Every AI receptionist meets callers it shouldn't deal with alone. Someone wants a quote for a job that needs a site visit. Someone's upset about last week's appointment. Someone asks a question your knowledge base doesn't cover. What happens next, the AI receptionist handover to staff, decides whether that caller feels looked after or abandoned. It's also where products differ most, and where marketing pages are least precise.
This post explains the main kinds of handover, says exactly what Klugon does (including what it can't do), and sets out a routine for handling handovers that works whichever product you use.
The four kinds of handover
"Handover" can mean very different things. Before you choose a product or write a policy, be clear which one you need.
| Type | What happens | The caller's experience |
|---|---|---|
| Warm transfer | The AI or receptionist briefs a colleague, then connects the caller | Speaks to a person straight away, who already knows the context |
| Cold transfer | The call is put through to a person or extension with no briefing | Speaks to a person straight away, may have to repeat themselves |
| Callback | Details are taken and a person rings back later | Waits, then speaks to a person who has the notes |
| Message only | Details are recorded; follow-up depends on someone reading them | Waits, and may not hear back if nobody owns the messages |
Live transfers (warm or cold) need someone free to take the call at that moment. For a small business, that person is often the one who was too busy to answer in the first place. A good callback routine often serves callers better than a transfer to a phone that keeps ringing.
What Klugon does when a caller needs a person
Here's the exact behaviour, because this is where precision matters.
On phone calls: no live transfer
Klugon cannot transfer a call to a person. There's no transfer number setting and no way for the AI to put a caller through to you, your mobile or a colleague while the call is in progress.
What happens instead when a caller needs your team:
- The AI tells the caller someone from the team will be in touch, following your instructions.
- It saves the caller's details as a lead with a note describing what they need. You can tell it what to collect: name, number, postcode, what the problem is, how urgent it is.
- The lead appears on the leads page in your dashboard, with the status "new".
- On voice Business plans and up, the new lead is also posted to Slack (through an incoming webhook) or sent to Zapier, if you've connected either. From Zapier, you can route it to wherever your team works.
- The call itself appears in your conversations inbox, marked with the phone channel and its duration.
Two things that don't happen:
- No email or push alert. Klugon doesn't email you or send a phone notification when a lead or handover comes in. If you're not on a voice or social Business plan with Slack or Zapier connected, you'll find leads by checking the dashboard.
- No text to the caller. Klugon doesn't send SMS, so the caller gets no written confirmation that their message was taken. The AI says so on the call, and that's it.
Call transcripts may not include everything the caller said, so the lead note is the record to rely on. Make sure your instructions ask the AI to put the key details in it.
In chat and messaging
On the website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram, handover works a little differently:
- The AI marks the conversation as escalated, and your inbox shows a "Needs a person" banner on it.
- On voice or social Business plans and up, Slack or Zapier is notified, as with calls.
- On WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram, you can reply to the customer from the Klugon inbox. Meta's channels only allow free-form replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message, so reply within Meta's 24-hour window. You can't reply from the inbox to website chat or phone conversations.
- The AI isn't paused. If the customer writes again, the AI keeps replying. There's no "take over" button and no way to assign a conversation to a team member. Keep this in mind when you reply: tell the customer you're a person picking up from the assistant.
The WhatsApp AI chatbot and Instagram DM automation pages cover those channels in more detail.
What you'll see in the dashboard
- Leads page: every lead with its note, with statuses new, contacted, converted and lost. Move each one along as you deal with it.
- Conversations inbox: every call and chat, with a filter for escalated conversations.
- Insights page: a to-do list showing handovers waiting for a person and leads not contacted after two days. It's a page you check, not an alert.
When an AI that can't transfer is the right choice, and when it isn't
A callback-based handover works well when:
- most calls are routine and can be fully handled by the AI
- the calls that need a person can wait an hour or until the morning
- your team is often busy, so a transfer would ring out anyway
It's the wrong choice when:
- callers regularly need a person during the call, such as a solicitor's existing clients ringing about a hearing tomorrow
- emergencies need someone woken up immediately
- your customers expect to be put straight through to a named person
If live transfer matters, you have other options. You can keep your phones ringing first and send only unanswered calls to the AI, using your carrier's conditional call forwarding. Our post on keeping your number with call forwarding explains how. Or you can use a human answering service that transfers calls; our comparisons with Ruby and Smith.ai look at that trade-off.
Best practice for AI receptionist handover to staff
These apply whatever product you use.
A sample handover call
A sample call. The business is made up.
The AI didn't try to interpret the letter, didn't promise a time, and left a note that lets the accountant call back ready to help.
