AI Agent — Handoff to a Team Member
Configure triggers so your AI agent automatically transfers a conversation to a human team member when needed.
Overview
The Handoff feature lets your AI agent automatically transfer a conversation to a human team member. You can define exactly when this happens — for example when a customer explicitly asks to speak to a person, or after a set number of unanswered messages.
How to Set Up Handoff
- Go to AI Agents and open your agent.
- Click Handoff in the left sidebar.
- Toggle "Hand off outside business hours" if you want conversations forwarded automatically when no one is available.
- Click + to add a handoff trigger.
- Configure the trigger phrase and choose the team member or team to assign to.
Business Hours vs. Outside Business Hours
Bugalou shows two response previews:
- During business hours — the agent bridges to a team member immediately.
- Outside business hours — the agent informs the customer that no one is available and asks them to try again the next business day.
Auto-Forward After Unanswered Messages
You can also set the agent to hand off a conversation after a certain number of messages have gone unanswered by a team member. Configure this at the bottom of the Handoff page.
Tips
- Keep the handoff message short and friendly — the customer should feel reassured.
- Set up business hours under Settings → Business Hours so Bugalou knows when team members are available.
- You can combine handoff triggers with automations for more advanced routing.