Amazon Lex introduced three voice activity detection (VAD) sensitivity settings—Default, High, and Maximum—to tailor speech recognition performance to specific locales and environments. Default suits typical noise levels, High addresses moderate ambient noise such as offices and retail spaces, while Maximum is designed for very noisy settings like manufacturing floors or outdoor areas.
This configurability allows conversational AI bots to better differentiate between speech and background sound, enhancing interaction quality in challenging acoustic scenarios. The feature integrates into Amazon Connect's Conversational AI designer and is available in all regions supporting Amazon Connect and Lex.
Source & further reading
Amazon Lex launches configurable voice activity detection sensitivity ↗Source published 2026-01-12. This report was prepared with AI assistance from the linked primary-source material. Claims and limitations should be checked against the original announcement or research.