In this post, we explore what it takes to migrate a traditional text agent into a conversational voice assistant using Amazon Nova 2 Sonic. We compare text and voice agent requirements, highlight design priorities for different use cases, break down agent architecture, and address common concerns like tools and sub-agents for reuse and system prompt adaptation. This post helps you navigate the migration process and avoid common pitfalls.

You can also find a Skill in the Nova sample repo that works with AI IDEs like Kiro and Claude Code to automatically convert your text agent into a voice agent.

While migrating from a text agent to a voice assistant might seem like adding a voice interface while keeping the business logic unchanged, it’s important to understand the differences from the following perspectives.

To better navigate these challenges, let’s break down the key differences between text agents and voice assistants and how those differences impact design and implementation.

A text agent is built to deliver paragraphs that users can read at their own pace. Scrolling back, copying content, and following links as needed. A voice agent operates in a fundamentally different medium. Responses must be conversational, concise, and carefully structured for listening rather than reading.Consider a banking agent that returns account information: