Connect Customers to Your Support Team with AI-Powered Contact Support

Introduction

When a customer asks to talk to a human, the AI gathers the necessary information and opens a ticket. The Human Handoff feature ensures your customers get connected to your support team seamlessly, collecting the right details and creating support tickets in your helpdesk system—all within the natural flow of conversation.

This works everywhere your AI is active: on your website chat widget, in Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. Your customers get the same seamless experience regardless of how they reach you.

Unlike traditional rigid contact forms, this feature understands context from the conversation, asks only necessary questions, and even allows other AI skills to escalate issues when needed.

What Human Handoff Does for Your Business

Smarter Handoffs to Your Team

• Automatically captures customer details (email, name, order number) without repetitive questions

• Uses conversation context to provide your support team with helpful background information

• Creates tickets directly in your helpdesk (Zendesk, Gorgias, Freshdesk, or others)

• Reduces friction by making it easy for customers to reach human support

Works Across All Your Channels

• Customers on Instagram DM, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp get the same support escalation path as website chat visitors

• Your existing Contact Support configuration applies automatically to all channels — no extra setup needed

• Support tickets from Meta conversations appear in your helpdesk alongside website chat tickets

Seamless Integration with AI Skills

• Other AI skills (like Cancel Order or Returns) can invoke Human Handoff when they can't complete a request

• Maintains conversation flow when escalating from one skill to another

• Provides your support team with context about what the customer was trying to do

Flexible Configuration

• Choose which information to collect: email (always required), name, phone number, order number, photos

• Set fields as required or optional based on your support process

• Customize the acknowledgment message customers see when tickets are created

• Set different messages for different times — holidays, weekends, after-hours, and more

• Works with your connected helpdesk integration (Gorgias, Zendesk, Freshdesk, etc.)

• Enrich tickets with full customer journey context

How It Works

For Your Customers

1. Request Support – Customer says "I need help from a person" or an AI skill determines escalation is needed

2. Smart Information Gathering – AI asks for necessary details, skipping anything already known from the conversation

3. Ticket Creation – A support ticket is created in your helpdesk with all the context

4. Confirmation – Customer receives confirmation that their request has been sent to your team

This flow is the same whether the customer is chatting on your website, messaging on Instagram, reaching out through Facebook Messenger, or contacting you on WhatsApp.

Example Flow (Website Chat):

• Customer: "I want to cancel part of my order"

• AI: "I understand you'd like to cancel part of order #12345. Let me connect you with our support team who can help with partial cancellations. May I have your email to create a support ticket?"

• Customer: provides email

• AI: "Perfect! I've sent your request to our support team. They'll reach out shortly to help with your order cancellation."

Example Flow (Instagram DM):

• Customer sends a DM: "I need to talk to someone about my order"

• AI: "I'd be happy to connect you with our support team. Could you share your email so I can create a ticket for you?"

• Customer: provides email

• AI: "I've forwarded your inquiry to an agent, who will respond within 24 hours."

• The customer sees the confirmation right in their DM thread.

For Merchants (You)

Activating Human Handoff:

1. Navigate to Support Skills in your Rep AI console

2. Find the Human handoff card

3. Click Edit settings to open the configuration modal

4. Configure which information to collect: * Email – Always required (cannot be turned off) * Name – Set as Required or Optional using the dropdown * Phone – Toggle On/Off, set as Required or Optional * Order Number – Toggle On/Off, set as Required or Optional * Photo – Toggle On/Off, set as Required or Optional

5. Customize Acknowledgment Instructions – This controls what customers see after their ticket is created. You can write a simple message or use time-based conditions (see below). * Default: "I have forwarded your inquiry to an agent, who will respond within 24 hours."

6. Select your Integration Type (e.g., Gorgias, Zendesk, Freshdesk)

7. Set the ticket Subject (default: "Contact support")

8. Toggle "Enrich ticket with customer journey" to include conversation history in tickets

9. Click Preview to test the experience or Save to activate

These settings apply to all channels automatically — website chat, Instagram DM, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. There's no separate configuration needed for Meta channels.

