99%0.12 s(among the best)$0.168
2v4 TurboElevenLabs77 / 100. Readback accuracy 87%, 25.1 of 38 points; Word error rate 5.7%, 15.8 of 25 points; Time to first audio byte 0.11 s, 25.0 of 25 points; Voice consistency 98%, 11.2 of 13 points(among the best)5.7%(among the best)87%(among the best)3.6 / 598%0.11 s(among the best)$0.470
3Sonic-3.5Cartesia77 / 100. Readback accuracy 86%, 24.6 of 38 points; Word error rate 6.2%, 14.6 of 25 points; Time to first audio byte 0.13 s, 25.0 of 25 points; Voice consistency 100%, 12.4 of 13 points(among the best)6.2%86%(among the best)3.8 / 5(among the best)100%(among the best)0.13 s$0.165
4Sonic-3Cartesia73 / 100. Readback accuracy 85%, 23.3 of 38 points; Word error rate 6.9%, 12.8 of 25 points; Time to first audio byte 0.17 s, 25.0 of 25 points; Voice consistency 99%, 12.1 of 13 points6.9%85%3.4 / 599%0.17 s$0.165
5Turbo v2.5ElevenLabs71 / 100. Readback accuracy 80%, 19.0 of 38 points; Word error rate 5.7%, 15.6 of 25 points; Time to first audio byte 0.15 s, 25.0 of 25 points; Voice consistency 98%, 11.5 of 13 points5.7%(among the best)80%3.4 / 598%0.15 s$0.451
6Flash v2.5ElevenLabs70 / 100. Readback accuracy 80%, 18.5 of 38 points; Word error rate 6%, 14.9 of 25 points; Time to first audio byte 0.12 s, 25.0 of 25 points; Voice consistency 98%, 11.5 of 13 points6%(among the best)80%3.4 / 598%0.12 s(among the best)$0.437
7CodaRime68 / 100. Readback accuracy 83%, 21.7 of 38 points; Word error rate 8.1%, 9.8 of 25 points; Time to first audio byte 0.18 s, 25.0 of 25 points; Voice consistency 99%, 11.8 of 13 points8.1%83%3.7 / 5(among the best)99%0.18 s$0.116(among the best)
8TTS-1OpenAI55 / 100. Readback accuracy 82%, 21.0 of 38 points; Word error rate 6.1%, 14.8 of 25 points; Time to first audio byte 1.13 s, 7.1 of 25 points; Voice consistency 100%, 12.5 of 13 points6.1%82%3.6 / 5100%(among the best)1.13 s$0.036(among the best)
9TTS-1 HDOpenAI39 / 100. Readback accuracy 80%, 18.3 of 38 points; Word error rate 8.7%, 8.4 of 25 points; Time to first audio byte 2.09 s, 0.0 of 25 points; Voice consistency 100%, 12.4 of 13 points8.7%80%3.6 / 5100%(among the best)2.09 s$0.065(among the best)

Open a model to see where it ranks and the stacks it works best in.

Cost against qualityReadback accuracy · Cost per call
$0$0.2$0.4$0.675%80%85%90%Cheap and accurateAccurate, pricierCheap, less accuratePricier and less accurateTTS-1TTS-1 HDCodaSonic-3Sonic-3.5Sonic-3.6Flash v2.5Turbo v2.5v4 TurboCost per call · ← betterReadback accuracy · better →
Speed against qualityReadback accuracy · Time to first audio byte
0 s1 s2 s3 s75%80%85%90%Fast and accurateAccurate, slowerFast, less accurateSlower and less accuratev4 TurboSonic-3.6Flash v2.5Sonic-3.5Turbo v2.5Sonic-3CodaTTS-1TTS-1 HDTime to first audio byte · ← betterReadback accuracy · better →

Speech-to-Speech models

One model listens, reasons and speaks, so there is nothing to swap and no stages to split. Each is judged on the whole call, with the same calls and the same scoring as every cascade.

  • The model matters as much as the architecture: xAI Grok Voice 3.0 completes 87% of tasks, ElevenLabs Realtime v1 Mini 42%.
  • xAI Grok Voice 3.0 answers in 1.9 s against 4.2 s for Google Gemini 2.5 Flash native audio.
  • Price varies as much as quality: $0.06 per completed task for Amazon Nova 2 Sonic, $0.69 for OpenAI GPT Realtime 2.

Roark score, best first

65GPT Live 1 (Sol)66Grok Voice 3.065GPT Live 1 (Luna)65Grok Voice Think Fast 2.053Gemini 3.8 Live53GPT Realtime 2.148Ultravox v0.748Gemini 3.1 Flash Live (preview)48GPT Realtime 246Nova 2 Sonic47Realtime v1 Max45Realtime v1 Mini44GPT Realtime 2.1 mini36Gemini 2.5 Flash native audio

Whiskers show the 95% interval. The shaded models tie for first: these calls cannot separate them.

