A user may reach the end of a claim lookup and still ask for a representative. Handoff transfers the interaction from a chatbot to a human agent when the user requests help or the bot cannot complete the task. The transfer should help the agent continue the work, not make the user start over. section 8.1.2 section 12.0
Choose the next step according to what went wrong:
- Retry when an input is incomplete, but do not repeat the same confusing question indefinitely. Users may request an agent before the bot reaches its retry limit. section 8.2.5 section 11.1.2
- Offer another route when one is available, such as looking up an account by phone number after an account-number lookup fails. section 8.2.5
- Hand off when retries cannot help, such as during a backend outage that requires manual processing. section 8.2.5
A transfer need not mean the bot failed: some business processes intentionally send users to humans. By contrast, escalation after repeated misunderstanding can signal a problem. Track these outcomes separately, then inspect where escalations occur. A spike at a particular question may point to wording or response formats that need improvement. section 3.3.2 section 3.4.1
A transfer that preserves progress
After supplying claim details and receiving a payment result, a user says, “representative.” A blind transfer would force the user to repeat those details; sending only the full transcript would make the agent search while the user waits. A targeted conversation summary lets the agent see what was requested and accomplished and pick up promptly. section 12.1.1 section 12.0
Listing 12.1 Example conversation between user and AI
AI: Welcome to the automated assistant, how can I help? User: Claim status AI: Ok, claims. What's your Tax ID? User: 123456789 AI: Thank you. What's the member's eight-digit Member ID? User: 87654321 AI: Ok, and what's the member's date of birth? User: 12/31/2000 AI: Is the member's name John Doe? User: Yes AI: Great! What's the date of service for the claim User: "February first 2024 AI: I found your claim #111222333 from February 1, #1 2024 for the member #87654321 and provider #123456789. #1 It was paid on May 23, 2024 for $201.83. #1 User: representative #2
The claim-status dialogue shows how much information an agent would need to recover if the user requests a representative after several turns. section 12.1.1
