Hallucination is when an AI generates information that sounds plausible but is factually incorrect or fabricated. In voice agents, hallucinations can lead to providing wrong information, making false promises, or inventing details that do not exist.
Why do hallucinations occur?
Language models predict likely text based on patterns, not truth. When asked about something outside their knowledge or training, they may generate confident-sounding but incorrect responses. Pressure to always provide an answer can lead to fabrication rather than acknowledging uncertainty.
Why do hallucinations matter?
Voice agents that hallucinate damage trust and can cause real harm. Inventing appointment times, incorrect policy details, or false account information creates serious problems. Preventing hallucinations is essential for deploying voice AI in business contexts where accuracy matters.
Reducing hallucinations in practice
A voice AI platform implements several safeguards: grounding responses in retrieved documentation rather than relying solely on model knowledge, training the agent to say “I don’t have that information” rather than guessing, requiring function calls for factual data like account details, and monitoring conversations for confidence indicators that suggest potential hallucinations.