Modifying Settings:

• Return to Support Skills at any time

• Click Edit settings on the Human handoff card

• Adjust field requirements, acknowledgment instructions, or integration settings

• Changes apply immediately to new conversations across all channels

Configuration Options

Information to Collect

Choose which customer details the AI should gather before creating a support ticket:

• Email – Always required (this ensures your team can respond)

• Name – Required by default, can be set to Optional

• Phone – Off by default, toggle On and set as Required or Optional

• Order Number – Off by default, toggle On if you want order context (helpful for order-related issues)

• Photo – Off by default, toggle On for visual issues like damaged products or fit problems

Pro Tip: Only collect information you actually need. The more fields you require, the more friction customers experience. Start with Email and Name, then add others based on your support team's needs.

Note on Meta channels: Photo collection is not currently available on Instagram DM, Facebook Messenger, or WhatsApp. If you have photos enabled, the AI will simply skip that step on Meta channels and proceed with the rest of the flow.

Acknowledgment Instructions

Customize the message customers see after the AI creates their support ticket. This is your chance to set expectations and reassure customers.

Default message: "I have forwarded your inquiry to an agent, who will respond within 24 hours."

Customization ideas:

• Mention your actual response time

• Add a reference number or next steps

• Include alternative contact methods for urgent issues

• Add a personal touch that matches your brand voice

Set Different Messages for Different Times

You can write conditional instructions that automatically change what customers see based on the current date, day of the week, or time of day. This is perfect for holidays, weekends, seasonal hours, or any situation where your support availability changes.

Instead of manually updating your acknowledgment message before every holiday or schedule change, simply write your conditions once and the AI handles the rest.

How it works: Write your instructions using natural "If... say..." language. The AI reads the current date and time and picks the right message automatically.

Important: For any time-of-day conditions, always include your timezone (e.g., "9am-5pm ET"). Examples

Holiday message:

Business hours (with timezone):

Multiple holidays:

Seasonal hours:

Tips for Writing Conditional Instructions

• Be specific with dates — Write "December 24-26, 2025" rather than "the holiday season"

• Always include your timezone for time-of-day conditions — e.g., "9am-5pm ET" or "after 6pm PST"

• Include an "Otherwise" message — This is the fallback your customers see when no other condition matches

• Keep it simple — The AI is very good at understanding plain English conditions, so write naturally

• Use date ranges — "December 24-26" or "June 1 through August 31" both work

• Combine conditions — "Monday-Friday between 9am-5pm ET" works as a single condition

What If I Don't Use Conditions?

If you write a simple message without any "If" conditions, it works exactly as before — the AI shows that same message to every customer, every time. No changes needed to your existing setup.

Integration Settings

• Integration Type – Select your connected helpdesk (Gorgias, Zendesk, Freshdesk, etc.)

• Subject – Default ticket subject line (e.g., "Contact support")

Enrich Ticket with Customer Journey

When enabled, this powerful feature includes the full conversation history in the support ticket. Your support team will see:

• What the customer was trying to do before requesting help

• Previous messages and questions asked

• Products or orders discussed

• Any context that helps resolve the issue faster

We recommend keeping this ON – it dramatically reduces the time your team spends asking "What's this about?" and helps them provide better, faster support.

Common Scenarios

Customer Requests Human Help Directly

When customers explicitly ask to speak with someone, AI immediately begins the Human Handoff flow without trying to answer first.

Customer Requests Support on Instagram, Facebook, or WhatsApp

When a customer sends a message like "I need to talk to someone" on any Meta channel, the AI activates the same Human Handoff flow. It collects the required information conversationally within the DM thread, creates a ticket in your helpdesk, and sends the acknowledgment message — all without the customer needing to switch to your website.

Mid-Conversation Escalation

If a customer is using another AI skill (like tracking an order) but asks for human help, AI gracefully transitions to Human Handoff with full context. This works the same on website chat and Meta channels.

Known Customer Information

If your AI already knows the customer's email or order number from earlier in the conversation, it won't ask again—it automatically uses that information.

Holiday or After-Hours Contact

When you've set up time-based acknowledgment instructions, customers automatically see the right message based on when they reach out. For example, a customer contacting support on Christmas Day sees your holiday message, while someone reaching out on a regular Tuesday sees your standard response time. This works across all channels including Meta DMs.

