Operator handoff

When the agent can’t answer or the customer asks for a human, the conversation is escalated (automatically or manually) to a human operator. The AI steps aside so the operator can reply directly.

When does handoff happen?

• Keyword match: when the customer’s message contains one of the handoff keywords (e.g. “agent”, “human support”).
• Repeated fallbacks: when the agent has answered with the fallback message three times in a row.
• Manual: the operator clicks “Hand off to operator” in the conversation panel.

Configure the operator Telegram bot

To receive handoff alerts in Telegram, create a bot via @BotFather, get your chat_id from @userinfobot, and enter them under “Settings → Operator Telegram bot”. Vigent registers the webhook automatically.

1. 1Message @BotFather in Telegram and run /newbot.
2. 2Copy the bot token and paste it into the Vigent panel.
3. 3Message @userinfobot to get your chat_id.
4. 4Save the chat_id and click “Test connection”.

What you see in the conversation panel

When a conversation is handed off, a “🔔 Operator handoff” banner appears at the top of the thread with the reason and timestamp. Below it you’ll see the customer snapshot (name, phone, channel, agent) and a conversation summary so you can triage without reading the whole history.

How to reply

• From the Vigent panel: fill the “Operator reply” box and hit send. The message is pushed to the customer on their original channel.
• From Telegram: reply to the alert message and type your answer. Vigent routes it back to the customer.

Tips for improvement

• Keep handoff keywords up to date so they cover the common ways customers ask for a human.
• Monitor the open handoff alerts queue and resolve stale ones.
• Enable customer identification (name + phone) on web channels so the operator has enough context.