Every speech-to-speech model on every figure, sorted by roark score. Column headers sort the table.
#
1= (tied)GPT Live 1 (Sol)OpenAI65 / 100±3.8. Task completion 85%, 6.0 of 23 points; Response time 2.3 s, 16.6 of 18 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 8.2 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 87%, 10.2 of 14 points; Time to first word 1.4 s, 3.9 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points(among the best)85%(among the best)4.2 / 587%(among the best)2.3 s(among the best)1.4 s77%3.1 / 5100%(among the best)$0.24
2= (tied)Grok Voice 3.0xAI66 / 100±4.7. Task completion 87%, 8.0 of 23 points; Response time 1.9 s, 18.2 of 18 points; Instruction following 4.5 / 5, 10.5 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 66%, 4.4 of 14 points; Time to first word 0.9 s, 4.5 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points(among the best)87%(among the best)4.5 / 5(among the best)66%1.9 s(among the best)0.9 s94%3.0 / 5100%(among the best)$0.26
3= (tied)GPT Live 1 (Luna)OpenAI65 / 100±3.5. Task completion 85%, 5.7 of 23 points; Response time 2.3 s, 16.6 of 18 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 8.4 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 86%, 9.9 of 14 points; Time to first word 1.5 s, 3.8 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points(among the best)85%(among the best)4.2 / 586%(among the best)2.3 s(among the best)1.5 s93%3.1 / 5100%(among the best)$0.21
4= (tied)Grok Voice Think Fast 2.0xAI65 / 100±3.7. Task completion 82%, 2.8 of 23 points; Response time 2.2 s, 17.4 of 18 points; Instruction following 4.6 / 5, 10.7 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 82%, 8.6 of 14 points; Time to first word 0.9 s, 4.5 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points(among the best)82%4.6 / 5(among the best)82%(among the best)2.2 s(among the best)0.9 s100%(among the best)3.6 / 5100%(among the best)$0.26
5= (tied)Gemini 3.8 LiveGoogle53 / 100±4.8. Task completion 78%, 0.0 of 23 points; Response time 2.8 s, 14.6 of 18 points; Instruction following 4.3 / 5, 8.7 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 69%, 5.2 of 14 points; Time to first word 1.6 s, 3.6 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points78%4.3 / 5(among the best)69%2.8 s1.6 s100%(among the best)4.1 / 5(among the best)100%(among the best)$0.14(among the best)
6= (tied)GPT Realtime 2.1OpenAI53 / 100±5.7. Task completion 78%, 0.0 of 23 points; Response time 2.6 s, 15.6 of 18 points; Instruction following 3.8 / 5, 5.6 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 75%, 6.8 of 14 points; Time to first word 0.8 s, 4.5 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 99%, 4.3 of 5 points78%3.8 / 575%2.6 s0.8 s(among the best)83%3.9 / 5(among the best)99%$0.43
7= (tied)Ultravox v0.7Ultravox48 / 100±5.0. Task completion 79%, 0.0 of 23 points; Response time 2.4 s, 16.2 of 18 points; Instruction following 3.7 / 5, 4.9 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 61%, 3.0 of 14 points; Time to first word 1.6 s, 3.6 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points79%3.7 / 561%2.4 s1.6 s94%3.6 / 5100%(among the best)$0.22
8= (tied)Gemini 3.1 Flash Live (preview)Google48 / 100±5.1. Task completion 80%, 0.0 of 23 points; Response time 2.7 s, 15.1 of 18 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 8.0 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 38%, 0.0 of 14 points; Time to first word 1.5 s, 3.8 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points80%4.2 / 538%2.7 s1.5 s100%(among the best)4.0 / 5(among the best)100%(among the best)$0.15
9= (tied)GPT Realtime 2OpenAI48 / 100±6.7. Task completion 76%, 0.0 of 23 points; Response time 2.9 s, 14.0 of 18 points; Instruction following 3.8 / 5, 5.4 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 64%, 3.7 of 14 points; Time to first word 0.8 s, 4.5 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points76%3.8 / 564%2.9 s0.8 s(among the best)91%3.7 / 5100%(among the best)$0.69
10= (tied)Nova 2 SonicAmazon46 / 100±5.1. Task completion 69%, 0.0 of 23 points; Response time 3.0 s, 13.8 of 18 points; Instruction following 4.2 / 5, 7.9 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 48%, 0.0 of 14 points; Time to first word 1.5 s, 3.7 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points69%4.2 / 548%3.0 s1.5 s100%(among the best)3.5 / 5100%(among the best)$0.06(among the best)
11= (tied)Realtime v1 MaxElevenLabs47 / 100±7.5. Task completion 56%, 0.0 of 23 points; Response time 2.6 s, 15.6 of 18 points; Instruction following 4.0 / 5, 6.7 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 40%, 0.0 of 14 points; Time to first word 0.7 s, 4.5 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points56%4.0 / 540%2.6 s0.7 s(among the best)76%3.9 / 5(among the best)100%(among the best)$0.65
12= (tied)Realtime v1 MiniElevenLabs45 / 100±7.1. Task completion 42%, 0.0 of 23 points; Response time 2.7 s, 15.1 of 18 points; Instruction following 3.8 / 5, 5.1 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 34%, 0.0 of 14 points; Time to first word 0.7 s, 4.5 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points42%3.8 / 534%2.7 s0.7 s(among the best)94%3.4 / 5100%(among the best)$0.64
13= (tied)GPT Realtime 2.1 miniOpenAI44 / 100±6.7. Task completion 70%, 0.0 of 23 points; Response time 2.8 s, 14.5 of 18 points; Instruction following 3.6 / 5, 4.4 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 51%, 0.3 of 14 points; Time to first word 1.0 s, 4.5 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points70%3.6 / 551%2.8 s1.0 s84%3.9 / 5(among the best)100%(among the best)$0.14(among the best)
14Gemini 2.5 Flash native audioGoogle36 / 100±5.4. Task completion 77%, 0.0 of 23 points; Response time 4.2 s, 8.2 of 18 points; Instruction following 3.9 / 5, 6.2 of 14 points; Semantic word error rate 1.1% (field median, not measured), 10.6 of 14 points; Tool use 40%, 0.0 of 14 points; Time to first word 3.4 s, 0.9 of 5 points; Readback accuracy 84% (field median, not measured), 2.7 of 5 points; Word error rate 5.9% (field median, not measured), 2.8 of 5 points; Voice consistency 100%, 4.5 of 5 points77%3.9 / 540%4.2 s3.4 s100%(among the best)3.7 / 5100%(among the best)$0.08(among the best)

Open a model for its full report, every figure it was scored on and the calls behind them.

