Setting up chatbot handoff: admit what the AI doesn't know
An honest handoff means that when the assistant does not know the answer or a customer asks for a person, it says so plainly and passes the conversation to your team in the shared inbox instead of guessing. This guide covers choosing when to hand off, setting an away message, turning on alerts and deciding when the assistant takes a chat back. For the underlying idea, see the glossary entry on what a handoff is.
When should the assistant hand off to your team?
You pick one of three rules:
| Rule | What the assistant does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Whenever it is not sure (default) | Says it has no information yet and passes the chat to your team | Most stores, especially where accuracy matters |
| Only when the customer asks for a person | Hands off when a customer asks to speak to someone | Stores with thorough knowledge and a small team |
| Never | Answers everything itself and points customers to the store when stuck | Only when nobody can take chats yet |
You can also add your own rule, such as always passing complaints to a person. Beyond your rule, a chat also goes to your team when the assistant hits an error, AI credits run out, or a customer sends something the assistant cannot read. On a handoff the customer gets a short message saying the request went to staff, and the assistant stops answering that chat until your team closes it or hands it back.
How do you set up handoff step by step?
- Pick the rule. Open "Business profile", find the "Hand-off" question and choose an option. Choosing "Never" also turns off the "Hand off to a person" switch on the Assistant page.
- Turn on alerts. Go to "Settings" and the "Alerts" tab, where email is already on. Choose how long a customer may wait before you are alerted (5 to 60 minutes, default 10), then click "Save alerts" and "Send a test alert".
- Set an away message for the website chat, as described below.
- Choose when the assistant takes chats back under "When to hand back", as described below.
- Test it end to end. From the live chat, send a question your knowledge does not cover and watch the conversation appear in the Inbox.
How do business hours and the away message work?
Under "Website chat", open "How the chat looks and works", switch on "Only chat during opening hours", pick a time zone and hours for each day, then write your "Away message". Outside those hours the chat header shows "Away" with your message, and the assistant is not switched off. The assistant does not promise a reply time on your behalf, so say when a person will answer, for example: "We are closed 9 pm to 8 am. Anything that needs our team gets a reply after 8 am."
How does your team work in the shared inbox?
- The tabs "Needs you", "Your team", "Assistant" and "All" separate customers waiting for a person from those the assistant is handling.
- Click "Take over" to reply yourself, and the assistant pauses while your team answers.
- Assign a chat to a teammate, add tags and write internal notes the customer never sees.
- "Snooze", "Mark done", act on several chats at once or "Download transcript".
When should the assistant take the chat back?
- Automatically: the assistant returns after 15, 30, 60 or 240 minutes since your team's last reply, and the default is 30. Every team reply restarts the wait, and a chat nobody has answered yet keeps waiting for you.
- Manually: click "Hand back now", or "Keep paused" so the assistant stays out until you hand it back. Turn off "Hand back automatically" if you only want to return chats yourself.
- Mark done always hands back: the customer's next message is answered by the assistant.
How do saved replies speed up your staff?
In the Inbox, open "Saved replies", click "New", then give the reply a name (up to 60 characters) and text (up to 1,000). While replying, pick one to drop it into the message box and edit it if needed. A good first one is "Checking": Let me check that for you, one moment please.
What does handoff not do for you?
- It does not resolve complaints or refunds, it only routes them to your staff.
- It does not promise a reply time, because the assistant has no estimated response time to give.
Once it is set up, look at the features, read about writing knowledge to cut down on unknowns, or compare it with generic live chat.
Frequently asked questions
Does the assistant tell the customer it has passed the chat to a person?
Yes. The customer gets a short message saying their request went to shop staff, along with a note that there is no estimated response time. Use your away message to say when a person will actually reply.
What happens if I turn handoff off?
The assistant tells customers who ask for a person to contact the store another way, so keep your contact details in your knowledge. Setup also shows a warning when you switch it off.
How long until the assistant answers again?
You choose 15, 30, 60 or 240 minutes after your team's last reply, and the default is 30 minutes. You can also turn automatic hand-back off and return chats manually.
Does the assistant still answer outside business hours?
Yes. Opening hours only switch the chat status to Away and show your away message, while the assistant keeps answering from your knowledge. Anything that needs a person waits for your team.
Who gets the alert when a customer is waiting?
Your account email by default, or another address you enter, plus an in-app notification. You pick how long a customer may wait before the alert under Settings, on the Alerts tab.