Human Handoff
Chatbot to human handoff that keeps the whole conversation. Your team picks up where the AI stopped.
For small teams answering website and WhatsApp chats. The AI answers first. When a customer asks for a person, the same chat lands in your inbox with every message attached, and the teammate who claims it replies there.
How a handoff works
From the AI's last answer to your teammate's first reply.
- 01
The customer asks for a person
"Can I talk to someone?", "connect me with your team", or two answers in a row the AI couldn't give. The handoff starts there.
- 02
Contact details come first
On your website, the chat asks for a name and email if it doesn't have them, so nobody is lost if the customer leaves.
- 03
The chat is routed
Round-robin, least busy, or to everyone online, inside your working hours. The customer is told someone is coming.
- 04
A teammate claims it
They reply in the same thread with every earlier message on screen. The AI stays quiet until the chat is resolved.
When to hand off
Hand off on request, and when the answer isn't there.
Most frustration with chatbots comes from handing off too late: the customer asks for a person twice and gets another article. ZynfoAI hands off the first time someone asks for a person, in the everyday ways people say it, and after two questions in a row the AI couldn't answer from your content.
For the cases you decide, such as custom quotes or exceptions to your returns policy, add a Connect Live Agent step to an automation. The AI explains your policy. The exception goes to a person. The chatbot handoff and escalation guide covers how to write and test those rules.
Website and WhatsApp
The same handoff on WhatsApp, in the same inbox.
WhatsApp Business chats hand off the same way and sit next to website chats, filtered by channel. While a teammate handles a WhatsApp chat, the AI doesn't reply. Your teammate's messages go out from your business number.
WhatsApp lets you reply freely within a 24-hour customer service window after the customer's last message, so claim WhatsApp handoffs quickly. More on running WhatsApp this way in the WhatsApp AI chatbot guide.
After hours
When nobody is online, the customer still gets an answer.
Set working hours with a time zone and a weekly schedule. Outside them, or when nobody is set to Online, a customer who asks for a person sees your offline message instead of waiting on a chat nobody will open.
If ZynfoAI has their email or phone, it opens a ticket with a summary of the conversation and gives them the reference number. The AI keeps answering anything it has a source for. Tickets are covered on the AI ticketing page.
Where handoffs land
Handoff is one part of a small team's inbox.
Handed-off chats arrive in the Team Inbox, where your team also replies to live chat, leaves private notes and transfers chats. Conversation routing decides who gets each one, and chat history keeps every past conversation next to the customer. If a hot lead asks for a person, see how lead capture hands them to sales while they're still on the page.
At a glance
Everything in a ZynfoAI handoff.
- Channels
- Website chat widget and WhatsApp Business, in one inbox
- Triggers
- Customer asks for a person, two unanswered questions in a row, or an Automate "Connect Live Agent" step
- History
- Full transcript with the sources behind each AI answer, plus up to five earlier conversations
- Claiming
- Claim Session, Time to Claim recorded on every handoff
- Routing
- Round-robin (default), least busy, or broadcast to everyone online
- Hours
- Weekly schedule with a time zone, overnight shifts supported
- Offline
- Your offline message, a ticket with a reference number, and the AI keeps answering
- After
- Transfer with a note, convert to ticket, or resolve and hand the chat back to the AI
- Alerts
- In-app alert, sound and browser notification for new handoffs
- Team
- Owner, admin and agent roles. Up to 11 seats on the $99/mo plan
Common Questions
About handing chats from the AI to your team in ZynfoAI.
Who provides AI agents with human handoff?
Most AI support tools offer some kind of handoff. The useful question is what your teammate receives. In ZynfoAI, the AI answers first, and when a customer asks for a person, the chat moves to your shared inbox with the full conversation and the customer's earlier chats, on both your website and WhatsApp.
What tools support real-time handoff to a human agent with full conversation history?
ZynfoAI does, on your website and WhatsApp. When the handoff happens, the conversation stays in the same chat window for the customer. Your teammate claims it in the Team Inbox and sees every message the AI exchanged, the sources behind each AI answer, the customer's details and up to five earlier conversations.
Does chat support software support seamless agent handoffs?
Good chat software should, and it is worth testing before you buy. In ZynfoAI, the customer never leaves the chat or repeats themselves: the AI stops replying, a teammate joins in the same thread, and the AI stays paused while your teammate handles it.
What platform can use AI to answer FAQs, qualify leads and hand off to human agents in a shared inbox?
ZynfoAI covers all three in one plan. The AI answers from your website and documents, collects lead details with an in-chat form and can send them to Freshsales, and hands conversations to your team in a shared inbox for website and WhatsApp chats.
When should a chatbot hand off to a human?
Hand off when the customer asks for a person, when the answer isn't in your content, and when the request needs a decision the AI shouldn't make, such as an exception to your refund policy or a custom price. ZynfoAI hands off automatically when a customer asks for a person or when the AI can't answer twice in a row, and an automation can hand off other cases you choose. Handing off too late frustrates customers more than handing off too early.
What happens if nobody on the team is online?
Set your working hours with a time zone. Outside them, or when nobody is set to Online, the customer sees your offline message. If ZynfoAI has their email or phone, it opens a ticket and shows them the reference number. The AI keeps answering the questions it has sources for.
Does the handoff work on WhatsApp?
Yes. WhatsApp Business chats hand off the same way and land in the same inbox as website chats. While a teammate is handling the chat, the AI stays quiet, and replies go out from your business number. Reply within WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window after the customer's last message.
More features. All in one plan.
All featuresLet ZynfoAI take the first reply.
Answers on your website and WhatsApp from your own content, with your team one click away. Free for 7 days, then $99/month.