Integration Issues

If your helpdesk integration has any issues, make sure it's properly connected in Settings → Integrations. The AI relies on this connection to create tickets successfully.

Benefits at a Glance

• Faster Resolutions – Support team receives context-rich tickets, not just "Customer needs help"

• Reduced Friction – No duplicate questions or forcing customers through rigid forms

• Improved Customer Experience – Feels like talking to a knowledgeable assistant, not filling out a form

• Cross-Skill Awareness – All AI skills know when to escalate and can do so intelligently

• Multi-Channel Coverage – Shoppers on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp get the same escalation path as website visitors

• Time-Aware Messaging – Customers always see accurate availability expectations, even during holidays or outside business hours

• Flexibility – Works with your existing helpdesk integration

Troubleshooting

Human Handoff isn't working

• Verify your helpdesk integration is connected in Settings → Integrations

• Check that you've saved your Human Handoff settings

• Ensure the Integration Type is selected in the configuration modal

Human Handoff isn't working on Meta channels

• Make sure Contact Support is enabled and configured in your Support Skills settings — the same configuration applies to all channels

• Verify your helpdesk integration is connected in Settings → Integrations

• Confirm that Meta AI Answering is active on the channel where the customer is reaching out

AI asks for information we already have

• The AI asks for information again because it doesn't recognize the shopper as the same person from a previous conversation. This happens when:

• Shopper uses a different device – The customer chatted on their phone yesterday but is now on their laptop

• Cookies were cleared – Browser data was deleted, removing the session identifier

• Not logged into Shopify – Guest shoppers don't have a persistent account connection

• Incognito/Private browsing – These modes don't save session data between visits

Why this happens: Rep AI needs a connection point to recognize returning customers. Without being logged into your Shopify store, the AI relies on browser cookies to identify returning visitors. When that connection is lost, the AI treats them as a new visitor and needs to collect their information again.

Photo collection doesn't work on Meta channels

Photo uploads are not currently supported on Instagram DM, Facebook Messenger, or WhatsApp. If you have photos enabled in your Contact Support settings, the AI will skip this step on Meta channels and proceed with the rest of the information collection. This does not affect the ticket creation — all other fields are collected normally.

My time-based messages aren't showing the right version

• Double-check that your date format is specific (e.g., "December 24-26" instead of "around Christmas")

• Make sure you've included a timezone for time-of-day conditions (e.g., "9am-5pm ET")

• Remember that the AI uses your business timezone, not the customer's local time

• Verify the year is included for date-specific conditions that shouldn't repeat annually

I wrote conditions but customers always see the same message

• Make sure your instructions include the word "If" to signal conditional logic

• Check that you have an "Otherwise" or "Else" clause for when no conditions match

• Review your date ranges to confirm they cover the intended period

Want to customize the acknowledgment message

• Click Edit settings on the Human handoff card

• Find the Acknowledgment Instructions section

• Replace the default message with your custom text — either a simple message or conditional instructions

• Click Save to apply changes

Getting the Most from Human Handoff

Set Clear Expectations

Customize your acknowledgment instructions to mention your actual response time. Honesty builds trust—if you respond in 4 hours, say so!

Use Time-Based Messages for Holidays and Schedule Changes

Instead of scrambling to update your message before every holiday, write your conditions once at the start of the year. Include all your planned closures and schedule changes, and the AI takes care of the rest.

Enable Customer Journey Enrichment

Keep the "Enrich ticket with customer journey" toggle ON. Your support team will thank you when they see the full context instead of just "Customer needs help."

Monitor Escalation Patterns

Use Analytics to understand which types of questions lead to support escalations. If you see patterns, consider:

• Adding FAQ content to answer common questions

• Adjusting AI instructions to better handle specific scenarios

• Enabling additional AI skills that might resolve issues before escalation

Optimize Field Collection

If customers frequently drop off during information collection:

• Review which fields are set as Required

• Consider making some fields Optional instead

• Only ask for Photo uploads when truly necessary (remember: photos are not available on Meta channels)

Need More Help?

If you have questions about configuring Human Handoff or want guidance on setting up time-based acknowledgment messages, contact our support team—we're here to help!