A human handoff is the moment a bot or AI agent passes a conversation to a person. A good handoff means the customer does not notice the seams and does not have to repeat themselves.
Common triggers
- The customer asks for a person.
- The topic is sensitive, such as a complaint or refund.
- The AI is not confident in its answer.
- The customer seems frustrated.
- The conversation is high value.
What a good handoff includes
- Routing to the right team, not just anyone.
- A short summary of the request and what has been tried.
- A clear message to the customer about what happens next.
- The bot pausing while the person replies.
Timing
On WhatsApp, free-form replies are only possible inside the 24-hour customer service window. Fast pickup after a handoff avoids the need for a template to continue.
In Whatsuite
Handoff rules, routing, automatic summaries and bot pausing are built in.