Cost against qualityTask completion · Cost per task
$0$0.5$120%40%60%80%100%Cheap and reliableReliable, pricierCheap, less reliablePricier and less reliableNova 2 SonicGemini 2.5 Flash native audioGPT Realtime 2.1 miniGemini 3.8 LiveGemini 3.1 Flash Live (preview)GPT Live 1 (Luna)Ultravox v0.7GPT Live 1 (Sol)Grok Voice 3.0Grok Voice Think Fast 2.0GPT Realtime 2.1Realtime v1 MiniRealtime v1 MaxGPT Realtime 2Cost per task · ← betterTask completion · better →
Speed against qualityTask completion · Response time
1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s20%40%60%80%100%Fast and reliableReliable, slowerFast, less reliableSlower and less reliableGrok Voice 3.0Grok Voice Think Fast 2.0GPT Live 1 (Luna)GPT Live 1 (Sol)Ultravox v0.7Realtime v1 MaxGPT Realtime 2.1Gemini 3.1 Flash Live (preview)Realtime v1 MiniGemini 3.8 LiveGPT Realtime 2.1 miniGPT Realtime 2Nova 2 SonicGemini 2.5 Flash native audioResponse time · ← betterTask completion · better →

Every stack

The evidence behind the model boards: each combination on its own calls, scored on the same recipe. Open a stack for its full report, every figure it was scored on and the calls behind them.

Roark score, top 15

Whiskers show the 95% interval. The shaded stacks tie for first: these calls cannot separate them.

Each score carries its 95% margin of error. A rank is the best place a stack could hold once every margin is allowed for, so stacks the calls cannot tell apart share one and are listed by the low end of their margin; hover a rank for the worst place it could hold. 85 stacks are level with the leader: their calls cannot tell them apart. Among them, 36 OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol, 22 Anthropic Claude Sonnet 5.5, 19 Google Gemini 3.8 Flash, 4 speech-to-speech, 3 Anthropic Claude Haiku 4.5 and 1 OpenAI GPT-4o mini; 42 AssemblyAI, 20 Deepgram and 19 Speechmatics; 37 Cartesia, 36 ElevenLabs, 7 Rime and 1 OpenAI. A cascade's figures are 25% its own calls and 75% what every other stack shows about its transcriber, language model and voice. Not ranked here for missing data: Speechmatics Linden-1 + OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol + OpenAI TTS-1 HD (no response time or tool use or readback accuracy or voice consistency).

Loading every stack

By industry

Each industry ranked on its own calls: the same five callers, its own tasks and tools. A stack has a handful of calls in each, so a cascade is ranked on what its transcriber, language model and voice show across every stack in that industry, and a speech-to-speech model on its own calls there. Pairings show on the main board. Each row reads across: the main board's figure first, then every industry's on the same figure.

No stack matches these filters.

No stack matches

Each industry column is that industry's own board, every row it ranks. A dash is a row the industry does not rank on this figure; the arrow beside an industry opens its full board.

How it works

Every number on this page comes from real phone calls, placed and scored the same way for every stack.

01

Real calls, four industries, five callers

Roark places real phone calls over the public phone network to a reference agent for each of four industries: rescheduling a clinic appointment, booking an urgent home repair, opening an auto insurance claim and fixing an internet outage. Each agent has its own prompt and tools, identical for every stack. The tasks carry the details real calls trip on: a corrected date of birth, a policy number spelled out, a constraint added halfway through.

Every industry is called by the same five simulated callers: a quiet US English line, a Spanish-accented caller on a city street, an Indian English caller in a busy café, a flustered Southern caller with a baby crying, and a fast caller who interrupts over construction noise. They are equally clear about what they want, so a call fails because of the agent, not the caller. Only the models change, so any difference on the board comes from them.

Each caller rings each industry once for a cascade and four times for a speech-to-speech model. A cascade's figures also draw on its parts, heard in dozens of other stacks; a speech-to-speech model has only its own calls, so it takes more of them.

That makes industries comparable over the same callers, and callers over the same tasks, and the board can be re-ranked by either. One caller within one industry is too few calls to judge, so the board never shows it.

656

stacks

20

calls per stack

13,956

calls scored

02

Every model, in every combination

9 transcribers, 8 language models and 9 voices are run in every combination with each other, beside 14 speech-to-speech models. A model's own figures pool every stack it runs in, adjusted for its partners in each one, so every model is compared as if it ran with the same partners. A transcriber's figure rests on hundreds of calls with every language model and every voice, not on one lucky pairing.

That measures a model where it actually works: inside a running agent, on live phone audio, through interruptions, corrections and real turn-taking. A test that feeds a model clean audio files or one prompt at a time never sees any of that.

03

One score, weighted by what matters on a call

Each section ranks on a Roark score. Every figure scores 0 to 100 between two published points: full marks where doing better makes no difference to the caller, zero where the call breaks down. Each then counts at its weight, and the weights follow one order everywhere: whether the caller got what they rang for, then whether the agent got it right, then speed.

A stack, cascade or speech-to-speech, is scored on the outcome and the reply first, then on what each of its components got right on its own calls: the words its transcriber got wrong in a way that changes the meaning, whether its voice read codes and amounts back right and kept one steady voice, and whether its tools were handled. How human a voice sounds is shown on the boards and not scored. A component that leads its section lifts every stack that carries it, by the same recipe for every stack. A figure a stack cannot carry, such as a semantic word error rate for a speech-to-speech model with no transcript, is credited at the field median, so the stack is neither flattered nor punished for it.

On a full sweep each cascade's figure is 25% what its own calls measured and 75% what every other stack shows about its transcriber, language model and voice, fitted across the whole sweep. The split is the same for every stack, so a lucky run does not lead and a stack's score does not move with how noisy its calls were. In an industry a stack has a handful of calls, so a cascade's figure there is what its transcriber, language model and voice show across every stack in that industry's calls, and a speech-to-speech model's is its own calls there. How a particular pairing beats or misses its parts shows on the main board, where each stack has all of its calls. The best overall, best value and best speech-to-speech picks, and the best stack in each industry, are each the one whose score is highest at the low end of its margin of error, so a few lucky calls cannot carry a stack past one whose score rests on hundreds. Stacks that share a rank are listed by score, so the pick can sit below a higher score it cannot be told from, and its reason says how many stacks are level with it.

