Chatbots
Human handoff
Let a visitor move from the chatbot to a person, using a contact-options card or a live chat tool you already run.
Handoff means the agent offers a way to reach a person when it cannot help. FlowHunt does not have its own agent inbox. The handoff steps connect the visitor to a tool you already use, or show contact details.
What is available#
You add one of the Human Assist steps to your agent. Each shows a button or a card in the chat.
| Step | What the visitor gets |
|---|---|
| Contact Human Assist | A card with buttons to email, call, visit a web page or open a map address. |
| LiveAgent Human Assist | A button that opens a LiveAgent chat. |
| LiveChat Human Assist | A button that opens a LiveChat chat. |
| HubSpot Human Assist | A button that opens a HubSpot chat. |
| FreshChat Human Assist | A button that opens a Freshchat chat. |
| Smartsupp Human Assist | A button that opens a Smartsupp chat. |
| Tawk Human Assist | A button that opens a Tawk.to chat. |
For the chat tools you need an account with that provider. The step asks for the identifier the provider gives you: a LiveChat license key, a HubSpot or Freshchat script URL, a Smartsupp key, a Tawk.to embed URL, or a LiveAgent button ID and URL.
Set it up#
Add the step to your agent
Add a Human Assist step to the agent as a tool. See Agent tools. The tool tells the agent to use it when it cannot answer, is unsure, or lacks enough evidence in its context.
Fill in the provider details
Enter the key or URL for your provider. Change Button Text if you want something other than Contact Support.
Tell the agent when to use it
In the agent’s instructions, say which situations should lead to a person, for example refund requests or a visitor who asks for one.
Test it
Chat with the agent and trigger the situation. Check the button appears and the provider chat opens.
What happens when the visitor clicks#
For the chat providers, clicking the button closes the FlowHunt chatbot window and opens the provider’s chat. The Contact Human Assist card opens a mail, phone, web or map link instead.
Some steps that hand a conversation to a helpdesk can close the session. When one does, the visitor can no longer type. The chat shows Your conversation has ended and A human agent is now handling your request. with a Start a conversation button for a new chat.
The chat steps have an Include Link to Chat History option, which passes a link to that session in FlowHunt History to your support tool, so your team can read what the agent already said. LiveAgent also accepts custom fields to set on the visitor, and a Conversation Summary to add as a note on the ticket. LiveAgent has a Hide Start Chat Button option as well, which starts the transfer without a button.
The Contact Human Assist step needs at least one of Email, Phone or Url, otherwise it fails. An address on its own is not enough.
Tracking handoffs#
When the agent invokes a Human Assist step, FlowHunt marks the session as escalated, whether or not the visitor clicks the button. In Chat history, an escalated session has an Escalated mark with the tooltip “This conversation was handed off to a human agent”. You can filter for Escalated and Not escalated, and the metrics show the escalation total.
What FlowHunt does not do
FlowHunt does not show your team a queue of waiting visitors, and it does not route a conversation to a named person. The person who takes over works in LiveAgent, LiveChat or the tool you connected. Keep that tool staffed during the hours you promise.
Next steps#
Review escalated sessions in Chat history to find questions the agent should handle itself, then improve its knowledge sources.