What is chatbot human handoff?
Human handoff, also called human takeover or chatbot-to-live-agent transfer, is the moment a chatbot stops answering and a person on your team takes over. A chatbot without it leaves customers stuck when a question needs judgement, a complaint needs care, or the answer simply isn't in your knowledge.
In Gydr, handover is built in on every plan, including Free. You connect the help desk your team already uses, and Gydr decides when to offer a person and passes the chat across.
When does the chatbot hand over to a person?
Gydr offers a person in three situations: when the customer asks for one, when they sound frustrated, and when several answers in a row haven't helped or they keep repeating the same message. Asking for a person doesn't end the chat; the customer stays in the conversation.
The offer is a simple yes or no. If the customer says no, Gydr carries on answering and backs off for a while rather than asking again on the next message. You can turn the automatic offer off per chatbot; customers can still ask for a person.
Live Support or Ticket: the two handover modes
Each connected desk can take one mode or both, depending on what the desk supports.
| What happens | Live Support | Ticket |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | A live chat opens on your desk and your agent replies into the same conversation | A ticket is filed on your desk and your agent replies by email |
| What the agent sees | The conversation so far | A short summary the customer reviewed, and their email |
| The chatbot afterwards | Stays quiet while your agent has the chat | Keeps answering other questions |
| Best for | Hours when your team is online | Out of hours, or when no one is free |
Does the chatbot check that an agent is online?
Yes, on desks that support it. Before Gydr promises a person on a live desk, it checks whether someone is available right now. If someone is, the chat is passed across. If no one is, Gydr does not pretend otherwise.
What happens next depends on your set-up. A desk that also takes tickets, such as Zendesk or a Custom Desk, can file a ticket instead: the customer confirms their email and a short summary of their request, then chooses Send, Edit or Cancel. Each desk can also carry contact details, such as an email address, phone number or website, which are shown when no one on that desk is free. If no desk is connected at all, the customer is told plainly that no one is available.
Which help desks can the chatbot hand over to?
Live today:
- Zanroo Desk: live chats, with the desk seeing the conversation from the first message.
- CRMeja: live chats that open inside your WordPress dashboard.
- Zendesk: live chats through Zendesk Messaging (which needs Zendesk Suite Professional or above), tickets, or both.
- Custom Desk: live chats and tickets on any help desk your developer connects using Gydr's published contract.
- Coming soon: Freshchat, LiveChat and Intercom.
Does handover work on WhatsApp and other channels?
Yes. The same handover works on your website chat and on WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Telegram. On a messaging app, your agent's replies come back into the same thread the customer is already using, and the handover messages appear in the customer's language. A ticket can be filed from those channels too, with the same email and summary confirmation.
Common questions
Yes. Gydr passes the conversation to a person on your connected help desk as a live chat, with the conversation so far attached, or files a ticket when no one is free.
Yes. A live chat arrives with the conversation so far, and a ticket arrives with a summary the customer has reviewed, so nobody has to repeat themselves.
No. While your agent has a live chat, Gydr stays quiet. One voice at a time.
On a live desk Gydr checks availability first. If no one is free, it can file a ticket on a desk that takes tickets, show the contact details you set for that desk, or tell the customer no one is available.
To pass chats to a person, yes: connect Zanroo Desk, CRMeja, Zendesk or a Custom Desk. Without one, you can still collect a customer's details in the chat with a Data Form and follow up yourself.
Help desk handover is included on every plan: Free, Starter, Growth and Scale.