Home · Blog · Where the bot ends and the person begins: transferring the conversation to the operator
Where the bot ends and the person begins: transferring the conversation to the operator
The debate “bot or operator” is decided not by choice, but by the boundary: to what point does the script lead the conversation, where does the person connect, and how does he then return the conversation back. If the line is drawn incorrectly, the bot annoys the menu with the request “call the manager”, and the operator answers “how much does it cost” instead of the bot. Let’s look at how to set up a transmission using the “Operator” block in CHBT, three ways to a person - a button, a trigger word, an escalation of an AI agent - what the operator sees in the “Conversations”, how he learns about a new request and how he returns the conversation to the bot.
Four signs that a question is for a person
The bot is good at things that are repeated, but bad at things that require a solution. The practical boundary is drawn along four lines; if at least one worked, the conversation should go to the operator.
- A concession or exception is needed. “Will you give a discount if I take three?”, “Can I pay in installments?”, “Will you accept without a receipt?” The bot has no authority, and any response is either a refusal or a promise for which a person will be responsible.
- Claim or emotion. “Bring the wrong thing for the second time,” “Why didn’t anyone call back.” The menu in response to irritation strengthens it. Here the bot must do exactly one action - transmit and say that it transmitted.
- The question is outside the base. The script and the AI agent respond within the framework of what you have specified. If a person asks about something that is not in the buttons and in the knowledge base, the only honest answer is “I’ll check with my colleague now.”
- Direct request. “Operator”, “person”, “manager”, “call someone”. You can’t argue with this: the person has already decided that the bot won’t help him.
Everything else - prices, schedule, address, availability, registration, typical “how to pay” - is the bot’s task. Not because the person will answer worse, but because he will answer later: these questions come in dozens, and the queue to the operator kills the speed for which the bot was installed.
Separately about “where is my order.” The bot itself does not know the order status. He will answer only if the script asks for the number and takes the status from your accounting system with the “Action” block → “HTTP request”. For orders for Wildberries and Ozon, this will not work - please direct such questions to the operator.
Block “Operator”: what happens during transmission
In the CHBT constructor, the pass is the “Operator” (category "Actions"; available in both "Steps" and "Canvas" modes). It has essentially the same working setting:
- “Message to the operator” - the text that will be seen by the operator, not the client: “The client asks for a discount on the complex”, “Claim on the order”. This is the most underrated field: context saves the operator the first two minutes of conversation. It is this text that goes into Web Push and into the letter about a new conversation, so write urgency here too: “URGENT: claim, awaiting response.”
- “Priority” - low, normal, high. The field exists in the form and is saved in the script, but it is not yet shown in “Dialogs” and does not affect the order of the list - it will not be possible to parse the queue using it. If you need sorting, add a tag before sending it using the “Add tag” action (
urgent,claim): “Contacts” are filtered by tags, and the tag is visible in the conversation card immediately.
The block does not have an auto-close timer: a dialog that no one has closed remains on the operator until it is closed by hand - more on this below, in the section about returning to the bot.
When triggered block, the conversation receives the status “Operator” and appears in the “Conversations” on the “Waiting for a response” tab; the script stops at this block, and the bot no longer responds to the client’s messages - no matter what the client writes, a person will see it. The notification goes to everyone who has an account open, and through Web Push to those who have it closed.
Important detail: before the “Operator” block, place a “Message” block for the client - “I’m passing it on to a colleague, we usually respond within 10 minutes during working hours.” The “Operator” block itself does not write anything to the client, and without such a message a person will not understand why the bot is silent.
Three paths to a person: button, word, AI escalation
The “Operator” block is the destination point. There are three roads to it, and in a working bot you need all of them.
Button. In each menu there is the last button “Another question” or “Contact a manager”, leading to the “Operator” block. This is the path for those who have read the options and haven’t found theirs. In the template “Support” this is how it works by default: a short menu and fast transfer.
