Amazon Connect Tools
SSML Prompt Builder
for Amazon Connect
Visually craft, validate and copy production-ready SSML prompts for Amazon Connect contact flows — all tags supported, zero server calls.
<break>
<prosody>
<say-as>
<phoneme>
<sub>
<whisper>
<lang>
<mark>
<p> <s>
<w>
0
Characters
0
Tags Used
—
Valid SSML
Quick-Start Templates
Welcome Greeting
Standard IVR welcome with pause and slow intro
Queue Hold Message
On-hold message with wait time and reassurance
Business Hours
Closed / out-of-hours announcement prompt
Transfer to Agent
Warm transfer with whisper-effect caller info
Read Digits / Ref No
Read a reference number digit-by-digit
Emergency / Alert
High-urgency announcement with fast rate
SSML Editor
Text Editor
SSML Tag Palette — Click to Configure & Insert
⏸ break
🎚 prosody
🔤 say-as
🗣 phoneme
↔ sub
🤫 whisper
🌐 lang
¶ paragraph
§ sentence
📍 mark
W word (w)
📰 newscaster
Configure <break> — Add Pause
500ms
Max: 10000ms (10 seconds)
Configure <prosody> — Volume, Rate, Pitch
Configure <say-as> — How to Speak Text
Each digit is spoken individually.
Configure <phoneme> — Phonetic Pronunciation
IPA examples: /pɪˈkɑːn/ for "pecan", /ˈtʊˌdʒɔɹ/ for "Tudor"
Configure <sub> — Substitute / Alias
Configure <amazon:effect name="whispered">
Note: Whisper effect is only available in Standard (non-neural) Amazon Polly voices.
Configure <lang> — Specify Language
Configure <mark> — Custom Marker
Used to identify a position in the text; useful for speech marks and callbacks.
Configure <w> — Word Role / Part of Speech
Live SSML Preview
Highlighted SSML Output
Your highlighted SSML will appear here.
Type in the editor and click Validate & Preview
Type in the editor and click Validate & Preview
SSML Analysis
Validate your SSML to see analysis.
Use in Amazon Connect
To use this SSML in Amazon Connect:
- In your Contact Flow, add a Play Prompt block.
- Set Type to Text to speech or chat text.
- Select SSML as the interpret as option.
- Paste your SSML (including the
<speak>...</speak>wrapper). - Or use in a Get customer input block's prompt field.
Amazon Connect SSML Tag Reference
| Tag | Purpose | Example | Neural | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <speak> | Root wrapper — all SSML must be enclosed here | <speak>Hello!</speak> |
Full | Full |
| <break> | Add a pause (max 10s). Use time or strength attribute | <break time="1s"/> |
Full | Full |
| <prosody> | Control volume, rate, and pitch of speech | <prosody rate="slow">...</prosody> |
Partial | Full |
| <say-as> | Control how text is spoken: digits, dates, phone numbers, spell-out | <say-as interpret-as="digits">1234</say-as> |
Partial | Full |
| <phoneme> | Phonetic pronunciation using IPA or x-sampa | <phoneme alphabet="ipa" ph="pɪˈkɑːn">pecan</phoneme> |
Full | Full |
| <sub> | Substitute alias — read alias text instead of written text | <sub alias="Amazon Web Services">AWS</sub> |
Full | Full |
| <lang> | Switch language for a word or phrase | <lang xml:lang="fr-FR">Bonjour</lang> |
Full | Full |
| <p> | Paragraph pause — longer natural break between paragraphs | <p>Paragraph text.</p> |
Full | Full |
| <s> | Sentence pause — short natural break between sentences | <s>Sentence text.</s> |
Full | Full |
| <mark> | Custom named marker in the text stream | <mark name="menu-start"/> |
Full | Full |
| <w> | Word customization — specify part of speech role | <w role="amazon:VB">read</w> |
Full | Full |
| <amazon:effect whispered> | Whispered voice effect (standard voices only) | <amazon:effect name="whispered">...</amazon:effect> |
N/A | Full |
| <amazon:domain news> | Newscaster speaking style (Joanna, Matthew neural only) | <amazon:domain name="news">...</amazon:domain> |
Select only | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What SSML tags does Amazon Connect support?
Amazon Connect supports the following SSML tags via Amazon Polly:
<speak>, <break>, <lang>, <mark>, <p>, <phoneme>, <prosody>, <s>, <say-as>, <sub>, <w>, and <amazon:effect name="whispered">. Any unsupported tags are silently ignored by the engine.How do I add a pause in an Amazon Connect prompt?
Use the
<break> tag with either a time attribute (e.g., <break time="500ms"/> or <break time="2s"/>) or a strength attribute (x-weak, weak, medium, strong, x-strong). The maximum pause duration supported in Amazon Connect is 10 seconds.How do I make Amazon Connect read a number digit by digit?
Use
<say-as interpret-as="digits">12345</say-as>. Each digit will be read individually. For phone numbers, use interpret-as="telephone". For regular numbers use interpret-as="cardinal".Can I control the speed and volume of Amazon Connect TTS?
Yes. Use the
<prosody> tag. Rate options: x-slow, slow, medium, fast, x-fast, or a percentage like 75%. Volume options: silent, x-soft, soft, medium, loud, x-loud. Pitch options: x-low, low, medium, high, x-high. Note: Prosody has partial availability for neural voices.How do I make Amazon Connect pronounce an acronym correctly?
Use the
<sub> tag: <sub alias="Amazon Web Services">AWS</sub>. The alias text is what gets spoken. Alternatively, use <say-as interpret-as="spell-out">AWS</say-as> to have each letter spoken individually.Is the SSML tool free and private? Is my data sent to any server?
This tool runs 100% in your browser. No SSML, prompt text, or any other data is ever transmitted to any server. It is completely safe to use with production prompt content.
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