8 min read Automation in customer support has become a must-have for businesses. While automated workflows are helping businesses respond to customer queries proactively and handle high volumes of incoming requests, complex or more sensitive issues often require human agents to step in.
That’s where setting up a handoff to human agents is important in automation.
While most talk about how it should be a part of the automation workflow you create, we’re here to tell you what a good handoff looks like.
Table of Contents
Why is automation to human agent handoff important in customer support?
Finding the right balance between automated and human support has a direct impact on how satisfied your customers are with the assistance they get. By combining the strengths of the AI and human agents, you can:
- Increase support efficiency – Automated workflows can easily handle repetitive queries, reducing human agent workload and freeing them to handle more complex issues that are labor-intensive.
- Cost savings – Being able to manage human resources (time) more effectively, businesses can scale their support functions without having to hire a big team. This helps bring down the overall operational costs for the business.
- Better query resolution – AI co-pilots and chatbots are good at helping customers with troubleshooting processes and can guide them through the basic steps. Post the handoff, the human agents can then focus on the more strategic or manual assistance, helping the query gets resolved in a much more efficient manner.
- Improved customer satisfaction – When their queries are resolved faster and with a better understanding, customers feel more engaged with the business. A clear path to human agent support in automation can help show the business’s commitment to quality customer service.
- Boost brand loyalty – When customers know they can always escalate an issue to a human agent when necessary, they feel reassured. This helps build stronger brand loyalty over time.
Also read: Why and how to balance AI and human agents for optimal customer support
When should customer support automation trigger human agent handoffs for queries?
A well-timed handoff between automation or AI tools and human agents is crucial for effective customer support. While the reason for handoff may vary based on your business, here are some common instances:
- Complex or detailed requests – When a customer needs help with a multi-step process like troubleshooting a technical issue, automation may not be able to provide an end-to-end solution. For example, when an online shopper is unable to complete checkout due to a complex error message and requires a custom payment link.
- High-value customer queries – VIP customers often expect personalized customer support where human assistance is often appreciated. For example, a SaaS company can trigger a human agent handoff when one such customer requires a customization to a feature the product has to offer.
- Sensitive or emotional issues – When customers are frustrated or upset, they often seek empathy in support conversations. While AI can help with sentiment analysis based on the language and context, triggering a handoff here can save the day. For example, if a user has missed their flight due to a booking error, the human agent can handle the conversation more sensitively.
- Unusual or non-standard queries – Automation and AI tools run on the content inputs available to them. So when a new query outside of the knowledge base available to them comes up, triggering a handoff becomes important. For example, when a customer is seeking a custom plan that is not available as an option.
- Multiple failed resolution attempts – When a customer requires a lot of back and forth with the automation, this may indicate that a query is too complex for the bot to handle. This is where a handoff can help prevent a drop-off. For example, when updating a customer account with contact information that involves security questions.
How to set up a workflow for AI automation to human agent handoff in customer support?
Here’s a step-by-step we follow to help businesses and organizations using Auralis AI set up a seamless handoff:
Step 1 – Identify handoff trigger points
Identify and define specific scenarios like the examples above where human assistance is absolutely required. Use historical support data and customer feedback to identify key points in the customer journey for creating triggers.
Step 2 – Choose and integrate support tools
Take note of the tools that would help in the handoff with the complete context of the ongoing conversation. This includes integrating your support solution with the CRM, knowledgebase, marketing, and analytics tools, as well as service desks. The ability to share data between the tools in real-time helps human agents pick up important conversations quickly.
Step 3 – Setup notifications with contextual data
When a handoff is triggered, your system should be able to alert human agents proactively. These notifications should include relevant data such as customer details, conversation history or the summary, customer sentiment, query details, steps taken so far, and any other important context.
Step 4 – Create escalation rules
Using customer support solutions like Auralis AI, you can create custom workflows. This lets you define rules for escalating different types of queries based on customer profile, sentiment, or even urgency of the request.
Step 5 – Monitor and optimize
We recommend automation audits at regular intervals. This helps review the handoff process, gather feedback, identify potential loopholes, and improve your escalation rules. Being able to monitor the performance of automation also helps with identifying anomalies in queries that could be negatively impacting customer experience.
Best practices for customer support AI and automation to human agent handoff
Here are a few best practices to keep in mind:
- Set clear expectations – Let customers know when they are receiving automated responses and when they can expect human support. Similarly, let your human agents know when an issue is expected to be handled manually.
- Personalize the transition – Ensure that your human agents receive complete context on the conversation – customer information, past interactions, query details, and more, so they can personalize the responses.
- Prioritize response times – Keep the handoff process streamlined and ensure that human agents are available when the automation triggers an escalation; your overall response and resolution time are important.
- Request feedback – Gather feedback from both the customer and the human agent a process is handed off to. This helps improve the process over a period of time.
- Communicate with empathy – Automate customer notifications when a handoff is triggered. But be empathetic and clearly state what they can expect next.
Also read: How to leverage AI-driven insights for smarter customer interactions
Why use AI-powered customer support for seamless human agent handoff?
Automated workflows are efficient. But they are defined and may not be able to adapt to situations; this is where AI-enabled solutions help with a better handoff:
- Real-time processing – AI tools monitor customer interactions in real time. This helps understand the context of the conversation, provides quick responses, and enables faster handoff decisions.
- Sentiment analysis – AI can help identify customer sentiments, irrespective of the language. This helps trigger the handoff immediately when a customer becomes upset and requires a more empathetic approach to resolution.
- Contextual and predictive insights – AI customer support tools can analyze historical data to predict when customers require human assistance. They can track customer journeys and notify human agents with relevant insights, triggering an engagement in a timely manner.
- Leverage different AI capabilities – Don’t just rely on standard automation. We recommend building out custom workflows based on the unique journeys your business requires from acquisition to retention. Use different AI tools like automations, chatbots, and co-pilots across the process.
Conclusion
Yes, automation brings efficiency and AI offers intelligence.
But there’s no replacing human emotions. That’s why striking the right balance between AI and human agents is important to create a support experience that positively impacts brand perception as well as business growth.
Want to know how you can set up an intelligent agent handoff between AI and humans with custom automation?
