AssistantsCustom voices

ElevenLabs

Set up a custom ElevenLabs voice in Vapi

This guide outlines the procedure for integrating your cloned voice with ElevenLabs through the Vapi platform.

An API subscription is required for this process to work.
1

Obtain an ElevenLabs API subscription

Visit the ElevenLabs pricing page and subscribe to an API plan that suits your needs.

2

Retrieve your API key

Go to the ‘Profile + Keys’ section on the ElevenLabs website to get your API key.

Create an API key without endpoint access restrictions. ElevenLabs lets you limit which endpoints a key can access. Vapi needs access to the text-to-speech endpoints to generate speech and the voices endpoints to list, search, and sync voices. Restricted access can prevent voices from appearing in search or syncing to the voice library. To limit spending in ElevenLabs, set an ElevenLabs credit quota on the API key instead of restricting endpoint access.

3

Enter your API key in Vapi

Navigate to the Vapi Integrations section and input your ElevenLabs API key under the ElevenLabs section.

Once you click save, your voice library will sync automatically.

4

Search and use your cloned voice

After syncing, you can search for your cloned voice in the “voices” tab in the assistants page, use it with your assistant.

Troubleshooting

Vapi uses your ElevenLabs API key to search the voice list in your account. If the key cannot read voices, the voice does not appear in Vapi search results even though it still exists in ElevenLabs. ElevenLabs returns this error:

The API key you used is missing the permission voices_read to execute this operation.

Create an API key in ElevenLabs without endpoint access restrictions, then save it in Integrations.

Syncing the library calls your ElevenLabs account with your key. If ElevenLabs rejects the request, the sync fails and no voices are added. Confirm the key still exists in your ElevenLabs account, has not been rotated, and has no endpoint access restrictions.

Video Tutorial: