What is Human Handoff?

A human handoff is the point at which an AI agent transfers an active conversation to a human sales rep, usually because the lead has become warm, is asking complex questions, or is ready to talk price and close. A good handoff passes full context — the conversation history, qualification notes, and the reason for escalation — so the rep can pick up seamlessly.

Handoffs are what let AI and humans divide the work sensibly: the AI handles high-volume first touches and qualification, then routes only the conversations worth a human's time into a handoff queue. This keeps reps focused on closing rather than chasing.

Well-designed platforms let you set explicit handoff triggers — a positive reply, a pricing question, a booked meeting — and alert the assigned rep in real time.