What is a hand-over?
A hand-over is when an AI agent stops replying in a conversation and passes it to a person, because the customer needs judgement, care or a decision the AI should not make.
Also called: Human handover, Handoff.
In plain words
An AI agent is good at the questions you get every day: prices, opening hours, availability, how to book. Some conversations need a person: a complaint, a refund, a medical or legal question, a big order, or a customer who simply asks for a human.
A good hand-over is quick and clear. The agent recognises the moment, tells the customer someone will pick it up, and lets you know with a short summary. Then it stays out of the conversation, so the customer does not get two voices answering at once.
You decide when hand-overs happen. Most owners write a few simple rules for their agent, such as "hand over anything about refunds" or "hand over if the customer is upset". When the person is done, the conversation can be handed back to the agent.
Telling customers they can reach a person, and making that easy, is also something several platforms ask for when automation is used.
How it works in Spaces
Spaces has tools to hand a conversation to a person on your team and to hand it back. Once a chat is handed over, Spaces keeps the agent out of it: no replies, scheduled messages or routines go there until it is handed back. If the agent tries anyway, Spaces refuses the message and says a person has taken over.
The conversation stays on your own account, so you or a colleague reply in the same chat from the app. Webhooks can tell your systems when a chat is handed over or back. You can also turn on approvals, so a reply waits for a person to approve it before it is sent.
Related terms
- AI agent: An AI agent is an AI model, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Grok, that can take actions with tools you give it, like reading a message and sending a reply, rather than only chatting.
- Routine: A routine is a rule that runs on its own, on a schedule or when something happens, such as sending a set reply when a message with a keyword arrives.
- Scheduled message: A scheduled message is a message written now and sent automatically at a set local time later, such as an appointment reminder for the morning before.
- Webhook: A webhook is a message one service sends automatically to another's web address the moment something happens, such as a new customer message arriving.
FAQ
How does the agent know when to hand over?
You tell it, in its instructions. For example: hand over complaints, refunds and anything you are not sure about.
Can the agent reply after a hand-over?
No. Spaces refuses its replies in that chat until the conversation is handed back.
Does the customer have to start a new chat?
No. The person replies in the same conversation on your own account.
Do scheduled messages still go out after a hand-over?
No. Scheduled messages and routines stay out of a handed-over chat too.
Can I hand the chat back to the agent?
Yes. When the person is done, hand it back and the agent can answer again.
Useful next: How to hand a chat from AI to a person, Handling angry customer messages, Account safety. Every term: the glossary.