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Hand Off to a Human

Hand off to a human​

A bot is great for the first steps — greeting, qualifying, answering common questions. But sometimes a customer needs a real person. The Assign to Agent block hands the conversation to your team at exactly the right moment, and gets the bot out of the way.

Assign to Agent​

Drop an Assign to Agent block wherever the bot should step back — for example, after it has collected a name and reason for contact. When the flow reaches it, the bot stops and the conversation moves into your team inbox for a person to take over.

Who gets the chat​

Choose how the conversation is routed:

  • A specific teammate — always goes to the person you pick
  • Round-robin — shared out evenly across your available team
  • Whoever helped them last — back to the agent who handled this contact before, for continuity
  • The Unassigned queue — left in the shared queue for anyone to pick up

You can also set a fallback in case your first choice isn't available (for example, the chosen teammate has left the team), so a customer is never left in limbo.

Let the customer know​

Optionally add a short confirmation message that sends when the hand-off happens — something like "Thanks! Connecting you with a member of our team now." — so the customer knows a person is on the way.

What your team sees​

  • While a bot is handling a conversation, the inbox shows a clear bot badge, so your team knows it's automated and can leave it alone.
  • After Assign to Agent gives a chat to a teammate, the bot stays out of that chat until someone hands it back.
  • On other chats the bot is still handling, your team can click Take over to pause the bot and reply. Whether the bot also pauses on its own when a teammate replies or is assigned depends on the Pause bot when a human replies setting.
tip

Place the hand-off after the bot has gathered the basics (name, reason, order number). Your team starts the conversation already knowing the context, instead of asking from scratch.

Tips & best practices​

  • Always give an escape hatch — offer a "Talk to a person" button somewhere so customers aren't trapped in the bot
  • Collect context first — use Ask blocks before the hand-off so your team has what they need
  • Set a fallback so a chat is never stuck waiting for an unavailable agent
  • Mind your hours — pair the hand-off with a Business Hours check so after-hours chats get an "we'll reply soon" message instead of waiting for an offline team

Frequently asked questions​

Does the bot keep running after the hand-off?​

No. Once Assign to Agent gives the chat to a teammate, the bot stays out of that conversation until someone hands it back. If you route the chat to the Unassigned queue instead, the bot can answer again when the customer next messages, so pick those chats up quickly or use Take over.

Who can the chat be assigned to?​

Any member of your team, based on the routing option you choose. See Managing your team and Roles & permissions.

What if no one is available?​

Set a fallback (such as the Unassigned queue) so the conversation still lands somewhere a person can pick it up.

Can the bot take back over later?​

Yes. When your team is done, click Hand to bot at the top of the chat, or unassign it. The bot starts fresh on the customer's next message. See Pause bot when a human replies for all the ways to give a chat back.