askIABot

Handoffs / Live Agent

When the bot can't help, it hands the conversation to a human agent — who can read the full history and reply directly from the dashboard.

How it works

  1. The customer asks to speak to a human, or the bot determines it can't answer the question
  2. The bot calls the handoff tool — it stops responding and creates a handoff request
  3. Your team sees the new request in Dashboard → Tools → Handoffs (and optionally receives a WhatsApp notification)
  4. An agent clicks Claim to take ownership
  5. The agent reads the conversation history and types a reply
  6. The reply is delivered to the customer on the same channel (widget or WhatsApp) in real time
  7. When resolved, the agent clicks Resolve
The bot never interrupts a claimed conversation. Once an agent has claimed a handoff, the bot stays silent.

Setup

1. Install the tool

Go to Dashboard → Marketplace, find Request Handoff, and click Add.

2. Enable it on your bot

Open your bot → Settings → Tools → toggle Request Handoff on.

That's it. No configuration required.

When does the bot trigger a handoff?

The bot will request a handoff when:

  • The customer explicitly asks — "I want to talk to a person", "Can I speak to an agent?", "connect me to support"
  • The bot cannot find a relevant answer in the knowledge base after searching
The bot only triggers a handoff when it genuinely can't help — it will always try the knowledge base first.

Managing handoffs

Go to Dashboard → Tools → Handoffs. Handoffs are filtered by status:

  • Pending — waiting for an agent to claim
  • In Progress — claimed and being handled
  • Resolved — closed

Click a handoff to open the live conversation view. You can read the full message history, reply directly, and update the status.

Notifications

If your workspace has a WhatsApp channel configured, agents can receive a WhatsApp message when a new handoff comes in. Set this up under Dashboard → Settings → Notifications.

Tips for a good handoff experience

  • Keep your knowledge base thorough — the fewer gaps, the fewer unnecessary handoffs
  • Set realistic response-time expectations in your bot's system prompt, e.g. "Our team responds within 2 hours during business hours"
  • Use the conversation summary (auto-generated by the bot) to get up to speed quickly before replying
Next: Lead Capture