Transfer Chats to Live Agents in Guided Conversations
Chat Transfer in Guided Conversations lets you smoothly escalate conversations to live agents when needed. Whether it’s a complex question, a sensitive issue, or simply a customer preferring human help, Chat Transfer ensures they feel heard and supported.
What is Chat Transfer?
Chat Transfer is a feature inside the Integration Block of Guided Conversations. It allows the chatbot to hand over an ongoing chat to a live agent instantly while preserving the full conversation context. This way, customers don’t have to repeat themselves, and agents can assist effectively right away.
Why Use Chat Transfer?
While chatbots handle routine questions well, some situations call for human help, such as:
- Complex issues that need detailed explanations or troubleshooting
- Sensitive topics like personal data or complaints
- Customer requests to speak with a human
- Unrecognized inputs that the bot can’t answer
Using Chat Transfer in these scenarios shows empathy and professionalism, and improves resolution times too.
How it works:
- The Zoho Desk Integration has a Chat Transfer block.
- This block must be placed at the end of a path in your Guided Conversation flow. It will only trigger successfully when added as the final step in a flow.
- Once triggered, the block will connect the user to a live agent.
- The transition is in real time, and all context from the conversation, such as previous messages or user inputs, is preserved and passed to the agent.
Benefits of Chat Transfer
- Complex queries go straight to agents.
- Chat history stays intact so agents see everything.
- Smooth handoffs build trust and satisfaction.
Steps to create a flow with Chat Transfer
- Navigate to Setup > Self Service > Guided Conversations.
- Select the department for which you want to create the bot and click Create Flow.
- In the Create Flow form:
- Enter the Name and Description.
- Choose a supported channel (e.g., Website).
- Click Next.
- In the Blocks Library, select the Integration category.
- Choose Zoho Desk from the list of integrations.
- Choose the Chat Transfer block into the appropriate part of your flow.
- Configure the block to define when the bot should transfer the conversation to an agent.
- Complete your flow and Save it.
If you select Website as the channel, Chat Transfer will only work if you’re using the Business Messaging (BM) channel. Supported Messaging Channels
Chat Transfer works across all messaging channels that support Guided Conversations in Zoho Desk:
- WhatsApp
- Facebook Messenger
- Instagram
- Telegram
- LINE
- Business Messaging
Your customers get the same consistent experience, no matter where they’re chatting from.
Where Chat Transfer Works
Chat Transfer only works on instant messaging channels that support live agent handoff in Zoho Desk. This means that even if you’ve configured the Chat Transfer block correctly in your Guided Conversation flow, the transfer will not take place unless the underlying channel supports it.
For example:
If you’re using Website as your channel, Chat Transfer will only work if you’ve enabled Zoho’s Business Messaging (BM) for that website. Without BM, the chatbot cannot connect the user to a live agent, even if an agent is available.
If you’re using channels like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Instagram, Chat Transfer is supported by default as long as these platforms are properly configured and integrated with Zoho Desk.
For Telegram, LINE, and other supported platforms, similar rules apply. Ensure they are set up correctly in Zoho Desk for the transfer to work.
Best Practices for Chat Transfer
Here’s how to get the most out of this feature:
- Add transfer logic where users are likely to hit a dead-end or need emotional support.
- Let customers know they’re being connected to an agent and why.
- Make sure agents know how to pick up where the bot left off.
- Regularly analyze handoffs to refine your triggers and conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When should I use Chat Transfer?
A: Use Chat Transfer when the bot can’t resolve the issue or when the customer explicitly asks to speak with a human.
Q: Does Chat Transfer work across all channels?
A: Yes, Chat Transfer works across all messaging platforms that are supported by Zoho Desk and properly configured in Zoho Desk.
Q: Do I need any special configuration to use the Chat Transfer block?
A: Yes. You must integrate Zoho Desk. Additionally, that department should have agents available to receive transferred chats.
Q: Can agents see the conversation history?
A: Absolutely. The full conversation context is passed to the agent, so they can assist the customer without losing continuity.
Q: Is Chat Transfer available in all pricing plans?
A: No. Chat Transfer is available only for enterprise plan. Please refer to the pricing page for detailed plan-wise availability.
Q: Can I customize the conditions for Chat Transfer?
A: Yes. You can define the conditions for Chat Transfer directly in your bot flow, for example, when a specific keyword is mentioned.
Q: Can I direct Chat Transfers to specific departments or agents?
A: No. Currently, you can only route chats to a department, not to individual agents. However, this feature is on our roadmap for future updates.
Q: Can I trigger Chat Transfer based on user emotion or tone?
A: No, not directly through the Chat Transfer block. However, you can use Zia Integration blocks to detect customer sentiments and define flows based on those sentiments. If the conversation passes through that sentiment-based flow, you can then trigger a Chat Transfer action.
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