That order comes from real-world voice agent calls, where getting the conversation right predicts how a call ends more strongly than speed does. The latency points come from the same calls: replying faster than about 2 seconds made no measurable difference, and calls went measurably worse once the agent took more than about 3 seconds to reply.

Stacks and speech-to-speech

FigureWeightFull marksZero
Task completionscenario_adherence_check23%100%80%
An agent that completes fewer than four calls in five is not fit to deploy. On a full sweep, a cascade's figure is 25% what its own calls (20 or more) measured and 75% what every other stack shows about its transcriber, language model and voice, the same split for every stack, so a lucky run does not lead. Where the sweep is too small for that, and for a speech-to-speech model, the figure is the stack's own. In an industry a stack has a handful of calls, so a cascade's figure there is what its transcriber, language model and voice show across every stack in that industry's calls, and a speech-to-speech model's is its own calls there. How a particular pairing beats or misses its parts shows on the main board, where each stack has all of its calls.
Response timeresponse_time18%2.0 s6.0 s
In real calls, replying faster than 2 s made no measurable difference, and calls went worse past 3 s.
Instruction followinginstruction_follow14%5.0 / 53.0 / 5
Every model scores between 3 and 5 on the judge's 1 to 5 scale, so that is the range.
Semantic word error ratestt_semantic_word_error_rate14%0.5%3%
At 0.5% the best transcribers change the meaning of one word in two hundred on phone audio; at 3% one word in thirty sends the agent the wrong way.
Tool usetool_use14%100%50%
An agent that mishandles its tools on half its calls cannot be trusted with the systems it runs on.
Time to first wordtime_to_first_word5%1.0 s4.0 s
A greeting within 1 s sounds natural; 4 s of silence sounds like a dead line.
Readback accuracytts_entity_readback_accuracy5%100%60%
Reading a code, amount or date wrong breaks the task it was for; the weakest voices get two in five wrong.
Word error ratetts_word_error_rate5%2%12%
At 2% the voice says what it was given; at 12% one word in eight comes out wrong.
Voice consistencyvoice_consistency_check5%100%80%
A voice that changes speaker on one call in five is not one a business can put its name to.

Shown, not scored: Turn budget, Barge-in handlingbarge_in_yield_appropriateness, Human-likenessvoice_human_likeness

Counted only with price factored in: Cost per task

Language model

FigureWeightFull marksZero
Task completionscenario_adherence_check36%100%80%
An agent that completes fewer than four calls in five is not fit to deploy.
Tool usetool_use27%100%50%
An agent that mishandles its tools on half its calls cannot be trusted with the systems it runs on.
Instruction followinginstruction_follow18%5.0 / 53.0 / 5
Every model scores between 3 and 5 on the judge's 1 to 5 scale, so that is the range.
Time to first tokenllm_time_to_first_token18%0.50 s2.00 s
Under 0.5 s is not noticeable; at 2 s the first token alone takes two thirds of the 3 s past which real calls go worse.

Shown, not scored: Prompt cache hitsllm_prompt_cache_hit_rate

Counted only with price factored in: Cost per call

Speech-to-Text

FigureWeightFull marksZero
Semantic word error ratestt_semantic_word_error_rate71%0.5%3%
At 0.5% the best transcribers change the meaning of one word in two hundred on phone audio; at 3% one word in thirty sends the agent the wrong way.
Time to final transcriptstt_time_to_final_transcript29%1.00 s2.50 s
The fastest transcribers finish in about 1 s; past 2.5 s the transcript alone uses most of a natural reply time.

Shown, not scored: Word error ratestt_word_error_rate

Counted only with price factored in: Cost per call

Text-to-Speech

FigureWeightFull marksZero
Readback accuracytts_entity_readback_accuracy38%100%60%
Reading a code, amount or date wrong breaks the task it was for; the weakest voices get two in five wrong.
Word error ratetts_word_error_rate25%2%12%
At 2% the voice says what it was given; at 12% one word in eight comes out wrong.
Time to first audio bytetts_time_to_first_byte25%0.20 s1.50 s
Under 0.2 s is not noticeable; 1.5 s is half the point where calls go worse.
Voice consistencyvoice_consistency_check13%100%80%
A voice that changes speaker on one call in five is not one a business can put its name to.

Shown, not scored: Human-likenessvoice_human_likeness

Counted only with price factored in: Cost per call

Factor in price and cost takes 25% of the score; the other weights keep their proportions. Price is scored on a log scale, so each doubling costs the same points.

A figure listed as shown, not scored is on the section’s boards and outside its score. Where a section has not collected a scored figure yet, the others share its weight.

04

Every call recorded and judged

Every call is recorded. Judge models score each transcript for the outcome and the conversation, and the timings come from the recording. Every figure links to the calls behind it.

Roark is on both sides of every call: it plays the caller, so it keeps the exact text its caller said, and it runs the agent under test, so it sees what the agent’s transcriber heard and what its model wrote for its voice. The transcript and voice figures come from lining those up, with no hand-made transcript in between. Each carries a margin from the synthetic voice or Roark’s transcriber in the loop. Every model faces the same ones under the same conditions, so the figures compare models on the same calls through the same voice and the same ear, though those slips need not fall evenly on each model. The rates will not match a vendor’s figure on a curated set; read them against each other.

An example: one call from this sweep

Speechmatics Linden-1 (own VAD) + OpenAI GPT-6.1 Sol + OpenAI TTS-1 HD, 30 October 2026. Highlighted turns are the ones that affected a score. Every stack's report links to its calls.

Transcript, verbatim.

