> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://doc.rapida.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# AWS Polly

> Amazon Polly is a cloud-based text-to-speech service that synthesizes natural-sounding speech in dozens of languages and voices.

Amazon Polly converts text to lifelike speech using deep learning models. It offers standard neural voices and supports SSML for fine-grained control over speech output — ideal for telephony and IVR systems.

## Getting Started

Follow these steps to configure your provider:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add AWS credentials to your vault">
    Navigate to **Integration → Vault** in the Rapida dashboard. Add your AWS Access Key ID and Secret Access Key. The IAM role needs `AmazonPollyReadOnlyAccess` or a scoped `polly:SynthesizeSpeech` permission.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select AWS Polly as your TTS provider">
    When configuring your assistant, open **Audio Settings** and choose **AWS** as your Text-to-Speech provider.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a voice and language">
    Polly offers 60+ voices across 30+ languages. Choose the voice that matches your assistant's target language and persona.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Voice Types

| Type         | Description                                                            |
| ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Neural**   | Higher quality, more natural-sounding voices using a neural TTS engine |
| **Standard** | Concatenative synthesis — lower cost, suitable for basic use cases     |

Neural voices are recommended for production voice assistants.

## Popular Voices

| Voice ID  | Language     | Gender |
| --------- | ------------ | ------ |
| `Joanna`  | English (US) | Female |
| `Matthew` | English (US) | Male   |
| `Amy`     | English (UK) | Female |
| `Brian`   | English (UK) | Male   |
| `Léa`     | French       | Female |
| `Lupe`    | Spanish (US) | Female |

## SSML Support

Polly supports SSML tags for granular speech control:

```xml theme={null}
<speak>
  Welcome back, <emphasis level="strong">valued customer</emphasis>.
  Your appointment is scheduled for <say-as interpret-as="date" format="mdy">12/25/2025</say-as>.
  <break time="500ms"/>
  Is there anything else I can help you with?
</speak>
```

## Configuration Options

| Option        | Description                                               |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| Region        | AWS region for Polly (e.g. `us-east-1`)                   |
| Voice ID      | Polly voice identifier                                    |
| Engine        | `neural` or `standard`                                    |
| Language code | BCP-47 language code (required for some bilingual voices) |
| Sample rate   | Output audio sample rate (8000 or 16000 Hz for telephony) |

## Notes

* Neural voices are not available in all AWS regions. Check the [Polly neural voice list](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/polly/latest/dg/ntts-voices-main.html).
* For telephony use cases, set sample rate to 8000 Hz to match PSTN audio formats.
* Pricing is per character synthesized. See [AWS Polly pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/polly/pricing/).

## Related

* [AWS Transcribe STT](/integrations/stt/aws-transcribe)
* [Azure Speech TTS](/integrations/tts/azure-speech-service)