Merge pull request #6272 from eric-urban/eur/voice-live-agent

voice live with agents quickstart

Author: AnnaMHuff

articles/ai-foundry/toc.yml

@@ -479,8 +479,10 @@ items:
     items:
     - name: What is the Speech service?
       href: ../ai-services/speech-service/overview.md?context=/azure/ai-foundry/context/context
-    - name: Voice live
+    - name: Voice live with Foundry models quickstart
       href: ../ai-services/speech-service/voice-live-quickstart.md?context=/azure/ai-foundry/context/context
+    - name: Voice live with Foundry agents quickstart
+      href: ../ai-services/speech-service/voice-live-agents-quickstart.md?context=/azure/ai-foundry/context/context
     - name: Real-time speech to text
       href: ../ai-services/speech-service/get-started-speech-to-text.md?context=/azure/ai-foundry/context/context
     - name: Fast transcription

articles/ai-services/speech-service/includes/quickstarts/voice-live-agents/ai-foundry.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+---
+title: include file
+description: include file
+author: eric-urban
+ms.author: eur
+ms.service: azure-ai-speech
+ms.topic: include
+ms.date: 7/31/2025
+ms.custom: references_regions
+---
+
+In this article, you learn how to use voice live with [Azure AI Foundry Agent Service](/azure/ai-foundry/agents/overview) and [Azure AI Speech](/azure/ai-services/speech-service/overview) in the [Azure AI Foundry portal](https://ai.azure.com/?cid=learnDocs).
+
+[!INCLUDE [Introduction](intro.md)]
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- An Azure subscription. <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/free/ai-services" target="_blank">Create one for free</a>.
+- An [Azure AI Foundry resource](../../../../multi-service-resource.md) created in one of the supported regions. For more information about region availability, see the [voice live overview documentation](../../../voice-live.md).
+- An Azure AI Foundry agent created in the [Azure AI Foundry portal](https://ai.azure.com/?cid=learnDocs). For more information about creating an agent, see the [Create an agent quickstart](/azure/ai-foundry/agents/quickstart).
+
+> [!TIP]
+> To use voice live, you don't need to deploy an audio model with your Azure AI Foundry resource. Voice live is fully managed, and the model is automatically deployed for you. For more information about models availability, see the [voice live overview documentation](../../../voice-live.md).
+
+## Try out voice live in the Speech playground
+
+To try out the voice live demo, follow these steps:
+
+1. Go to your project in [Azure AI Foundry](https://ai.azure.com/?cid=learnDocs). 
+1. Select **Playgrounds** from the left pane.
+1. In the **Speech playground** tile, select **Try the Speech playground**.
+1. Select **Speech capabilities by scenario** > **Voice live**.
+
+   :::image type="content" source="../../../media/voice-live/foundry-portal/capabilities-by-scenario.png" alt-text="Screenshot of filtering Speech service capabilities by scenario." lightbox="../../../media/voice-live/foundry-portal/capabilities-by-scenario.png":::
+
+1. Select an agent that you configured in the **Agents** playground.
+
+   :::image type="content" source="../../../media/voice-live/foundry-portal/casual-chat-bring-agent-select.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the option to bring an agent for voice live in the speech playground." lightbox="../../../media/voice-live/foundry-portal/casual-chat-bring-agent-select.png":::
+
+1. Edit other settings as needed, such as the **Voice**, **Speaking rate**, and **Voice activity detection (VAD)**.
+
+1. Select **Start** to start speaking and select **End** to end the chat session.

articles/ai-services/speech-service/includes/quickstarts/voice-live-agents/intro.md

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+author: eric-urban
+ms.service: azure-ai-speech
+ms.topic: include
+ms.date: 7/31/2025
+ms.author: eur
+---
+
+You can create and run an application to use voice live with agents for real-time voice agents.
+
+- Using agents allows leveraging a built-in prompt and configuration managed within the agent itself, rather than specifying instructions in the session code. 
+
+- Agents encapsulate more complex logic and behaviors, making it easier to manage and update conversational flows without changing the client code. 
+
+- The agent approach streamlines integration. The agent ID is used to connect and all necessary settings are handled internally, reducing the need for manual configuration in the code. 
+
+- This separation also supports better maintainability and scalability for scenarios where multiple conversational experiences or business logic variations are needed.
+
+To instead use the voice live API without agents, see the [voice live quickstart](/azure/ai-services/speech-service/voice-live-quickstart).