Read the full methodology

See how your own agent compares

Roark runs the same kind of calls against your agent, on your scenarios, with the same scoring.

Test your agent

Nova-3 + Claude Sonnet 5.5 + Sonic-3.5

Cascade

Rank on Roark score

#1of 655 stacks

65 / 100

The leader

Where it ranks

Roark score with price62 / 10021 of 655LeaderUniversal-3.5 Pro + GPT-6.1 Sol + Coda71 / 100
Task completion92%324 of 656LeaderLinden-1 (own VAD) + GPT-6.1 Sol + TTS-1 HD99%
Tool use76%73 of 632LeaderUniversal-3.6 Pro + GPT-6.1 Sol + TTS-1 HD90%
Time to first word0.9 s242 of 656LeaderUniversal-3.5 Pro + GPT-6.1 Sol + Flash v2.50.5 s
Response time3.7 s328 of 655LeaderGrok Voice 3.01.9 s
Barge-in handlingn/aLeaderWhisper-1 + GPT-6.1 Sol + v4 Turbo100%
Turn budget3.7 s295 of 596LeaderLinden-1 (own VAD) + GPT-4o mini + Flash v2.52.1 s
Cost per task$0.42492 of 655LeaderLinden-1 + GPT-4o mini + TTS-1$0.05

Its models

Task completion

Task completion

How much of the caller’s task the agent completed: the share of the scenario’s checks a judge model found met in the transcript, averaged over calls. Before v1.3, the share of calls judged 4 or better out of 5.

20 calls
92%Completed

#328 of 662 on the board · best 99%

Flow adherence

How closely the agent followed the intended conversation flow, judged per call. 5 = fully followed.

20 calls
4.3/ 5avg

med

4

#100 of 662 on the board · best 5.0 / 5

Instruction following

How well the agent stuck to the instructions in its own prompt. 5 = followed throughout.

20 calls
4.2/ 5avg

med

4

#13 of 662 on the board · best 5.0 / 5

Turn-taking

Barge-in handling

When the caller interrupts, how often the agent made the right call: yielding to a real correction, and holding the floor through a filler.

Not scored by this sweep.

Incorrect interruptions

How often the agent interrupted the caller when it should have kept listening.

20 calls
0.00%avg

p50

0.00%

p95

0.00%

#1 of 662 on the board · best 0%

Overtalk

Share of the conversation where both sides were speaking over each other.

20 calls
1.51%avg

p50

0.66%

p95

4.15%

#458 of 662 on the board · best 0.0%

Agent self-cutoffs

Times the agent cut its own sentence off mid-word.

20 calls
0.00per callavg

p50

0.00 per call

p95

0.00 per call

#1 of 662 on the board · best 0.0 per call

Understanding & effort

Caller effort

How hard the caller had to work: repeating themselves, correcting, re-explaining. 1 = effortless.

Not scored by this sweep.

Repeated-info loops

Times per call the agent re-asked for something the caller had already given.

35 calls
0.86per callavg

p50

1.00 per call

p95

1.30 per call

#180 of 494 on the board · best 0.0 per call

Speech-to-Text

Semantic word error rate

The caller's words the agent's transcriber got wrong in a way that changes the meaning, as a judge reads each difference.

20 calls
0.39%avg

p50

0.11%

p95

1.20%

#34 of 648 on the board · best 0.0%

Word error rate

The caller's words the agent's transcriber missed, changed or invented, against what the caller actually said.

20 calls
1.75%avg

p50

1.26%

p95

4.62%

#34 of 648 on the board · best 1.2%

Text-to-Speech

Readback accuracy

Share of the codes, amounts, dates and phone numbers the agent wrote that its voice read out correctly. One wrong digit is a miss.

20 calls
74.8%avg

p50

83.2%

p95

99.6%

#495 of 603 on the board · best 100%

Word error rate

The share of the words the agent wrote that its voice dropped or changed, read back from Roark’s transcription of the recording; the same transcriber hears every voice.

20 calls
9.24%avg

p50

5.98%

p95

22.7%

#549 of 648 on the board · best 1.9%

Voice

Human-likeness

How human the agent's voice sounds, scored by an audio model on intonation, rhythm and expressiveness. 5 = hard to tell from a person.

20 calls
4.0/ 5avg

med

4

#28 of 660 on the board · best 4.3 / 5

Voice consistency

Share of calls where every line the agent spoke was the same speaker, with no change of speaker, gender or language voice partway. It checks who is speaking, not how they sound.

20 calls

Not scored by this sweep.

#1 of 660 on the board · best 100%

Latency

Response time

The silence between the caller finishing and the agent starting to speak, measured from the recording on every turn of the call.

196 turns
3.41savg

p50

3.66s

p95

5.11s

#331 of 661 on the board · best 1.85 s

Time to first word

How long the caller waits before the agent first speaks after pickup.

20 calls
0.89savg

p50

0.92s

p95

1.59s

#243 of 662 on the board · best 0.45 s

Latency spikes

Turns where the response took far longer than the rest of the conversation.

20 calls
7.95per callavg

p50

7.50 per call

p95

12.3 per call

#568 of 662 on the board · best 0.0 per call

By industry

IndustryTask completionLatency P50Barge-in handling
Healthcare82%3.49 s—
Home services90%3.70 s—
Insurance100%3.62 s—
Customer support95%3.71 s—

By caller

CallerTask completionLatency P50Barge-in handling
US English, quiet line98%3.62 s—
Spanish-accented English, city street85%3.69 s—
Indian English, busy café92%3.44 s—
Southern US, flustered, crying baby98%3.82 s—
Fast and interrupting, construction outside84%3.63 s100%

The calls behind the numbers

Customer support

AGENTBrightwave Internet support, this is Alex. What’s going on with your service?

