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

Reply to the customer. That's the handoff: as soon as a staff member sends a customer-visible message, Simple Chat treats it as a takeover, the AI steps back from driving the conversation, and your team owns the thread. The customer continues in the same thread without starting over.

For completeness, the steps:

1. Open the conversation in the dashboard.
2. Read the AI and customer messages so you know what's already been promised.
3. Write a reply the customer will see, not an internal-only note.
4. Send it.

Internal notes are for coordinating with teammates; they don't change who owns the customer-facing reply.

Turning AI off before you reply

You can also toggle AI on or off for any conversation from the dashboard, useful when you want control before sending anything public. The usual reasons to switch it off: sensitive complaints, refunds, or exceptions that need human judgment; a customer who explicitly asked for a person; policy-heavy questions where you want a scripted human answer. Turn it back on when the issue is routine again and you want automated follow-ups to resume, using your team's standards for when that's appropriate.

After you take over

Scan the earlier AI messages before replying so you don't contradict a refund amount, shipping promise, or product detail the automation already stated. When you override the AI, leave an internal note summarizing what changed, so the next agent on shift understands the decision. If the AI recommended closing the ticket, review that recommendation: accept it if the issue is truly solved, keep working the thread if not. Then close the conversation when finished so Analytics and Reports classify the outcome as staff-resolved instead of leaving it ambiguous.

Handoffs fit the inbox sections you'd expect. Threads in Monitoring may still need a human when automated follow-up isn't enough, and threads in Open are often already waiting for staff; sending a reply is what assigns human ownership in practice. Done consistently, the shopper experiences one continuous conversation even though automation stepped back partway through.