AI handles most questions brilliantly. But some situations need a human touch — a complex complaint, a high-value deal, or a customer who's simply frustrated and needs empathy, not automation. Chatsloop's live chat handoff lets you move seamlessly between AI and human agents without the customer ever having to repeat themselves.
How the Handoff System Works
- 1.The AI chatbot handles the conversation as normal
- 2.When escalation is needed, the chatbot notifies your agents
- 3.An agent accepts the conversation in the agent portal
- 4.The agent takes over — the conversation history is fully visible
- 5.When resolved, the session closes and the AI can take over again
The visitor sees a continuous thread. There's no clunky "transfer to agent" that loses context.
Setting Up Agents
Step 1: Invite Your Team
Go to Agents in your dashboard and click Invite Agent. Enter their email address and they'll receive an invitation to set up their agent account.
Each plan includes a set number of agent seats:
- →Starter: 1 agent
- →Pro: 3 agents
- →Business: unlimited agents
Step 2: Configure Agent Schedules
Set each agent's availability hours so the system knows when they're online. Go to Agents → [Agent Name] → Schedule and set working hours per day.
Step 3: Enable Handoff Triggers
Under Features → Live Chat, configure when the chatbot offers to connect a visitor with an agent:
- →Visitor requests it — "Can I speak to someone?"
- →Chatbot can't answer — when the AI has low confidence
- →After N failed answers — configurable threshold
- →High-value trigger — when specific keywords appear (e.g., "enterprise," "contract," "complaint")
Step 4: Set Agent Notification
Agents receive a browser notification and sound alert when a new conversation needs attention. They can see all waiting conversations in their agent portal at /agent.
The Agent Portal
The agent portal gives your team:
- →Live conversation list — see all active and waiting sessions
- →Full chat history — every message the visitor sent to the AI
- →Visitor info panel — location, device, pages visited, lead score
- →Typing indicators — see when the visitor is typing
- →Quick reply templates — save common responses for speed
- →Email compose — send a follow-up email directly from the portal
Handling After-Hours Requests
When no agents are available, the chatbot can:
- →Collect the visitor's email and send a message when an agent is free
- →Offer to book a callback appointment
- →Answer from its knowledge base and flag for follow-up
Configure this under Live Chat → Offline Behaviour.
Best Practices
Keep handoff fast. Visitors who wait more than 2 minutes for an agent often leave. Ensure your team responds promptly during working hours.
Brief your agents. They should understand they're receiving pre-qualified, context-rich conversations — not cold calls. Encourage them to read the history before responding.
Review escalation logs. If the same question keeps triggering handoff, that's a gap in your chatbot's knowledge. Add a Q&A pair to handle it automatically next time.
Live chat handoff gives you the best of both worlds: AI efficiency at scale, with human expertise when it truly matters.