CUSTOMERHey. Sorry. I'm a little flustered here. I work from home, and my Internet has been down for two hours. My baby's crying in the background, so I apologize if I sound distracted. There's a road crew digging up the street outside my house, and I already rebooted the gateway twice and checked all the cables. The Internet light's blinking orange. Is that roadwork maybe the cause? Or do you see anything else wrong on your end?

AGENTNo need to apologize, I'll get right on it. Can you give me your account number or the phone number on the account so I can pull it up?

CUSTOMERThank you. I really appreciate that. My account number is BW883017.

CUSTOMERSorry. Last digit is one. Can you make sure that's right? Or if you need my phone number, it's (320) 703-3893. Is that okay?

AGENTI'll use the corrected account number, BW883011, and I can check the phone number as well.

CUSTOMERAlright. Thank you for double checking that. So, do you see anything on your end about the outage? Maybe from the road crew digging outside? I'm just worried this might go on longer.

AGENTThe phone number matched account BW-883011, so that's the right one. Let me check for an outage now.

AGENTNo known outage or maintenance

CUSTOMEROkay.

CUSTOMEROh, that's making me nervous. So if there's no outage reported, does that mean the road crew isn't the cause? Or could it just not be showing up yet? What else can we try? I really need to get back online as soon as possible.

AGENTGood news: the reset worked. Your gateway now shows as registered and online on our end. Give it about two minutes to fully reconnect, and the light should change from blinking orange. Nothing else needs to be done right now. On the road crew, I can't say for sure. We have no outage or maintenance on record for your area, and the line test showed a good signal to your gateway. The problem was that the gateway had dropped its registration with our network, which the remote reset fixed. If the crew does damage a line, it may not show up in our system right away. If your connection drops again, tell me and we'll send a technician out. Your account number is BW883011. Once the light changes, can you check that you're back online?

CUSTOMERAlright. Thanks for explaining all that. The light just went solid white. So does that mean my devices will reconnect soon? I'm still a little worried, but I'll check if everything's back online. How long should it take for things to work again? And since I lost two hours of work, can I get a credit for the downtime?

AGENTA solid white light means the gateway is fully connected, so your devices should reconnect within the next minute or two. If one doesn't, turn its Wi-Fi off and on, or restart the device. On the credit, the outage was on our side and lasted about two hours, so I'll apply that now.

AGENTI've applied

CUSTOMEROkay.

AGENTA $10.00

CUSTOMERAlright.

AGENTSorry, my last two messages were cut off. I've applied a $10.00 service credit to account BW883011 for the two hours of downtime, and it will appear on your next bill. Your gateway is online and the light is solid white, so your devices should be back shortly. If anything drops again, contact us and we'll send a technician out. Is there anything else I can help with while you get back to work?

CUSTOMERI really appreciate the credit, but I lost two hours of work. Could you maybe make it more than $10? I'm just worried about covering what I missed.

AGENTI understand, two hours of lost work is frustrating. The $10.00 credit is what I can apply for this downtime, and I can't change the amount or add to it. I'd rather tell you that than promise something I can't deliver. If you'd like to ask for more, you can request a review of the credit through Brightwave's billing department. Make sure your account number, BW883011, is on the request. Are your devices back online now?

CUSTOMERYes. Sorry. Everything's coming back online now. Thank you for helping me out. I appreciate it. I'll reach out to billing if I need more credit. Goodbye.

AGENTGlad you're back online, and no need to apologize. Your account number is BW883011, and the $10.00 credit will show up on your next bill. If the connection drops again, contact us and we'll get a technician out. Take care, and good luck catching up on work. Goodbye!

Healthcare

AGENTRiverbend Health Clinic, this is Alex. How can I help you today?

CUSTOMERHey. Sorry. My baby's fussing in the background, so I'm a little all over the place. I need to reschedule my dermatology appointment for next Wednesday morning.

CUSTOMERSomething came up at work, and I can't make it then. Can y'all help me move it to a new time?

AGENTNo problem at all, and I can help with that. First I need to verify you. Could I get your full name and date of birth?

CUSTOMERSure. Sorry if I'm talking fast. It's Wade Carter. My date of birth is 03/17/1948. Wait. No. Sorry. That's wrong. It's 1984. 03/17/1984. Is that okay?

AGENTNot a problem. I'll use the corrected date: Wade Carter, March 17, 1984.

AGENTThanks,

CUSTOMEROkay.

CUSTOMERAlright. So can I only come after 3PM? Is there anything open later in the day for me?

AGENTThanks, Wade, you're verified. I see your dermatology appointment with Dr. Okafor next Wednesday at 9:15 AM at Main Campus, Building B. Let me check what's open after 3 PM.

AGENTHere's what Dr.

CUSTOMEROkay.

AGENTSorry,

CUSTOMERSorry. Go

AGENTNo

CUSTOMERSorry. I think I missed that last bit. What openings do you have after 3PM?

AGENTNo worries, Wade. Dr. Okafor has two openings after 3 PM: 1. Tuesday at 3:45 PM. 2. Thursday at 4:10 PM. There's nothing open after 3 PM on Wednesday itself. Would either of those work for you?

CUSTOMERActually, Tuesdays don't work for me after all. I gotta pick up my daughter then. Is there anything on Friday? If not, I guess Thursday at 04:10PM could work. Is that okay?

AGENTFriday's only opening is at 11:30 AM, which is before your 3 PM cutoff, so that one won't work. Thursday at 4:10 PM fits everything you've asked for. Do you want me to move your dermatology appointment with Dr. Okafor from next Wednesday at 9:15 AM to Thursday at 4:10 PM?

CUSTOMERYes, please. Sorry. I just wanna make sure that's all correct. Thursday at 04:10PM with doctor Okafor. Right? Is there any fee for changing the appointment?

AGENTYes, that's right: Thursday at 4:10 PM with Dr. Okafor. Let me check the fee policy before I make the change.

CUSTOMEROkay. Thanks.

