How do I hand a conversation from AI to my team?

Handing off from AI to your team is intentional and simple: when a human sends a customer-visible message, Simple Chat treats that as takeover—the AI steps back and your staff owns the thread.

You can also control AI participation per conversation without waiting for a mistake to happen.

Take over by replying (fastest path)

This is the default escalation merchants use most often:

1. Open the conversation in the merchant dashboard.
2. Read the AI and customer messages so you know what was already promised.
3. Compose a reply that the customer will see (not an internal-only note).
4. Send the message.

Once a staff member sends that customer-visible reply, the AI disengages from driving the conversation forward and your team is in control. The customer experiences a seamless handoff— they continue in the same thread without starting over.

Use internal notes when you need to coordinate with teammates without changing who owns the customer-facing reply.

Toggle AI on or off for a conversation

For cases where you want control before sending a public message, you can manually toggle AI on or off for any conversation from the dashboard.

Typical reasons to turn AI off include:

• Sensitive complaints, refunds, or exceptions that require human judgment.
• Situations where the customer explicitly asked for a person.
• Policy-heavy questions where you want a scripted human answer.

Turning AI back on can make sense when the issue is routine again and you want automation to resume follow-ups—use your team’s standards for when that is appropriate.

How this fits your workflow

Handoffs work alongside inbox sections:

• Conversations in Monitoring may still need a human if the AI’s follow-up is not enough.
• Threads in Open are often already waiting for staff; sending a reply assigns human ownership in practice.
• After resolution, move through your normal close process so reporting and analytics reflect staff-handled outcomes.

The goal is predictable control: automation handles scale, and your team takes the wheel the moment you choose—either by messaging the customer or flipping AI off for that thread.

Coaching and quality after a handoff

After your team takes over, keep using the same conversation view to maintain quality:

1. Scan earlier AI messages before replying so you do not contradict a refund amount, shipping promise, or product detail the automation already stated.
2. Leave internal notes summarizing what changed when you override the AI, so the next agent on shift understands the decision.
3. Review AI close recommendations when the AI suggested ending the ticket—validate if the issue is truly solved or reject and continue with a human-owned resolution.
4. Close the conversation when finished so Analytics and Reports classify the outcome as staff-resolved rather than leaving it in an ambiguous state.

Clear handoffs protect customer trust: shoppers should feel one continuous support experience even when automation stepped back and your team finished the job.