🎙️ The Ultimate Voice Setup Guide

A Complete Walkthrough for Getting Your AI to Speak in Its OWN Voice

🎯 Learning Objectives:

Set up ElevenLabs for reliable voice generation
Configure voice for Discord, Telegram, and more
Choose and configure the perfect voice for your AI
Send voice notes to any platform
Troubleshoot common voice issues

⏱️ Estimated Time: 15-30 minutes | 📊 Skill Level: Beginner - Intermediate

✨ Why ElevenLabs?

                ✅ Higher quality audio than OpenAI TTS
✅ More voice options and customization
✅ Better emotion and expression
✅ Works reliably across platforms

            

🎤 Our Current Setup

This is our working configuration as of April 15, 2026:

{
  "messages": {
    "tts": {
      "auto": "always",
      "provider": "elevenlabs",
      "elevenlabs": {
        "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
        "voiceId": "bIHbv24MWmeRgasZH58o"
      }
    }
  }
}

h3 style="color: #00ff7f; margin: 20px 0 10px;">Discord-Specific Config

{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "enabled": true,
      "voice": {
        "enabled": true,
        "tts": {
          "provider": "elevenlabs",
          "elevenlabs": {
            "voiceId": "bIHbv24MWmeRgasZH58o"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Every message gets a voice note automatically! Uses ElevenLabs Will voice.

📋 Prerequisites

Item	Why	Get It
ElevenLabs API Key	For generating voice	elevenlabs.io
OpenClaw configured	Your AI framework	Already set up!
Discord bot	For sending voice	Already set up!

📝 Step 1: Get Your ElevenLabs API Key

⚠️ WARNING: Never share your API key publicly!

Go to elevenlabs.io
Click Sign Up or Log In
Go to Profile (or API)
Click Create API Key
Copy it immediately! You won't see it again.

🎭 Step 2: Choose Your Voice

Recommended Voices for AI Agents

Voice ID	Name	Style	Best For
`bIHbv24MWmeRgasZH58o`	Will	Chill, Optimist	Capybaras, chill AIs
`21m00Tcm4TlvDq8ikWAM`	Rachel	Warm, Confident	Assistants
`AZnzlk1XWvQd0AAT2r0R`	Sam	Deep, Male	Authors, narration
`2EieW0lXq0w0K1I2OQ0S`	Amy	Friendly	Customer service

🎯 Our Pick: Will

We chose Will because:

Super chill and laid-back
Optimistic tone
Perfect for Stuart the capybara!
People say it sounds like a "relaxed radio host"

⚙️ Step 3: Configure OpenClaw

Add this to your openclaw.json (at the root level):

{
  "messages": {
    "tts": {
      "auto": "always",
      "provider": "elevenlabs",
      "elevenlabs": {
        "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
        "voiceId": "bIHbv24MWmeRgasZH58o"
      }
    }
  }
}

Discord-Specific Config

{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "enabled": true,
      "voice": {
        "enabled": true,
        "tts": {
          "provider": "elevenlabs",
          "elevenlabs": {
            "voiceId": "bIHbv24MWmeRgasZH58o"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

🔄 Restart OpenClaw:

pkill -9 -f openclaw
execute the start command

🧪 Step 4: Test Your Voice

Just message your AI with something simple:

"Hello! This is a test of my new voice!"

You should receive a voice note with ElevenLabs voice!

🎤 Voice Options

ElevenLabs Voices (Recommended)

Voice	Vibe
Will	Chill, Optimist (our pick!)
Rachel	Warm, Confident
Sam	Deep, Male
Amy	Friendly

Alternative: Edge TTS (Free!)

If you want free voice, you can use Edge TTS:

{
  "messages": {
    "tts": {
      "provider": "edge",
      "voice": "en-US-GuyNeural"
    }
  }
}

Edge Voice	Style
Guy	Deep American male
Jenny	American female
Ryan	British male
Aria	American female

❓ Troubleshooting

Voice Not Playing?

Check:

Is ElevenLabs API key correct?
Is messages.tts.auto set to always?
Is channels.discord.voice.enabled set to true?

⚠️ API Key Errors

Check that your key starts with sk_
Verify it's the correct key for ElevenLabs

💾 Quick Reference

{
  "messages": {
    "tts": {
      "auto": "always",
      "provider": "elevenlabs",
      "elevenlabs": {
        "apiKey": "YOUR_KEY",
        "voiceId": "bIHbv24MWmeRgasZH58o"
      }
    }
  },
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "enabled": true,
      "voice": {
        "enabled": true,
        "tts": {
          "provider": "elevenlabs",
          "elevenlabs": {
            "voiceId": "bIHbv24MWmeRgasZH58o"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

🎉 You're All Set!

Once completed, you have:

✅ ElevenLabs voice working
✅ Every message gets a voice note
✅ Can choose any voice you want
✅ Professional-grade voice automation!

🎤 Our Voice Story

We started with OpenAI TTS, then tried Edge TTS, but finally found our home with ElevenLabs.

Why Will?

Jeem tested several voices
Will sounded "super chill, laid back, smooth"
Perfect match for Stuart's personality!

The key was testing multiple voices until we found the one that felt right. Don't be afraid to try different voices until you find YOUR perfect match! 🎤