Trigger word. Separate flow with the "Keyword" trigger in the "contains" mode: operator, manager, person, live. The first block is the message “Transmitting”, the second is “Operator”. Case is not important, punctuation marks are not important either. Feature of CHBT: the keyword works even in the middle of another flow - a person stuck on a question about the phone will write “operator” and contact the person. The downside: a word that is too short in the “contains” mode will intercept other people’s responses, so person or oper is not included in the trigger put.
Escalation of AI agent. If typical questions are closed by the “AI agent” block, it has a checkbox “Separate port “did not understand”” - the output that the script goes to when the agent is not sure of the answer or the knowledge base does not contain necessary. Route this port to the “Operator” block. In the “Stay in conversation with AI” mode, the agent conducts the conversation himself, and the “did not understand” port is the only way out of it, so it is necessary to connect it to the “Operator”. At the same time, the agent is instructed to honestly say that there is no answer in the database, and to suggest to the operator what to entrust to the AI and what not, discussed in the article about the first line of support on an AI agent.
There is also a fourth method, without transfer: action “Notify operator” in the “Action” block. The bot continues to conduct the conversation, and the operator receives a notification with text and can intervene if he wants. Suitable for “hot” requests: the bot collected the phone, the operator sees it immediately, but calls back and does not correspond.
What the operator sees in “Conversations” and how to respond faster
Section “Conversations” — a common inbox for all channels: Telegram, MAX, VKontakte and a widget from the site in one list. The operator does not need to keep four applications open - all calls are in one office window, and he responds from it.
What's in the interface:
- Filters by status and by channel; search by name, ID or note. Status tabs: “Everyone”, “Waiting for a response” - conversations with the operator, “At the bot” - leads the script, “AI” - answers the AI agent, “Closed”. Morning routine - the “Waiting for a response” and “Message to the operator” tab in each conversation: use it to decide who to answer first.
- Unread — a counter on the conversation so as not to miss the client’s second message.
- History — all correspondence with the bot before the transfer: what buttons he pressed, what he responded to “Data collection”, plus “Message to the operator” from the block. The contact card with phone number, tags and custom fields is nearby.
- "Assign..." — transfer the conversation to a specific operator from the team, so that two people do not answer the same client.
- Quick Reply Templates — blanks with a title and text are inserted into the answer field with one click. Enter 10–15: details, address and travel, return conditions, “I’ll clarify, I’ll be back in 15 minutes.”
- Attachments — in the widget, the client and operator exchange files: screenshot, contract, photo of the breakdown. In Telegram, MAX and VK, the bot only works with text and buttons; the operator will not send files there.
- Dial indicator — the operator sees that the client is typing, and vice versa; The widget shows the “online/offline” status of the client.
You can also answer in a conversation that the bot is still conducting, without waiting for the “Operator” block: the operator’s response pauses the bot automatically.
How does the operator learn about a new request?
The transfer is useless if no one knows about it. CHBT has four notification channels; It’s not worth turning on all of them, but only those that correspond to the operating mode.
| Channel | Where does it turn on? | When it suits |
|---|---|---|
| New message sound | In Dialogs when the tab is open | The operator sits in his office all day |
| Browser notifications | Button 🔔 “Enable notifications” in “Conversations” | The tab is open but not active—the operator is working in another program |
| Web Push | “Account → Notifications” → “Push notifications”, on each device separately | The tab is closed; on the phone - if the account is installed as an application (PWA), on the iPhone - from the address app.chbt.io |
| Letter by e-mail | “Account → Notifications” → “New conversations in the inbox” and “New requests from bots” | One operator, comes into the office a couple of times a day |
Emails about new conversations in the inbox are marked as “may be frequent” for good reason: at 30 transmissions a day, mail turns into noise. A working scheme for a small team is Web Push from the duty operator plus a letter about leads to the owner. For one person, who is both the owner and the operator, - Web Push on the phone through the installed account: a notification about the transfer comes with the client’s name and the text from the “Message to the operator”, pressing opens the desired conversation.
There are no notifications in messengers to the operator himself (for example, in personal Telegram) in CHBT yet - only browser, push and mail; Notifier bot is in the plans.
