Merge pull request #3162 from ai-coustics/add-stt-optimized-model

Add Quail STT as default model for `AICFilter`

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,16 @@ All notable changes to **Pipecat** will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Changed
+
+- Updated `AICFilter` to use Quail STT as the default model (`AICModelType.QUAIL_STT`). Quail STT is optimized for human-to-machine interaction (e.g., voice agents, speech-to-text) and operates at a native sample rate of 16 kHz with fixed enhancement parameters.
+
+### Deprecated
+
+- The `noise_gate_enable` parameter in `AICFilter` is deprecated and no longer has any effect. Noise gating is now handled automatically by the AIC VAD system. Use `AICFilter.create_vad_analyzer()` for VAD functionality instead.
+
 ## [0.0.96] - 2025-11-26 🦃 "Happy Thanksgiving!" 🦃
 
 ### Added

pyproject.toml

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ Source = "https://github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat"
 Website = "https://pipecat.ai"
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
-aic = [ "aic-sdk~=1.1.0" ]
+aic = [ "aic-sdk~=1.2.0" ]
 anthropic = [ "anthropic~=0.49.0" ]
 assemblyai = [ "pipecat-ai[websockets-base]" ]
 asyncai = [ "pipecat-ai[websockets-base]" ]

src/pipecat/audio/filters/aic_filter.py

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ class AICFilter(BaseAudioFilter):
         self,
         *,
         license_key: str = "",
-        model_type: AICModelType = AICModelType.QUAIL_L,
+        model_type: AICModelType = AICModelType.QUAIL_STT,
         enhancement_level: Optional[float] = 1.0,
         voice_gain: Optional[float] = 1.0,
         noise_gate_enable: Optional[bool] = True,
@@ -52,12 +52,27 @@ class AICFilter(BaseAudioFilter):
             enhancement_level: Optional overall enhancement strength (0.0..1.0).
             voice_gain: Optional linear gain applied to detected speech (0.0..4.0).
             noise_gate_enable: Optional enable/disable noise gate (default: True).
+
+                .. deprecated:: 1.3.0
+                    The `noise_gate_enable` parameter is deprecated and no longer has any effect.
+                    It will be removed in a future version.
         """
         self._license_key = license_key
         self._model_type = model_type
 
         self._enhancement_level = enhancement_level
         self._voice_gain = voice_gain
+        if noise_gate_enable is not None:
+            import warnings
+
+            with warnings.catch_warnings():
+                warnings.simplefilter("always")
+                warnings.warn(
+                    "Parameter `noise_gate_enable` is deprecated and no longer has any effect. "
+                    "It will be removed in a future version. Use AIC VAD instead (create_vad_analyzer()).",
+                    DeprecationWarning,
+                )
+
         self._noise_gate_enable = noise_gate_enable
 
         self._enabled = True
@@ -149,10 +164,6 @@ class AICFilter(BaseAudioFilter):
                 )
             if self._voice_gain is not None:
                 self._aic.set_parameter(AICParameter.VOICE_GAIN, float(self._voice_gain))
-            if self._noise_gate_enable is not None:
-                self._aic.set_parameter(
-                    AICParameter.NOISE_GATE_ENABLE, 1.0 if bool(self._noise_gate_enable) else 0.0
-                )
 
             self._aic_ready = True