Human handoff
The transfer of a conversation from an AI agent to a person, triggered by topic, repeated failure to resolve, negative sentiment or an explicit customer request.
One term from the WhatsApp Business Platform glossary. Last updated 2026-07-25.
Handoff rules define the boundary of what an agent is allowed to attempt. Common triggers are sensitive topics such as refunds and complaints, two failed resolution attempts, detected frustration, or the customer simply asking for a human.
A good handoff passes context with it. The agent taking over should see the conversation summary and what has already been tried, rather than starting from a blank thread and asking the customer to repeat themselves.
Related terms
- Chatbot
- Software that holds an automated conversation with a customer. On WhatsApp it ranges from simple keyword rules to an AI agent that understands open-ended questions.
- Hallucination
- An AI model producing a confident but unsupported answer. In customer messaging it looks like an invented policy, price or delivery promise.
- Shared inbox
- One WhatsApp inbox worked by a whole team, with assignment so each conversation has a clear owner and presence indicators so two agents do not answer the same customer.
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