Human handoff

Human handoff, also called escalation, is how an AI receptionist or chatbot passes a conversation to a member of your team. It is a design decision, not a failure. Every customer-facing AI needs clear rules for when a person takes over and how.

When to hand off

Common triggers:

• The customer asks for a person.
• The request is outside the assistant's scope, or the answer is not in its sources.
• The situation is urgent, emotional or high value.
• The topic needs professional judgment, such as medical, legal or financial advice.
• The assistant has misunderstood the customer more than once.

How it works

The method depends on the channel and the hour. On a call, a warm transfer connects the caller to a staff member, who first sees or hears a short summary. In chat, a person takes over the same thread. After hours, the assistant creates a task with a callback time and tells the customer when to expect contact.

The handoff should carry the customer's name and contact details, the reason for contact, what the assistant has already answered, and a transcript or summary. Without that context, customers repeat themselves and the value of the first conversation is lost.

What to measure

Track how often conversations are handed off, how long customers wait for a person, and whether handed-off issues get resolved. A rising handoff rate often points to gaps in the assistant's knowledge.

How it relates to Worcia

Handoff rules are part of setting up Concierge, Worcia's AI receptionist. See the use case Human handoff with context.