> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.chatnorris.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Live chat and handoff to an agent > How to receive a conversation transferred by the AI agent and help the customer in real time. # Live chat and handoff to an agent When the AI agent detects that a request needs a person, it transfers the conversation to your team. This process is called **handoff**. From that moment the bot stops replying and the conversation waits for someone on the team to handle it. ## When does the agent transfer? The agent decides the handoff based on what you configure in the **Human Handoff** action (`My agents → [your agent] → Actions → Human Handoff`): * **When to use** — free text that tells the agent when it should transfer (which topics or situations, or whether it should try to resolve first). * **Information to Gather** — details the agent should get from the visitor before transferring, so your team has context as soon as they open the conversation. * **Team that receives the handoff** — optional: routes handoffs to one of the agent's [teams](https://docs.chatnorris.ai/en/guias/equipo.md#teams-per-agent). Its members and the Owners/Admins get the alert, and only they can take the conversation. Without a team, anyone can take it. * **Business hours** — optional: outside business hours the agent doesn't transfer; it shares the business hours, tries to resolve the request and asks for contact details so the team can reply later. * **First reply target** — the reference time for alerting if nobody handles the handoff (see below). The agent also evaluates the context of the conversation: if it offered to connect the visitor with the team and the visitor replies "yes", it transfers. Words like "salesperson", "executive" or "advisor" count as a request to talk to a person. On the other hand, if the visitor asks to open a support ticket or case and the agent has an active ticket action, it creates the ticket instead of transferring. See the full guide in [Agent actions](https://docs.chatnorris.ai/en/guias/acciones.md#human-handoff). > [!NOTE] > > The handoff is always started by the AI agent. If you want to handle a conversation the bot is still managing, you can reply to it directly or assign it to yourself from the **Details** panel (see below). ## Get the handoff alert When a handoff happens: 1. A notification appears in the portal's bell, along with a pop-up alert. 2. In the **Conversations** list, the conversation is marked as **Waiting for agent**. 3. If you have push notifications turned on (in the browser or in [ChatNorris Inbox](https://docs.chatnorris.ai/en/guias/chatnorris-inbox.md) on your phone), you get an alert on your device even if the portal isn't in the foreground. 4. If the event has the **Email** channel turned on, an email arrives too. 5. If nobody replies within the first reply target, ChatNorris alerts again ([unattended handoff](https://docs.chatnorris.ai/en/guias/notificaciones.md#unattended-handoff)). If the conversation has a team, alerts go only to its members and to the Owners/Admins. Which channels are used for each event is configured in [Notifications](https://docs.chatnorris.ai/en/guias/notificaciones.md). ![TODO: screenshot of the handoff pop-up alert and the conversation marked as Waiting for agent](https://mintcdn.com/chatnorris/ZDI7XDUx4trolmkJ/images/PLACEHOLDER-notificacion-handoff.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=ZDI7XDUx4trolmkJ\&q=85\&s=6c4daf28f356a2fec114c920e295b187) ## Handle a transferred conversation **1. Find the conversations waiting for a person** In the side menu, click **Conversations**, open **Filters** and turn on **Needs agent intervention**. You'll see only the open conversations waiting for someone on the team. To handle the most important ones first, sort by **Priority**. **2. Open the conversation and read the summary** You'll see the message history and, above the thread, the AI-generated **Handoff summary** with the most relevant points. **3. Reply to the visitor** Type in the field at the bottom and press Enter (or **Send**). Your first reply takes the conversation: if nobody had it assigned, it's assigned to you and switches to **Human** mode. Messages reach the visitor in real time. You can also take it or assign it to someone else without writing, by choosing someone in **Assigned agent** in the **Details** panel. If the conversation has a [team](https://docs.chatnorris.ai/en/guias/equipo.md#teams-per-agent) you're not part of, you can see it, but only its members and the Owners/Admins can take it, assign it or reply. If the customer sends you a voice note while you're helping them, you see it with a player and the transcription below, so you can read it without listening. See [Voice notes](https://docs.chatnorris.ai/en/guias/canales-whatsapp-instagram.md#voice-notes). ![TODO: screenshot of the conversation thread with the reply field](https://mintlify.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/chatnorris/images/PLACEHOLDER-agente-chat.png) **4. Resolve or close the conversation** When the request is resolved, use the check icon to mark it as **Resolved**, or change its **Status** to **Closed** in the **Details** panel. A closed conversation no longer accepts replies. ### From your phone With [ChatNorris Inbox](https://docs.chatnorris.ai/en/guias/chatnorris-inbox.md) installed on your phone you see the conversations waiting for a person in the **Waiting** tab, take them with **Take** and reply from there. You also get a push for every new message from the visitor while the conversation stays in human mode. ## Handoff summary When the agent transfers a conversation, the AI generates a **summary** with the most relevant points and the visitor's confirmed contact details. You'll see it above the thread when you open the conversation. > [!TIP] > > Read the summary before writing to the visitor. It saves you from reading the whole history and lets you reply with context from the first message. ## Turn on push notifications So you don't miss any handoff: 1. Open the portal's bell and turn on push notifications in this browser. 2. When the browser's permission request appears, click **Allow**. 3. If you blocked the permission, enable notifications for `chatnorris.ai` from your browser settings. 4. To handle conversations from your phone, install [ChatNorris Inbox](https://docs.chatnorris.ai/en/guias/chatnorris-inbox.md). > [!NOTE] > > Push notifications work even if the portal is in the background, as long as the browser is open. ## Frequently asked questions > [accordion] Can more than one person handle the same conversation? > > The conversation is assigned to a single person: the first one to reply or the one chosen in **Assigned agent**. You can reassign it at any time from the **Details** panel. If the conversation has a team, only its members and the Owners/Admins can reply. > [accordion] Does the bot reply again after the conversation is closed? > > Not in that conversation: once closed, it no longer accepts replies. If the same visitor writes again, a new conversation is created and the bot handles it from the start. > [accordion] Does the visitor know they're talking to a person? > > Yes. In the web widget, the header shows that an agent is connected and your team's messages are shown as agent messages, different from the bot's. > [accordion] What happens if nobody handles a handoff? > > The conversation keeps waiting for a person and the bot doesn't reply. If nobody replies within the **First reply target**, ChatNorris alerts again ([unattended handoff](https://docs.chatnorris.ai/en/guias/notificaciones.md#unattended-handoff)). If the conversation goes past the channel's inactivity time without activity, it closes on its own, like any other conversation. > [accordion] Can I see who handled each conversation? > > Yes. The **Details** panel shows the **Assigned agent**, and the **Participants** section lists everyone on the team who took part. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.