# Set up escalation and handoff

**Category:** [AI Chat Agent](https://help.totalctrl.app/hc/totalctrl/totalctrl-help-center/en-US/categories/agent)
**Updated:** 2026-08-19

## Why escalation matters

No agent answers everything. Escalation is what happens when the agent can't help or the visitor asks for a person. You configure it in the **Escalation** section of the **Configuration** tab, and you can enable more than one option.
## Escalation options

- **Create a Support ticket** — the conversation is turned into a ticket in your Support app's default mailbox, with the full chat transcript attached and the visitor's name and email as the requester. This is on by default.
- **Collect email and notify team** — set an **Escalation email to** address that gets notified when a visitor escalates.
- **Show a custom message / link** — display your own wrap-up text and an optional link (for example, to a booking page or status page).

## Live handoff inbox

When a conversation is escalated its status becomes **Escalated** and it appears in the **Handoff Inbox**, which collects escalated chats across all your agents. A team member can open a conversation and **reply directly** — the reply is delivered to the visitor's open widget in real time, so you can take over from the AI mid-chat.
## Reviewing chats

Every conversation is logged under the **Conversations** tab with its status (*Active*, *Resolved*, or *Escalated*). Open one to read the full transcript, including the sources the agent cited and any human replies. Use this to spot gaps and improve your [knowledge sources](add-knowledge-sources).

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## Related Articles

- [Reading your agent analytics](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/agent-analytics)
- [Embed the chat widget](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/embed-the-chat-widget)
- [Managing Agent Conversations](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/managing-agent-conversations)
- [Add knowledge sources](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/add-knowledge-sources)
- [AI Support Agent overview](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/ai-support-agent-overview-1)

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