To truly build an AI voice agent from scratch, you need to understand its core architectural components. These typically include:

Speech-to-Text (STT): Converts spoken language into text.
Natural Language Understanding (NLU): Interprets the meaning and intent behind the text.
Dialogue Management: Manages the flow of conversation, tracks context, and determines the next best action.
Natural Language Generation (NLG): Formulates human-like responses in text.
Text-to-Speech (TTS): Converts the generated text back into spoken language.
Streaming Pipeline: Crucial for low-latency interactions, processing audio and text in real-time chunks.

Each of these components plays a vital role in creating a seamless and natural conversational experience.