Human Handoff

Seamlessly transfer conversations from AI to human agents.

When to Handoff

The AI knows when to escalate:

• User explicitly requests human help
• AI confidence is low
• Complaint or negative sentiment detected
• Complex technical issue
• High-value lead requiring personal attention

Configuration

Handoff Triggers

In Settings → Human Handoff:

• User request: "I want to talk to a human"
• Low confidence: AI unsure how to respond
• Negative sentiment: User is frustrated
• Keywords: Custom trigger words
• After X failed attempts: Repeated misunderstandings

Availability

Set your team's availability:

{
  "availability": {
    "timezone": "Europe/Bucharest",
    "hours": {
      "monday": { "start": "09:00", "end": "18:00" },
      "tuesday": { "start": "09:00", "end": "18:00" },
      // ...
    }
  },
  "offline_message": "Our team is currently offline. Leave your contact info and we'll get back to you!"
}

Handoff Flow

1. Trigger detected - AI recognizes need for human
2. Notification sent - Team alerted via email/push/WhatsApp
3. Context shared - Human sees full conversation history
4. Handoff message - User informed they're being transferred
5. Human responds - Conversation continues in dashboard

Notifications

When handoff is requested:

Email

Subject: 🙋 Human Handoff Requested

A visitor has requested to speak with a human.

Visitor: john@example.com
Reason: "I have a complex question about enterprise pricing"
Conversation: https://app.catyai.io/conversations/xxx

Last 3 messages:
- User: I need custom integrations
- AI: I can help with basic integrations...
- User: No, I need to talk to someone

WhatsApp

🙋 Human Handoff Request

From: john@example.com
Reason: Complex question
View: app.catyai.io/c/xxx

Live Chat Mode

Once handed off:

1. Open conversation in dashboard
2. Click Take Over
3. Type responses directly
4. AI is paused for this conversation
5. Click Return to AI when done

Offline Handling

When no humans are available:

• Collect visitor's contact info
• Promise callback within X hours
• Send notification when team is back online
• AI can continue handling simple queries

Best Practices

1. Set realistic expectations - Tell users wait times
2. Respond quickly - Don't keep visitors waiting
3. Review AI's summary - Understand context before jumping in
4. Return to AI gracefully - Let users know when you're done
5. Track handoff reasons - Improve AI to reduce handoffs