Feedback: integrations-pipecat

Documentation Feedback

Original URL: https://www.assemblyai.com/docs/integrations/pipecat
Category: integrations
Generated: 05/08/2025, 4:27:52 pm

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Claude Sonnet 4 Feedback

Generated: 05/08/2025, 4:27:51 pm

Documentation Analysis and Improvement Recommendations

Overall Assessment

This documentation is technically accurate but has several gaps that could create friction for users. The structure is logical, but missing critical information and context could lead to implementation challenges.

Specific Issues and Recommendations

1. Missing Critical Information

Problem: No import statements for core dependencies

# Current code is missing these essential imports
from pipecat.services.assemblyai.stt import AssemblyAISTTService, AssemblyAIConnectionParams

Solution: Add a complete imports section:

import os
from pipecat.pipeline.pipeline import Pipeline
from pipecat.services.assemblyai.stt import AssemblyAISTTService, AssemblyAIConnectionParams
# Add other common imports like transport, llm, tts

Problem: Undefined variables in examples (transport, llm, tts)

Solution: Either provide complete working examples or clearly indicate placeholder variables:

# Example with placeholders clearly marked
pipeline = Pipeline([
    your_transport.input(),  # Replace with your transport service
    stt,
    your_llm,               # Replace with your LLM service
    your_tts,               # Replace with your TTS service
    your_transport.output(),
])

2. Unclear Explanations

Problem: Turn detection explanation is verbose and technical without clear actionable guidance.

Solution: Restructure with clear use cases:

### When to Use Each Turn Detection Method

**Use AssemblyAI Turn Detection (`vad_force_turn_endpoint=False`) when:**
- Users provide complex information (credit card numbers, addresses)
- You need minimal latency for simple questions
- You want AI-powered conversation flow

**Use Traditional VAD (`vad_force_turn_endpoint=True`) when:**
- You have existing VAD pipeline components
- You need predictable silence-based behavior
- You're migrating from other STT services

3. Better Examples Needed

Problem: Only basic configuration shown, no complete working example.

Solution: Add a complete minimal example:

"""
Complete Voice Agent Example with AssemblyAI
"""
import os
import asyncio
from pipecat.pipeline.pipeline import Pipeline
from pipecat.services.assemblyai.stt import AssemblyAISTTService, AssemblyAIConnectionParams
# ... other imports

async def main():
    # Configure AssemblyAI STT
    stt = AssemblyAISTTService(
        api_key=os.getenv("ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY"),
        vad_force_turn_endpoint=False,
        connection_params=AssemblyAIConnectionParams(
            end_of_turn_confidence_threshold=0.7,
            min_end_of_turn_silence_when_confident=160,
            max_turn_silence=2400,
        )
    )

    # Create and run pipeline
    pipeline = Pipeline([...])
    await pipeline.run()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

4. Improved Structure Recommendations

Current structure issues:

• Configuration section buried after basic usage
• No troubleshooting section
• No performance considerations

Suggested new structure:

# Pipecat Integration

## Prerequisites
- Python 3.8+
- Pipecat framework knowledge
- AssemblyAI account

## Quick Start
### 1. Installation
### 2. Environment Setup
### 3. Basic Implementation
### 4. Complete Example

## Configuration Guide
### Turn Detection Options
### Performance Tuning
### Error Handling

## Advanced Usage
### Custom Parameters
### Integration Patterns

## Troubleshooting
## Performance Tips
## Migration Guide

5. Potential User Pain Points

Pain Point 1: No error handling guidance Solution: Add error handling section:

try:
    stt = AssemblyAISTTService(api_key=api_key)
except AuthenticationError:
    print("Invalid API key. Get one at https://www.assemblyai.com/dashboard/signup")
except ConnectionError:
    print("Network connection failed. Check your internet connection.")

Pain Point 2: No validation of setup Solution: Add setup verification:

# Verify your setup
def verify_setup():
    assert os.getenv("ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY"), "ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY not set"
    # Test connection
    # Validate audio format

Pain Point 3: Parameter tuning is unclear Solution: Add tuning guide with specific scenarios:

### Parameter Tuning Guide

**For customer support scenarios:**
```python
# More patient waiting for customer information
AssemblyAIConnectionParams(
    end_of_turn_confidence_threshold=0.8,  # Higher confidence needed
    min_end_of_turn_silence_when_confident=300,  # Wait longer when confident
    max_turn_silence=3000,  # Allow longer pauses
)

For quick Q&A scenarios:

# Faster responses for simple questions
AssemblyAIConnectionParams(
    end_of_turn_confidence_threshold=0.6,  # Lower confidence threshold
    min_end_of_turn_silence_when_confident=100,  # Quicker response
    max_turn_silence=1500,  # Shorter timeout
)

6. Additional Recommendations

Add FAQ section:

• “Why am I getting authentication errors?”
• “How do I handle network disconnections?”
• “What audio formats are supported?”
• “How do I debug transcription issues?”

Add performance section:

• Latency expectations
• Bandwidth requirements
• CPU usage guidelines
• Scaling considerations

Add migration guide:

• From other STT services
• Updating from older versions
• Configuration mapping

Improve code organization:

• Use consistent variable naming
• Add type hints
• Include docstrings in examples
• Show async/await patterns clearly

This documentation would benefit significantly from these improvements, particularly the complete working examples and better error handling guidance, which are the most common sources of user friction in integration docs.

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