You can step into any active conversation and take over from Convi — for example when a shopper asks something sensitive, when the AI gets stuck, or when you want to add a personal touch. This article walks through how handover works, both manual (you click a button) and automatic (Convi escalates on its own).
In this article
The two flavours of handover
Manually handing over
What changes when you take over
Replying as the human
Handing the conversation back to the AI
Resolving a conversation
Automatic handover (the Handover to human ability)
Notifications and integrations
A few practical notes
The two flavours of handover
There are two ways a conversation ends up with a human:
Manual handover — you click Hand over on a conversation in the Conversations inbox.
Automatic handover — the Handover to human ability is enabled and Convi escalates on its own (e.g. the shopper asks for a human, or hits a scenario you've defined).
Either way, the result is the same: the AI stops replying, and the conversation is waiting for you.
ℹ️ Note: Manual handover is plan-gated by the Handover to human ability permission. If you don't have it on your plan, the Hand over button shows a lock icon and opens an upgrade modal when clicked.
Manually handing over
Open the conversation in Conversations.
In the session header (above the transcript), click Hand over.
The chat status updates immediately — the AI stops responding, and a banner appears: "The chat hand-overed to you. Feel free to share your own suggestions or ideas beyond the AI's input."
The conversation now shows the Needs you badge in the inbox list so other teammates can see it's been claimed.
What changes when you take over
The Send input bar appears at the bottom of the transcript (it's hidden while the AI is driving).
The chat list shows the Needs you badge on the session.
The shopper's widget shows that they're now talking to a human (the assistant doesn't pretend to be one).
New messages from the shopper come in real time via WebSocket — no refresh needed.
Replying as the human
While in human mode:
Type your reply in the bottom text field. Multi-line is supported (Shift+Enter for a new line).
Click Send (or press Enter).
Your message appears as a Human message in the transcript.
Your messages are saved with the conversation and shown in the same Sources/Details view as the rest of the transcript.
Handing the conversation back to the AI
When you're done responding and want the AI to pick up where you left off:
Click Give back to AI in the session header.
The banner disappears, the reply input is hidden, and the AI resumes responding on the shopper's next message.
You can hand back and forth as many times as you want.
Resolving a conversation
When the shopper's issue is closed out:
Click Resolve in the session header (available while the session is Open).
The session moves to the Resolved tab. The chat list updates to show the Resolved badge.
A resolved session can still be re-opened by the shopper sending another message — at which point it goes back to Open with whoever is currently in charge (AI or human).
Automatic handover (the Handover to human ability)
If you've enabled Handover to human under Train → Abilities, Convi will escalate on its own when one of your scenarios fires. The ability has two Handover behavior modes:
Automate — "Pause the chat, hand over to an admin, and notify the user via email when admin joins." The AI stops replying immediately and the conversation flips to human mode.
Semi-automate — "Keep the AI chatting and email the admin to decide whether to hand over." The AI continues responding while you decide. This is useful when you want a human safety net without pausing the conversation.
You can also define Handover scenarios — short instructions describing when to escalate (e.g. "Frustrated customers", "Refund requests over $200", "Sensitive complaints").
💡 Tip: Before enabling Automate handover, configure the handover email recipient under Settings → Notifications so notifications reach the right inbox.
Notifications and integrations
When a handover happens (manual or automatic), Convi can:
Email the admin — "Customer needs your help" / "You have a new conversation from {name}." Configure the recipient in Settings → Notifications.
Create a Gorgias ticket — if you've connected Gorgias under Settings → Integrations, the handover opens a Gorgias ticket with the full transcript.
Create a Zendesk ticket — same for Zendesk if connected.
Create an Intercom conversation — same for Intercom if connected.
The integrations are mutually compatible — you can connect more than one helpdesk if you have them.
A few practical notes
Handed-over conversations do not count toward your AI resolution quota. A conversation that escalates is not an AI resolution, regardless of how many AI replies it had before handover.
The shopper sees that they're talking to a human. The assistant doesn't pretend.
You can take over an already-resolved conversation by clicking Hand over if the shopper messages again and you want to address it personally.
Real-time updates use WebSocket. You don't need to refresh — incoming shopper messages arrive on the active session immediately.