--- title: "AI Escalation Rules: When Your AI Agent Hands Off | ThriveDesk" canonical: "https://www.thrivedesk.com/ai/escalation/" author: ThriveDesk description: "Set when your AI agent hands off to a person, send each conversation to the right team, and pass along a summary so customers never repeat themselves." categories: [page] --- # Decide when your AI agent hands off to your team Set clear rules for when the AI keeps going and when a person should step in. Each handoff goes to the right teammate with a summary and the work already done. [Start free trial](https://app.thrivedesk.com/auth/register) [Book a demo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/demo/) 7-day free trial · No card required Set when it hands off Build rules from conversation data like topic, sentiment and order value, or write guidance in plain words for the cases a rule can’t pin down. Send it to the right person Each handoff goes to the team that fits, by topic, brand or language. Outside working hours, Neo tells the customer when to expect a reply. Hand off with the work done Your teammate gets a private note with what the customer wants and what Neo already checked, so nobody asks the same question twice. How it works ## What a good handoff looks like Neo, ThriveDesk’s AI agent, does what it can first, then brings in the right teammate with everything it found. It follows the same [guidance](https://www.thrivedesk.com/ai/guidance/) and [skills](https://www.thrivedesk.com/ai/skills/) as the rest of its work, and a skill can end in a handoff step of its own. 1. 01 ### It does the groundwork first Neo looks up the order, checks stock or tracking and answers what it can, so the handoff starts with facts instead of questions. 2. 02 ### A rule or guidance says when Rules fire every time the conversation matches. Guidance covers the moments that are harder to pin down, like a customer who just wants a person. 3. 03 ### The right teammate picks it up The conversation goes to the team that fits, with a private note: what the customer wants, what Neo checked and what it didn’t promise. Use cases ## Six handoffs worth setting up first Rules use conversation and customer data. Guidance is a sentence or two in your own words. Change the numbers to fit your store. - Guidance ### Wants a person If a customer asks for a person, a manager or a phone call, hand off. Don’t try to talk them out of it. Hands off to · Support - Rule ### Big refunds Topic is Refund and the order total is over $200. Hands off to · Billing - Guidance ### Chargebacks and legal threats If a customer mentions a chargeback, a lawyer or a bank dispute, stop and hand off with a private note. Hands off to · Team lead - Rule ### Frustrated regulars Sentiment is Frustrated and the customer has 5 or more orders. Hands off to · Priority - Guidance ### Wholesale orders If someone asks about 20 or more of an item, or about wholesale prices, hand off to Sales. Hands off to · Sales - Rule ### Lost parcels Topic is Delivery, no tracking scan for 5 or more days, and the order total is over $150. Hands off to · Shipping Testimonials ![weDevs logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/wedevs-logo-colored.CZ1zsiJa.svg) > “ ThriveDesk is really easy to use while being super effective. I can say without a doubt that ThriveDesk is the best live chat software for small businesses. ” ![Nizam Uddin](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/nizam.B0IpOeXM.jpg)Nizam Uddin CEO, weDevs ![Brainstorm Force logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/surecart-logo.CyVpCQv8.svg) > “ The ThriveDesk team truly exceeded expectations with their exceptional work on integrating SureCart. Their dedication resulted in a powerful integration that surpassed all our requirements. ” ![Sujay Pawar](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/sujay-pawar.S_zk3sed.jpg)Sujay Pawar CEO, Brainstorm Force ![Themefisher logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/themefisher-logo.iZiIHaeu.svg) > “ As our business and list of clients grew, user classification data became vital for us. We needed to serve our premium customers first to keep our business running. ” ![Mehedi Hasan](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/mehedi.CxiVuND-.jpg)Mehedi Hasan CEO, Themefisher ![Themesgrove logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/tg_logo.mI64JEaF.png) > “ At some point, we were paying top dollar yet not all our support requirements were being met. After some digging, we found ThriveDesk. ” Mohammad Zannatun Nime Support Executive, Themesgrove ![Sigmative logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/sigmative-logo.DGIzEm09.svg) > “ I love ThriveDesk so much. It’s easy to use and user friendly — the best choice for anyone who wants to modernize a classic support system and get live chat built in. ” ![Selim Rana](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/selim-rana.CQkT8t1-.jpg)Selim Rana Founder, Sigmative Muslims Day > “ The performance of ThriveDesk is very good, and it’s intuitive. I just tried the AI chatbot — add a few knowledge base articles and it’s answering mostly correctly. ” Abdullah Al H. CEO, Muslims Day FAQ ## Questions about escalation Anything else? [Talk to us](https://www.thrivedesk.com/contact/). ### What is escalation in ThriveDesk? Escalation decides when Neo, ThriveDesk’s AI agent, hands a conversation to a person, which team gets it and what that teammate sees. You set it with rules and plain-language guidance, and Neo follows them in chat, email and every other channel it answers. ### What’s the difference between escalation rules and escalation guidance? A rule is built from conversation and customer data, like “topic is Refund and order total is over $200,” and fires every time the conversation matches. Guidance is written in plain words, like “If a customer mentions a chargeback, hand off right away,” and covers the moments that are hard to pin down with data. ### What can a rule check? The topic, sentiment and urgency Neo detects, the channel, language and brand, the customer’s segment, order count and tags, and order details from Shopify or WooCommerce, like the order total or the last tracking scan. You can combine conditions with and/or. ### Will Neo hand off when a customer asks for a person? Yes. That handoff is on from the start, and Neo doesn’t try to talk the customer out of it. You can change who gets those conversations, or what Neo says while the customer waits. ### Who gets the conversation? The team you pick for that rule or that kind of conversation, like Billing for refunds or Sales for wholesale orders. Your usual assignment rules then choose the teammate, so handoffs share the same queue as everything else. ### What happens outside working hours? Neo tells the customer when your team is back, asks for an email if it doesn’t have one, and leaves the conversation in the right team’s queue. It can keep helping with anything else the customer asks in the meantime. ### What does my teammate see? A private note at the top of the conversation: what the customer wants, what Neo already checked or did, what it didn’t promise, and the rule or guidance that sent it over. The customer’s orders and details are in the sidebar. ### Does the customer have to repeat themselves? No. The teammate sees the whole conversation and Neo’s note, so they can pick up where Neo left off. Neo also tells the customer who is coming in, so the change doesn’t feel like starting over. ### Can Neo stay out of some topics completely? Yes. Add a rule that hands those conversations off before Neo answers, like legal questions or anything about a product recall. Neo still lets the customer know a teammate is on the way. ### Can I test escalation before it goes live? Yes. Open a test chat, pick a customer and write a message. The test shows whether Neo would hand off, which rule or guidance it matched and which team it would go to. ### How do I know my rules are working? Each rule and piece of guidance shows how often it fired. If one fires too often, or a conversation reached your team that Neo could have handled, adjust the wording or the conditions and test again. ## Where handoffs happen [See all use cases](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/) - ### [Escalation manager](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/escalation-manager/) Send each escalation to the team that owns the fix, with context attached. - ### [Support triage](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/support-triage/) Tag and prioritize every ticket, then route it to the right member or team. - ### [Ticket resolver](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/ticket-resolver/) Close routine tickets and hand the rest to your team with context. - ### [Automate support](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/automate-support/) Answer routine questions on email and chat, and pass the rest to your team.