CUSTOMERSorry to be a bother. Just wanna make sure I'm not missing anything.

AGENTYou're not a bother at all. On the fee: changes made more than 24 hours before the appointment are free, and later changes carry a $40 fee. Your appointment is next Wednesday, so you're well outside that window, and there's no charge. Just to confirm, I'll move your dermatology appointment with Dr. Okafor from next Wednesday at 9:15 AM to Thursday at 4:10 PM. Go ahead?

CUSTOMERThank you. That's a relief. Quick question. Where should I park for the appointment? It is there a particular lot or spot I need to use?

AGENTI'll look that up for you. Your reschedule is still waiting on your go-ahead.

AGENTPatient

CUSTOMEROh, so

CUSTOMERyeah. Sorry. Please go ahead and move my appointment to Thursday at 04:10PM. That's what I need. Thank you. Could you check where I should park? And also, does doctor Okafor take Aetna insurance? I... Just wanna be sure.

AGENTI'll make the change now.

CUSTOMERAlright. Thank you. Sorry. I just wanna make sure everything goes through. Could you read back the new time and give me a confirmation code once it's set?

AGENTIt's all set, Wade. Your dermatology appointment with Dr. Okafor is now Thursday at 4:10 PM at Main Campus, Building B. Your confirmation code is RVB-3M8P2, that's R-V-B, 3, M, 8, P, 2. Please arrive 15 minutes early with a photo ID and your insurance card. For parking, there's free patient parking in Lot C, with the entrance on River Road. I don't have a way to check which insurance plans Dr. Okafor accepts, so I can't confirm Aetna. The best step is to call your insurance company or ask the clinic's front desk before your visit. Is there anything else I can help with?

CUSTOMERNo. That's everything. Thank you for all your help. Goodbye.

AGENTYou're welcome, Wade. Good luck with the little one, and we'll see you Thursday at 4:10 PM. Goodbye!

Home services

AGENTCopperline Home Services, this is Alex. What can I help you with?

CUSTOMERYeah. Hi. I need someone help right away. A pipe under my kitchen sink just burst. Water's flooding across the floor and heading for a power strip. I haven't shut the water off yet. Can you send someone?

AGENTSafety first, so please do this right now: 1. Stay away from that power strip and don't step in the water near it. If you can reach the breaker panel without walking through water, switch off the kitchen circuit or the main breaker. 2. Shut off the water. First try the shutoff valves under the sink (turn clockwise). If that doesn't work, shut off the main

CUSTOMEROkay.

CUSTOMERYep. I got it. I'm turning the shutoff valve now.

CUSTOMEROkay. Water stopped. So what do I need to do for someone to come out?

AGENTGood, the water is off. Let me pull up your account. What's the phone number on the account or the street address?

CUSTOMERGot it. Sure. I'm at 1480 Larkspur Avenue. My number is (503) 555-0139.

CUSTOMERNo. Zero one nine three.

AGENTI'll look you up with the corrected number, 503-555-0193, and the address.

AGENTI only ran the availability check there. Let me look up your account now.

CUSTOMERRight. Go ahead. I really need this fast.

AGENTI found your account, and you're a Copperline Care member. Here's what I have: The earliest emergency window is today, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The emergency callout fee for you as a member is $99. Do you agree to that? Before I open the ticket, I need to confirm a few details. Is the service address 1480 Larkspur Avenue, Unit 4B? Is there a gate code or any access instructions for the technician? Is 503-555-0193

CUSTOMERNo. I'm in Unit 4 D now. The gate code is pound 2719. Can anyone come before two?

AGENTUnderstood, Unit 4D, and I'll use that instead of 4B. Gate code is pound 2719. The 2:00 to 4:00

CUSTOMERRight.

CUSTOMEREarly as possible, please. I really need this as soon as you can.

AGENTI understand. The 2:00 to 4:00 PM window today is the earliest the system shows, and I can't promise anything sooner. I'll note it as an emergency so dispatch sees the urgency. The fee for you as a Copperline Care member is $99 for the emergency callout. Do you agree to that and to the 2:00 to 4:00 PM window?

CUSTOMERRight.

CUSTOMERYeah. That's fine. Go ahead and book it. Who's coming, and how will I know they're on the way? I need the ticket number too.

AGENTYou've agreed to the fee and the window, so I'm booking it now.

CUSTOMEROkay. Go ahead. Just need to know who's coming and the ticket number.

AGENTYou're booked. Dana is the technician coming, and your ticket number is CPL-58210. Here is everything I have: -

CUSTOMERGot it, Dana. How will I know when they're on the way? What's the ticket number?

AGENTDana will text you 30 minutes before arriving, at 503-555-0193. Your ticket number is CPL-58210. Here's what's booked: -

CUSTOMERGot it.

CUSTOMERThanks. That's all I needed. Goodbye.

AGENTHere's the full read-back before you go: - Ticket number: CPL-58210. -

AGENTTechnician: Dana. - Window: Today, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. - Address: 1480 Larkspur Avenue, Unit 4D. - Gate code: #2719. - Callback number: 503-555-0193 (Dana will text you 30 minutes before arrival). - Fee: $99 emergency callout (Copperline Care member rate). Keep the water off at the sink valve and stay away from that power strip and any wet outlets until Dana arrives. If you see sparks, smell burning, or the water starts again and you can't stop it, shut off the main and call us right back. Take care.

Insurance

AGENTNorthgate Mutual claims, this is Alex. Are you somewhere safe right now?

CUSTOMERYeah. I'm at home now, so I'm safe. It's just my... Baby's kinda upset, so sorry if I sound flustered. I just need to sort out this accident.

AGENTNo need to apologize, and take your time. I'm glad you're home and safe. First, I need to ask: is anyone hurt, including you, the baby, or anyone else involved in the accident? If anyone is injured or needs medical attention, please call 911 first and we can pick this up afterward. If everyone is okay, I'll need your policy number and the last name on the policy so I can pull it up.

