Human handover

WhatsApp AI human handover rules

Your WhatsApp AI should stop and hand over to a real person whenever a request involves money, a dispute, or owner approval — rather than guess. Clear handover rules are one of the most important safety controls you can give it.

When the AI should stop and hand over

• Pricing uncertainty — the AI is not sure of the current price.
• Stock uncertainty — the AI cannot confirm availability.
• Bulk or wholesale inquiry — large orders need a real quote.
• Complaint — an unhappy customer needs a person, not a script.
• Refund — money back should be a human decision.
• Angry customer — de-escalation is a human job.
• Custom order — anything bespoke needs owner input.
• Delivery exception — anything outside the normal delivery rules.
• Anything involving money, dispute, or owner approval.

What a good handover sounds like

The AI should hand over politely and set expectations, without guessing the answer first:

Compare that to a risky answer that tries to resolve a complaint or quote a bulk price itself — that is exactly the kind of failure a readiness check flags.

Why handover rules matter for AI safety

Most damaging AI mistakes happen when the AI answers something it should have escalated: a bulk quote, a refund promise, a delivery exception. A missed handover is treated as a critical failure in a readiness check — see the readiness checklist — because it usually means a wrong promise reached a customer.

How to test your handover rules

Include handover questions in your test set (complaints, bulk orders, “can I talk to a real person?”) and confirm the AI passes to a human instead of answering. The training checklist has the full set.