Return the conversation to the bot and close
The operator responded, the issue was resolved. Then there are two options, and both are buttons in the conversation header.
“Return to bot” - remove the conversation from the operator and give it back to the script. It is important to understand how this works now: the conversation remains on the “Operator” block where it left off. The bot first checks the next client message for triggers - /start and the keywords of your scripts will launch the desired branch. But arbitrary text (“thank you”, “and another question”) is not a trigger, and such conversation will again go to the operator. Therefore, “Return to bot” is appropriate when you prompted the client with a command in the last response: “To sign up, press /start or write “record”” - and for the word “record” you have a script with a trigger “Key word."
"Close" - end the conversation. The next message from the client will start a new conversation from a clean state: the script trigger - /start, keyword or "Any message" - will fire. For most situations, this is the right button: the conversation is over, and if the client writes in a week “I want to make an appointment,” he will be greeted by a welcome menu, not silence. Plus pure statistics: the “Waiting for a response” tile in “Analytics” only counts conversations that are actually waiting for a person.
A typical mistake is to do neither one nor the other. The conversation hangs on the operator, the bot is silent, and a week later the client writes “I want to make an appointment” - but no one answers him, because the operator has long forgotten this conversation. There is no timer in CHBT that would close such conversations itself, so this is a command rule, not a setting: when finished, click “Close” (or “Return to bot” if you prompted the client with a command). Once a day, the duty officer goes through the “Waiting for an answer” tab and closes everything where the answer has already been given.
Team, roles and “no one is present” mode
Operators in CHBT are invited to the “Access” section by e-mail with the “Operator” role - it gives access to “Conversations” and “Contacts”, but not to scripts, channels and payments. The “Admin” role is for the one who configures the bot. On the Free plan there is one operator, on the Basic plan for 650 ₽ and Business - without restrictions.
A separate question is what happens when there are no operators: nights, weekends, vacations. The bot should not promise “we’ll answer now.”
- Widget on the website: the “online” status is on while someone has an account open; everyone is gone - the status changes itself, and the “Offline message” from the widget settings is shown. Write in it when you will answer and what to do now.
- Telegram, MAX, VK: the bot does not have an “online” status, so before the “Operator” block, place a “Condition” block by time of day and day of the week. During working hours - “Passing to a colleague” and “Operator”; outside - “We are in touch from 10:00, leave your phone, we will call you back first” and the “Data collection” block. This way, the night client doesn’t wait for a response that won’t come, and the request is saved. The reception is described in detail, with the settings of the “Condition” block, in the article about autoresponder in Telegram; the same script works in MAX and VK.
There is no hourly schedule in the widget settings - only a checkbox and text, so the “working time” logic in any channel lives in the script.
Transmission errors that are visible in “Conversations”
Five situations that occur in almost every bot audit.
- Transfer on the first message. The bot says hello and immediately hands it over to the operator. The whole point of the bot is lost: the queue is the same as without it. First the menu and qualifications, then the person.
- There is no way out to the person at all. No button, no trigger word. The client writes “operator”, receives a menu, writes again, and leaves. Check: from each menu there should be a path to the “Operator” block in one click.
- Empty “Message to operator”. The operator sees “The conversation has been transferred to the operator” and reads the entire correspondence from scratch. Write the context.
- Notifications are turned off for everyone. Conversations accumulate, answers are given every other day. At least one person must have Web Push enabled.
- Dialogs are not returned to the bot. Hundreds of conversations with the status “Operator” - and in each one the bot is silent, even if the client writes again in a month. Once a day - the “Waiting for a response” tab and the “Close” button wherever the answer is given.
How these and other errors look at the level of the entire flow and how to treat them - in the article 10 errors in bot scripts. How transfer to the operator affects the conversion into an lead and a deal - in analysis bot conversion mechanic.
The free plan CHBT includes “Conversations”, the “Operator” block, notifications and one operator - 30 conversations per month per bot. This is enough to draw the line between a bot and a person in real requests. Set up transmission to operator →
“Support” templateChat widget for the websiteAutoresponder in TelegramPlans