Escalation and human handover
An AI assistant is only safe if the handover works. PixelChat escalates when the visitor asks for a person or when the assistant cannot answer, alerts your operators, and keeps the whole thing in one continuous thread.
What triggers an escalation
- The visitor explicitly asks for a human.
- The assistant cannot find an answer in the knowledge base.
- The conversation matches an escalation condition you configured.
How operators find out
- The conversation is flagged in the inbox at Chatbot → Inbox.
- Notification settings under Settings → Notifications control email alerts.
- Operators who opt in under Settings → Team receive a WhatsApp alert containing a deep link to that specific conversation.
- A cron check catches conversations that have been sitting escalated without a reply.
Taking over
Open the conversation and reply. The visitor sees one continuous thread — everything the AI already said stays visible to both sides, so nobody re-asks a question that has been answered. Assign the conversation to yourself, or transfer it to whoever actually knows the answer.
Handing it back
Once the hard part is resolved, use Return to AI. The assistant picks the conversation back up for routine follow-ups rather than leaving an operator on the hook for the rest of the thread.
Escalate too much at first
For the first fortnight, set escalation conservatively. Over-escalating costs you operator time; under-escalating costs you a customer who was told something wrong.
Frequently asked questions
- What happens if nobody is online?
- The conversation queues in the inbox and the visitor's details are captured. Operating hours settings let you set expectations in the widget.
- Do WhatsApp alerts cost extra?
- They use your connected WhatsApp Business number. Each operator opts in individually under Settings → Team.
- Can I disable AI replies entirely?
- Yes. The inbox works as a human-only live chat with AI auto-reply turned off.
Keep reading
Last updated 10 August 2026.