Guide · Updated
When should AI customer support hand over to a person?
An AI support agent should finish the conversations that have a clear answer in your data or policy: order tracking, status, returns within policy, and FAQs. It should hand over to a person when the customer asks for one, when the issue needs a judgement call or an exception to policy, when money or account changes are involved beyond set limits, or when the customer is clearly upset. Every handover should carry the full conversation and the customer's history, so the person picks up where the agent stopped and nobody asks the customer to start again.
What the agent should finish on its own
- Where is my order, and when will it arrive
- Returns and exchanges that fall inside policy
- Account, invoice and payment status
- Product and policy questions with a documented answer
When to hand over
| Trigger | Why |
|---|---|
| Customer asks for a person | Always honoured, never argued with |
| Exception to policy | Needs someone with authority to decide |
| Refunds or changes above a set limit | Risk sits with the business, not the agent |
| Repeated complaint or clear frustration | The relationship matters more than the ticket |
| No confident answer | A wrong answer costs more than a short wait |
How to hand over well
Pass the conversation, the customer's order and contact history, and a one-line summary of what is needed. Tell the customer a person is taking over and roughly when. The worst handover is the one where the customer has to explain everything again.
One memory across channels
Customers move between WhatsApp, Instagram, email and calls. If each channel has its own history, every switch is a fresh start. One customer record across channels lets the agent and the person both see the whole story.
Frequently asked questions
- Can customers always reach a person?
- They should. Asking for a person should be an immediate handover trigger.
- What should the agent never do on its own?
- Make exceptions to policy or approve refunds and account changes beyond the limits the business has set.