Decide what triggers a handover
Write a short list into the AI's instructions. Typical triggers:
- complaints or upset callers
- requests for prices on custom work
- anything medical, legal or financial beyond basic logistics
- a named request ("can I speak to Sarah?")
- questions the knowledge base can't answer
- a caller who asks for a person
Too few triggers and the AI tries to handle things it shouldn't. Too many and your team gets every call as a handover. Start strict and loosen it as you see what the AI handles well.
Capture what your team needs to act
A handover note should let someone call back without asking the caller to start again. For most businesses that means:
- name and best phone number
- what they want, in one or two sentences
- urgency, in your own terms (today, this week, no rush)
- any reference: booking reference, order number, address or postcode
Don't collect more than you need. The ICO's guidance on data minimisation is a good reminder that personal data should be adequate, relevant and limited to what's necessary. A plumber needs a postcode; a florist probably doesn't need a date of birth.
Tell the caller the truth about what happens next
The AI's closing line sets the caller's expectations. Make it accurate:
- Good: "I've passed your details to the team, and someone will call you back. If it's about today's booking, they'll aim to ring this morning."
- Bad: "I'm transferring you now." (Klugon can't.)
- Bad: "You'll get a text to confirm." (Klugon doesn't send texts.)
- Risky: "Someone will call you within 15 minutes." Only if someone really will.
Our AI receptionist script examples include closing lines for several kinds of business.
Make one person responsible for each shift
A handover nobody owns is a message in a drawer. Name who checks new leads and escalated conversations, and when. For a small business, "the owner, at 9am, 1pm and 5pm" is a perfectly good rule. Write it into your after hours call policy too, so overnight leads are picked up first thing.
Route notifications to where people already look
If your team lives in Slack, send handovers to a dedicated channel so they don't get lost in chat. Slack's own guide to sending messages with incoming webhooks explains how a webhook works, which is what Klugon uses. If you'd rather receive them somewhere else, Webhooks by Zapier can pass each event on to other apps. Our Slack integration and Zapier integration pages cover the Klugon setup.
Close the loop
Update each lead's status once it's dealt with: contacted, converted or lost. It takes seconds and gives you two useful things: a clear list of what's still open, and over time, a picture of how many handovers turn into business.
Measure it
Check these monthly:
- Share of conversations handed over. Klugon's analytics page shows how many conversations were handed to a person and the share handled without handover.
- Time to first contact. How long between the lead arriving and someone calling back? The insights page flags any lead not contacted after two days.
- Outcomes. How many handovers became bookings or customers.
- Why calls were handed over. If the same question keeps coming up, add the answer to the knowledge base and the AI can handle it next time.
Setting up handover in Klugon: a checklist
- Write your handover triggers into the assistant's instructions.
- List what the AI should collect for a handover, and ask it to put the details in the lead note.
- Write the closing line the AI uses, making sure it promises nothing you won't do.
- On a voice or social Business plan or higher, connect Slack or Zapier on the integrations page so new leads and handovers reach your team.
- Name who checks leads and escalated conversations, and when.
- Test it. Call your assistant, ask for something that should trigger a handover, and check the lead, the note and the notification.
- Review weekly for the first month and add answers for common handover reasons to the knowledge base.
The AI phone receptionist page explains how calls are answered, and pricing shows which plans include Slack and Zapier. Or go back to the AI receptionist for small business overview.
Frequently asked questions
Can Klugon transfer a call to me or my staff?
No. Klugon can't transfer a live call. When a caller needs a person, the AI saves their details as a lead with a note, which appears in your dashboard and, on voice Business plans and up, is posted to Slack or Zapier.
Will I get an email or text when a caller needs me?
No. Klugon doesn't send email, push or SMS alerts. Connect Slack or Zapier (voice or social Business plans and up) for notifications, or check the leads page and insights page regularly.
Does the AI stop replying after a chat is handed over?
No. The conversation is marked as needing a person, but the AI keeps replying if the customer writes again. You can reply yourself on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram from the inbox.
Can I reply to a website chat or phone caller from the inbox?
No. Inbox replies work on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram only. For phone callers, ring them back on the number in the lead.
What if I need live transfer?
Keep your phones ringing first and forward only unanswered calls to the AI, or use a human answering service that transfers calls.
What should the AI collect before handing over?
Name, phone number, what they need in a sentence or two, how urgent it is, and any reference such as a booking number or postcode. No more than your team needs.
How quickly should staff follow up on a handover?
Set a time you'll reliably meet and name who's responsible. Same working day suits most businesses; urgent categories may need faster.
A handover is only as good as the person who picks it up. Decide who that is before you switch the AI on.