What it does

Message Speed sets the minimum time between a customer's message and the bot's reply, so replies feel natural instead of instant.

Modes

• Instant (default): no added pause.
• Fixed delay: a set pause from 0 to 5 seconds.
• Human: a random pause between 0.5 and 2.5 seconds.

How it behaves

• The setting is a minimum time from the start of the bot's turn to its reply. If the AI takes longer than the setting to answer, no extra wait is added.
• It applies once per turn, not once per sentence.
• It applies on typed chat channels only: Web chat, Apple Messages, WhatsApp, SMS, RCS, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Teams.
• Phone calls (IVR and click-to-call) and email or tickets are never paced.
• The workflow node Set Message Speed is separate. It changes the pace of workflow messages only and does not change the bot's own replies.

Where to set it

• Admin: Bots, pick the bot, General, Message Speed. The choice is saved and stays after you reload the page.
• CLI: velaro ai-config set-message-speed <id> --mode instant|fixed|human --seconds 2.5
• MCP: ai_config_set_message_speed with aiConfigId, mode and seconds.
• Moshky can explain how Message Speed works and where to change it.

Notes

Seconds only matter in Fixed mode. A bot with Instant selected ignores any saved seconds value.