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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.
  • The moment a teammate replies, the bot automatically steps aside (pauses) — it won't keep sending messages over your agent. The human is now in control of that conversation.
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 runs, the bot stops for that conversation. And if a teammate replies at any point, the bot pauses so it never talks over a person.

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?​

The hand-off gives control to your team. To automate again afterward, your team handles the chat in the inbox as usual.