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.
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
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
Request Support – Customer says "I need help from a person" or an AI skill determines escalation is needed
Smart Information Gathering – AI asks for necessary details, skipping anything already known from the conversation
Ticket Creation – A support ticket is created in your helpdesk with all the context
Confirmation – Customer receives confirmation that their request has been sent to your team
Example Flow:
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."
For Merchants (You)
Activating Human Handoff:
Navigate to Support Skills in your Rep AI console
Find the Human handoff card
Click Edit settings to open the configuration modal
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
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."
Select your Integration Type (e.g., Gorgias, Zendesk, Freshdesk)
Set the ticket Subject (default: "Contact support")
Toggle "Enrich ticket with customer journey" to include conversation history in tickets
Click Preview to test the experience or Save to activate
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
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.
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:
If it's December 24, 25, or 26, say: "🎄 Merry Christmas! Our support team is enjoying the holidays. Response times may be longer than usual. Thanks for your patience!"
Otherwise, say: "Thanks for reaching out! We'll be in touch within 24 hours on business days. If you close this chat, we'll reach you via email."Business hours (with timezone):
If it's Monday-Friday between 9am and 5pm ET, say: "Thanks for reaching out! We'll respond within 2 hours during business hours."
If it's after 5pm ET on weekdays or anytime on weekends, say: "Thanks for your message! Our team is currently offline. We'll get back to you on the next business day."Multiple holidays:
If it's December 24-26, say: "🎄 Merry Christmas! Response times may be longer during the holidays."
If it's December 31 or January 1, say: "🎉 Happy New Year! We'll respond as soon as we're back."
Otherwise, say: "Thanks for reaching out! We'll be in touch within 24 hours."Seasonal hours:
If it's June 1 through August 31 and between 10am-4pm PT, say: "Summer hours: Our team works 10am-4pm PT. We'll respond shortly!"
Otherwise, say: "Thanks! We'll respond within 24 hours on business days."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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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
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!