Hand complex chats from AI to a human.
A good chatbot knows when to stop. When a question is complex, sensitive or simply not in your content, ChatBento hands the visitor to your team with the whole conversation attached, so nobody has to start over.
The problem
Chatbots that never admit defeat trap visitors in loops of near-miss answers. Chatbots that guess can be worse: a confident wrong answer about a refund or a medical question is a real liability.
When a visitor does reach a person, they often have to explain everything again, because the chat history didn't come with them.
How ChatBento handles it
Knows what it doesn't know
The chatbot answers only from your content. When the answer isn't there, it says so and opens the contact form rather than guessing.
Visitors can ask for a person at any time
A "Talk to a human" link stays in the chat window, and asking for a person in the chat opens the form too.
Context comes with the handoff
Your team receives the visitor's details, note, page and the full conversation by email. The inbox flags conversations where someone wanted a human but didn't leave an email.
Rules for sensitive topics
Custom instructions can tell the chatbot to hand off certain topics straight away, such as billing disputes or anything medical or legal.
Set it up in 5 steps
- 1
Keep Human handoff and lead capture switched on in Customize.
- 2
Set the email address handoffs should go to, such as a shared support inbox.
- 3
Add instructions for topics that should always go to a person.
- 4
Add a Q&A for "When will someone reply?" with your real response time.
- 5
Test the handoff yourself: ask for a person, fill in the form and check the email you receive.
What to measure
Handoff rate
Count conversations that ended in the contact form; a very high rate means content gaps, a very low one may mean visitors can't find the option.
Time to reply after handoff
Measure how long your team takes to answer handoff emails; this is the wait the visitor actually experiences.
Missed handoffs
Check inbox conversations flagged as wanting a human without an email, and see why the visitor didn't leave one.
Where it stops
Handoff happens by email, not live chat: your team can't type into the visitor's chat window. Visitors leave their details and you reply from your own inbox.
Human handoff questions. Answered.
Does handoff mean live chat?
No. ChatBento collects the visitor's email and sends you the conversation, and you reply by email. There's no live agent typing in the widget.
When does the chatbot hand off?
When a visitor asks for a person or to be contacted, when your content doesn't contain the answer, or when your instructions say a topic should go to a person.
Can I turn handoff off?
Yes, with the Human handoff switch in Customize. Most businesses leave it on, since it's also how the chatbot captures leads.
What does my team receive?
An email with the visitor's email address, their name and note if they gave them, the page they were on and the full conversation.
How much does ChatBento cost?
There's a free plan with 50 AI messages a month. Paid plans are Hobby at $8/month (2,000 messages), Standard at $30/month (10,000 messages), Pro at $100/month (40,000 messages). Every account starts with a 14-day free trial, no card required.
Terms to know
Further reading
Related use cases
Human handoff, handled. Free to start. Paid plans from $8 a month.
14-day free trial. No card required.