Realtime API

We want conversations with machines to feel fast. No pauses. No “loading” spinners. That’s what a Realtime API is about: streaming words as they’re formed, so the dialogue feels alive.

Streaming not batch

Old APIs made us wait. We’d send a full prompt, then sit until she returned the finished text. A Realtime API streams each token as it comes. She thinks out loud. We hear words forming before the sentence is done. It’s closer to human back-and-forth.

Low latency matters

Every pause over 200ms feels wrong in a chat. Our brains expect speech rhythm. When she stalls, we notice. So the Realtime API trims overhead: fewer round trips, smart buffering, and lightweight protocols. The goal is speech-speed replies.

WebRTC in the mix

Streaming text is good, but streaming voice is better. That’s where WebRTC comes in. It’s the same tech behind video calls. With it, we get microphone input and audio output in real time. She can speak while we speak, like a call with a friend. Latency drops under a blink.

Protocol choices

Not every project needs WebRTC. Sometimes WebSockets or Server-Sent Events do the job. Text-only bots can stream fine over those. But when timing is critical—voice chat, multiplayer games, collaborative coding—WebRTC wins. It was built for jitter and packet loss, the nasty stuff of the real internet.

Why it feels human

When she answers in real time, our brain treats her more like a partner. No long silences. No blocky walls of text. Just a flow of thought. That’s what makes the conversation feel natural, even when we know she’s still just math on servers.