Hand a chat to a person
Hand-over lets a person on your team take a conversation over from your AI agent. Once a chat is handed over, the agent stays out of it, with no replies, scheduled messages or routines there, until someone hands it back.
What it does
Hand-over moves one conversation from your AI agent to a person, and keeps the agent out of it until it is handed back.
Customer on WhatsApp: This is the second time my order arrived damaged. I would like to speak to a person, please.
Your AI agent: I am sorry about that. I have passed your message to Amira on our team, and she will reply here shortly.
Amira, from your team: Hi, Amira here. I am sorry about the damaged order. I am sending a replacement today and I will message you the tracking link.
When to hand a chat over
An AI agent is good at the questions that come up every day. Some conversations need a person: an upset customer, a complaint, a refund, anything personal or anything you would rather answer yourself. Hand-over makes the change clean, so the customer never gets two answers at once.
You decide when it happens. Tell your agent which topics to pass on, or hand a chat over yourself whenever you want to step in.
What changes once a chat is handed over
The chat is marked as handed over, and your agent stays out of it. If the agent tries to reply there, Spaces refuses and nothing is sent. Scheduled messages and routines leave that chat alone too.
You can ask your agent for a list of the chats that are with a person, so nothing is forgotten. If your other tools need to know, Spaces can send them an event when a chat is handed over or handed back.
Handing it back
When the person is done, they hand the chat back and your agent can answer there again. Some owners hand chats back at the end of the day; others leave a chat with a person for good. Both work.
You can also give a chat an owner on your team without handing it over. That records who looks after it while your agent keeps helping.
How to use it with your AI agent
- Connect your accounts. In your Spaces dashboard, connect the accounts you already use. WhatsApp links with a QR code, the same way you would link WhatsApp on a computer. Instagram, LinkedIn, Messenger, X and email connect by signing in through a secure link.
- Add Spaces to your AI agent. Add Spaces to the AI agent you already use, such as Claude Code, Claude, Cursor, Codex, ChatGPT, Grok, OpenClaw and Hermes. Each one has a short setup page, and most sign in through the browser with no code to copy.
- Tell your agent when to hand over. Write down the topics that should go to a person, such as complaints, refunds or anything about health or money, and who should take them.
- Hand back when done. When the conversation is finished, ask your agent to hand it back, or leave it with your team.
Things you can say to your agent:
- “Hand any chat about a refund to Amira.”
- “Which chats are with a person right now?”
- “I will answer the Instagram chat with Leo myself. Hand it to me.”
- “Hand the WhatsApp chat with Priya back to the agent.”
Setup for each AI agent is on Connect your AI agent.
Which channels support it
- WhatsApp: Any chat can be handed over and back.
- Instagram: Any DM conversation.
- LinkedIn: Any message conversation.
- Messenger: Any chat.
- X: Any direct message conversation.
- iMessage: Coming soon, on a dedicated business number Spaces sets up for you.
Email accounts have threads rather than chats, so hand-over applies to the chat channels.
Limits that apply
- Handing a chat over or back sends nothing, so it uses none of the account’s limits.
- While a chat is handed over, any reply from your agent there is refused and nothing is sent.
- Messages your team sends through Spaces follow the same per-account limits as any other message.
Every channel’s limits are on sending limits, and how Spaces protects accounts is on account safety.
FAQ
What is human hand-over?
It is moving a conversation from your AI agent to a person on your team. With Spaces, the agent then stays out of that chat until it is handed back.
Will the customer get two answers at once?
No. Once the chat is handed over, the agent cannot reply there, and scheduled messages and routines stay out of it too.
How does my agent know when to hand over?
You tell it, in plain words. List the topics that need a person and who should take them, and the agent hands those chats over.
Can I see which chats are with a person?
Yes. Your agent can list the chats that are handed over, so none is forgotten.
Does the agent come back on its own?
No. The agent stays out until someone hands the chat back.
Does hand-over work on email?
Email accounts have threads rather than chats, so hand-over is for WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn, Messenger and X.
Try it with your own accounts
Connect an account, add Spaces to your AI agent and try hand-over today. Every plan starts with a trial. No card needed.
Read more
- How to hand a chat from your AI agent to a person
- What is human handover?
- How to answer an angry customer message
- Pause and approvals
Other features: One inbox, Scheduled messages, Auto-replies, Comment-to-DM, Pause and approvals, Follow-ups, Safe sending.