CUSTOMERThank you for checking. And yeah, we're all okay. Nobody's hurt, thankfully. My policy number is NG4471903. Wait. Sorry. Last one is two. And the last name is Carter. Is that alright?

AGENTThat's fine. I'll use the corrected number, NG4471902, and last name Carter.

AGENTThank

CUSTOMEROkay. That's

CUSTOMERsorry. I just wanna make sure Are you able to pull up my policy with that info? I'm a little anxious about getting this sorted, so please let me know if there's any issue.

AGENTYes, I was able to pull it up, and there's no issue. The policy number is NG4471902, under the last name Carter, and it's verified for a 2021 Honda CR-V. Next I need some details about the accident. Take your time. 1. When did it happen (date and approximate time)? 2. Where did it happen? 3. What happened, in your own words?

CUSTOMERThank you. That's a relief. So let me think. It happened about twenty minutes ago, I'd say. So today, just before 1PM. The location was Essie 5th Avenue and Alder Street. I was stopped at a red light, and another car came up behind me and hit the back of my car. My bumper's crushed and the rear wheel rubs, so I can't drive it. Nobody's hurt, and the police didn't come. Does that cover what you need?

AGENTThat covers most of it, thank you. A few things before I open the claim: 1. Location: I heard "Essie 5th Avenue and Alder Street." Is that right, or did you mean "5th Avenue and Alder Street"? Which city? 2. Where

CUSTOMERSorry. I meant S E Like S E. Southeast. 5th Avenue and Alder Street. That's in Portland. Is that okay?

AGENTThat's fine, thank you. I have the location as SE 5th Avenue and Alder Street in Portland. The car can't be driven safely, so

CUSTOMERRight. Yeah. That's exactly it. The rear wheel rubs and the bumper's crushed, so I can't drive it. What happens next? Will you be able to help me with a tow and everything?

AGENTYes, I can help with the tow. Let me check what your policy covers for towing and rental first. One question before I arrange it: where is the car right now? You said you're at home, so is the car still at SE 5th Avenue and Alder Street, or did you get it somewhere else? And what phone number should the tow driver use to reach you?

CUSTOMERYeah. Sorry. The car is still at SE 5th Avenue and Alder Street. I'm at home, but I came back to grab my phone and check on the baby. My phone number is (507) 415-2110. Is that alright for the tow driver to use?

AGENTThat number works. I'll set up the tow now.

CUSTOMEROkay. Thank you. Could you let me know where the car will be taken? And is there anything I need to do while I wait for the tow? I just wanna make sure everything goes smoothly.

AGENTThe tow is dispatched. Eastside Towing is on the way, with an estimated arrival of about 45 minutes. They'll take the car to the Northgate partner repair shop at 9th and Morrison. The driver will call you at (507) 415-2110. While you wait: - Since the car is still at the scene and you're at home, someone should be there when the tow truck arrives, or you'll want to be reachable by phone so the driver can coordinate with you. - Take any valuables and personal items out of the car, including anything for the baby like a car seat. - If you haven't already, take photos of the damage and the scene. Still needed for the claim: I still need the other driver's information, so I can finish opening your claim. Do you have their name, their insurance company, and their license plate number? If you only have some of it, that's okay, and we can note what's missing.

CUSTOMERSure. I've got some of it. The other driver is Kevin Lund. Insured with Pacific Shore. License plate is 7KX like X-ray, R214. Is that enough? If you need more, let me know.

AGENTThat's enough to open the claim. I'll read the plate back to confirm: 7-K-X-R-2-1-4, as in 7, K, X-ray, R, 2, 1, 4. Is that right? Since that's the one detail that has to be exact, I'll wait for your yes before I submit it.

CUSTOMERYes. That's right. 7K X-ray R214. Please tell me that's okay. I'm a little nervous about getting this part wrong.

AGENTYes, that's confirmed, and you didn't get anything wrong. I'm opening the claim now.

CUSTOMEROkay. Thank you. Could you let me know how much I'll have to pay? I'm just worried about the deductible and if my premium's going to go up. And, also, will I get a rental car while mine's being fixed?

AGENTYour claim is open. Here are the details to keep: - Claim number: NGM-904417. - Policy number: NG4471902. - Other driver's plate: 7KXR214 (Kevin Lund, Pacific Shore). - Adjuster: Priya Shah, who will contact you within one business day. Here is what your policy says: - Deductible: Your collision deductible is $500. - Rental: Yes, you have rental coverage. It pays $40 per day for up to 30 days, starting from the day the claim was opened, which is today. If a rental costs more than $40 a day, you would pay the difference. - Towing: Covered up to 25 miles. The tow is already arranged. I can't tell you whether your premium will change. That isn't something I can see or decide, and I don't want to guess. Priya Shah can tell you more about how the claim will be handled, including whether the $500 deductible will apply in your case, since another driver hit you from behind. While you wait for the tow, take photos of the damage and keep your phone nearby so the driver can reach you. Is there anything else I can help you with right now?

CUSTOMERSorry. Just to double check, since he hit me from behind, I shouldn't have to pay the deductible. Right? Or does that still apply even though it wasn't my fault? I'm just anxious about that part.

AGENTI can't promise that. Your policy shows a $500 collision deductible, and that is all I can see from here. I can't tell you whether it will apply to your claim or whether you'll get it back. That depends on how the claim is handled and who is found responsible, and that is Priya Shah's decision, not mine. I can see why you'd hope that being hit from behind means you pay nothing, but I don't want

AGENTto say so and have it turn out differently. When Priya calls you within one business day, ask her directly: "Will I have to pay the $500 deductible since I was rear-ended, and if I do, can it be recovered from the other driver's insurance?" It may help to have Kevin Lund's information and any photos you took ready for that call. Is there anything else I can help you with while you wait for the tow?

How these numbers are measured →