VAPI•2mo ago

Assistant Hallucinating Prospect's Names

When the VAPI assistant makes an outbound call to a dealership and the receptionist picks up with "Hi, thanks for calling Jackson Toyota, this is Joanne speaking", the VAPI assistant responds with "Hi, can you please connect me with metadata.firstname, metadatalast name please? Or it also responds with "Hi, can you please connect me with George Anderson?" - The VAPI Assistant made up the George name. George is not a contact on the Google Sheet and that name is nowhere in the System Prompt.

I'm not technical at all and I have learned ways to "set things up" by myself. So please hold hands with me, hehe! But can you please let me know what I am doing wrong and why is the VAPI assistant not asking for the contact name from the Google Sheet?

Here's my current process - Please see the attached Word document with the full process

1) n8n Workflow with HTTP Request node at the end sending info to VAPI. The expressions in the JSON Payload that the node sends are all green
2) VAPI Sytem Prompt - I include {{metadata.firstName}} {{metadata.lastName}} into the prompt when giving instructions to the assistant i.e. "When the receptionist picks up ask for {{metadata.firstName}} {{metadata.lastName}} "
3) I execute the workflow (I put my cell phone in the contact's PHONE NUMBER column of the Google Sheet) and the assistant calls me - so at least that part I go it right!

Thanks for taking the time to look into my request and I hope that I can pinpoint the issue so that I get the assistant working correctly. Thanks!

Process.docx16.23KB

KyleAPP•11/1/25, 2:46 PM

Hi there,

Thank you for your message. Our team is currently out of the office. We operate Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST).

We’ll get back to you as soon as possible during our normal business hours.

If your message is urgent, please mark it accordingly or include “URGENT” in the subject line, and we’ll do our best to respond promptly.

Warm regards,
Vapi
Customer Support Team

Iinadequate-blush When the VAPI assistant makes an outbound call to a dealership and the reception...

exclusive-coral•11/1/25, 5:28 PM

Hey!

It sounds like your assistant isn’t pulling the metadata correctly from n8n into VAPI. This usually happens when the JSON payload is sent as text instead of parsed data, or when the variable placeholders in the prompt aren’t being replaced during runtime. I can help you check the n8n execution logs to confirm if metadata.firstName and metadata.lastName are reaching VAPI, then adjust the payload and system prompt accordingly. Also, have you checked if those metadata values appear in the VAPI call logs? @Charlie

inadequate-blushOP•11/1/25, 9:41 PM

Hi @Vercel It looks like I got it fixed! When the assistant calls a contact from the Google sheet i.e. Justin, it now actually asks for "Justin". I needed to revise the payload that the HTTP Request node sends to VAPi. Here's the revised payload:
{
"assistantId": "6280b84f-1c70-4a53-ade4-5ec401faf520",
"phoneNumberId": "e479ed0b-d385-4c28-8c89-af193be6e761",
"customer": {
"number": "{{ $('If').first().json['CLEAN PHONE'].trim() }}",
"name": "{{ $('If').first().json['FIRST NAME'] }} {{ $('If').first().json['LAST NAME'] }}"
},
"metadata": {
"dealership": "{{ $('If').first().json.DEALERSHIP }}",
"firstName": "{{ $('If').first().json['FIRST NAME'] }}",
"lastName": "{{ $('If').first().json['LAST NAME'] }}",
"prospectId": "{{ $('If').first().json['PROSPECT ID'] }}",
"extension": "{{ $('If').first().json.EXTENSION '' }}"
},
"assistantOverrides": {
"variableValues": {
"firstName": "{{ $('If').first().json['FIRST NAME'] }}",
"lastName": "{{ $('If').first().json['LAST NAME'] }}",
"prospectId": "{{ $('If').first().json['PROSPECT ID'] }}",
"email": "{{ $('If').first().json.EMAIL '' }}"
}
}
}

The trick was adding the assisantOverrides block to the JSON payload!!

KyleAPP•11/5/25, 12:33 AM

Glad you were able to get this resolved. If anything else comes up or you need further assistance, we’re here to help.

Assistant Hallucinating Prospect's Names

Similar Threads

Similar Threads

Similar Threads