Creating multi-turn dialogues with conversational AI and text-to-speech

Summary

• Multi-turn dialogues allow AI to carry on more human-like conversations by maintaining context and responding intelligently across multiple exchanges.
• Text-to-speech technology enhances these dialogues by giving AI a natural, engaging voice.
• Challenges like remembering context and sounding natural are being tackled with tools like ElevenLabs, which make creating lifelike multi-turn AI agents easy.

It’s time to take conversations to the next level

We all love AI systems like ChatGPT, but have you ever felt frustrated trying to interact with basic systems that only respond to one question at a time? 

It feels robotic and impersonal… A bit like trying to have a conversation with a vending machine. And, while AI is meant to speed things up, typing (or speaking) one question at a time can feel like we’re slowing everything down.

Imagine what it would be like chatting with an AI that remembers what you just said, asks follow-up questions, and responds in a way that feels smooth and natural. 

That’s the power of multi-turn dialogues, especially when paired with text-to-speech (TTS) technology that gives AI a voice.

Let’s explore how multi-turn dialogues are making AI smarter, more helpful, and easier to use in everyday life—and how you can create your own lifelike AI agent with ElevenLabs.

What are multi-turn dialogues in conversational AI?

Multi-turn dialogues are conversations where AI can keep track of the context, allowing it to respond to multiple questions or statements in a logical sequence. (No more static, one-sided conversations, please!)

Unlike single-turn interactions, where each question is treated as a standalone exchange, multi-turn AI enables more dynamic and natural communication.

For example, instead of asking, “What’s the weather today?” and getting a basic response, you could say:

• “What’s the weather today?”
• “How about tomorrow?”
• “Should I pack an umbrella?”

Multi-turn AI connects the dots, providing an experience that feels conversational and intuitive, more like talking to a real human than a chatbot.

How text-to-speech enhances multi-turn dialogues

Text-to-speech technology takes these conversations a step further by giving AI a voice. 

Instead of relying on written responses (and writing prompts that are time-consuming to type out), TTS makes interactions audible, engaging, and accessible for everyone. This not only saves time but also creates a conversational flow that feels closer to how we naturally communicate.

Adding a natural-sounding voice to AI creates a more human connection, whether you’re using it for personal productivity, tutoring, or even just casual questions.  Imagine asking your AI assistant for advice, and instead of reading text on a screen, you hear a warm, relatable voice guiding you through step by step. TTS also ensures inclusivity, making AI accessible to users who prefer or need voice interactions. 

The best TTS solutions, like those offered by ElevenLabs, go a step further by creating voices that sound lifelike and emotionally resonant. This eliminates the robotic tone that often makes AI feel detached, ensuring conversations are not only functional but enjoyable. 

By creating multi-turn dialogues with TTS, AI becomes a tool that fits seamlessly into everyday life, creating smoother, smarter, and more human-like experiences.

5 ways multi-turn dialogues help in everyday life

1. Planning a trip

Need to plan your next vacation? 

Multi-turn AI can guide you through the entire process. Ask about destinations, compare flights, and finalize accommodations in one smooth conversation. It remembers your preferences and adjusts its suggestions as you go.

2. Learning a new skill or subject

Ever tried learning something new, like cooking or playing an instrument? 

AI tutors can use multi-turn dialogues to walk you through each step, answer follow-up questions, and adjust based on your pace. Think about learning a new language, finally getting to grips with that bowling swing, or simply hearing about the local history of your town on an evening walk. 

Whatever it is you want to learn or talk about, AI is like your most knowledgeable best friend.

3. Helping with homework

Have you ever sat down to help with your kids homework, only to find that your math skills might need brushing up, too?

Kids tackling tough assignments can rely on AI for help (that’s a sigh of relief from mom and dad!).

But that math problem becomes less intimidating when the AI breaks it down step-by-step, answering questions along the way to ensure understanding. And what about the potential for use in the classroom? Could conversational AI be the optimized learning partner for every student, perfectly meeting each child where they’re at with their existing knowledge?

4. Managing daily schedules

Juggling family life, a busy work schedule, and the time to meal prep is exhausting. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all had personal AI assistants to help us stay on top of everything?

Multi-turn AI can act as your personal assistant, helping you organize your day. It can add events to your calendar, adjust schedules based on your input, and remind you of priorities—all while keeping track of your changing plans and keeping up with your day as you talk to it.

5. Answering customer service requests

And for businesses, AI can do a lot more than simply help the day go easier. It’s helping teams reduce their costs and serve customers better. Take a look at a multi-turn dialogue in action here and watch as conversational AI processes a refund:

Creating an ElevenLabs agent for multi-turn dialogues

It all sounds pretty exciting. Want to create your own multi-turn conversational AI agent? 

ElevenLabs makes it super easy to start to use conversational AI in your own life. 

To get started creating your agent, follow the steps below.

1. Decide your agent’s purposeThink about what your AI will do. Will it help with planning, tutoring, or providing recommendations? Define its role to ensure it meets your needs.
2. Set up the language and voiceChoose the languages your agent will use and select a voice from ElevenLabs’ library—or create a custom voice that matches your preferences or audience.
3. Build its knowledge baseUpload documents, link relevant content, or add specific information your AI needs to provide accurate responses during multi-turn dialogues.
4. Test with real-life scenariosRun your AI through practice conversations to see how well it handles follow-ups and maintains context. Use this testing phase to refine its responses.
5. Launch and interactOnce your agent is ready, put it to use! Whether it’s on your phone, computer, or smart device, you’ll have a personalized AI assistant ready to make life easier.

Challenges in creating multi-turn dialogues

But as you start to use your AI agent in your day to day life, you might find that those multi-turn dialogues start to come with some challenges. Let’s take a look at some of the barriers that you might encounter.

Remembering context

One of the biggest challenges is ensuring AI remembers what’s been said earlier in the conversation. Training the AI to maintain context is key to making interactions feel seamless.

This isn’t always possible on every model, however, and things like accidentally closing the chat or starting a new conversation will impact the AI’s memory. However, taking steps in your workflow to prevent this will make it possible to have extended conversations.

Sounding natural

AI speech that sounds robotic can break the experience. That’s why tools like ElevenLabs prioritize creating voices that are lifelike, warm, and engaging, while multi-lingual AI content can help listeners (and speakers) feel like they’re interacting with a real person. Give one of the ElevenLabs natural-sounding voices a listen below from our Voice Library.

Personalization

A great AI adapts to your needs. Ensuring it feels tailored to your preferences while still being useful for general scenarios is a balancing act.

The last word

Multi-turn dialogues, combined with text-to-speech technology, are transforming how we interact with AI. They make conversations feel smarter, more engaging, and far more human.

Whether you’re planning a trip, tackling a new hobby, or just looking for a personal assistant to keep you on track, multi-turn AI is here to help. 

Ready to create your own? Get started with ElevenLabs today and start building an AI agent that feels like it was made just for you.