Voice Agent Transfers & Handoffs
Overview
Call Transfers allow your voice agent to transfer calls to team members or other phone numbers when needed. When the AI determines a caller needs human assistance, specialized help, etc., it can seamlessly transfer the call.
Voice Agents 3.0: This tab is called Transfers & Handoffs on v3. In addition to phone transfers, v3 adds agent-to-agent handoffs - the ability to hand the live call to another AI agent (often a Specialist) without a phone transfer, keeping the entire conversation context. See the Agent-to-Agent Handoffs section below.
If you currently transfer to another AI agent by phone number, switch it to a handoff on v3. A handoff is faster, keeps full context, and produces noticeably better conversations than bouncing the caller to a second agent over the phone. Reserve phone transfers for reaching humans or external numbers.
When to Use Call Transfers
Good Use Cases:
- Caller specifically asks to speak with a person
- Complex issues requiring human expertise
- Sales calls needing personal touch
- Escalations
- Requests for specific team members
Examples:
- "I'd like to speak with someone about a custom order"
- "Can I talk to a manager?"
- "I need help with a complex technical issue"
- "I want to speak with a real person"
Configuring Call Transfers
Step 1: Enable Transfers
In the Transfers tab, toggle "Enable Call Transfers" to ON
Step 2: Add Transfer Destinations
Click "Add Transfer Destination" to add each phone number/team member.
For Each Destination:
Phone Number (Required)
- Full phone number with country code
- Format: +1234567890
- Example: +15551234567
(Only US and Canada numbers allowed)
Description
- Label that guides the AI as to who the call is going to transfer to when used
- Example: "Sales Manager", "Support Team", "After Hours Line"
- If you don't give explicit instructions to your Agent about when it is appropriate to transfer where, the Agent will infer based on this description. (explicitly instructing your agent about when and where to transfer is highly recommended)
Transfer Message (Required)
- What agent says before transferring
- Caller hears this right before transfer
- Should explain what's happening
Step 3: Configure Agent Instructions
In the Instructions tab, tell the agent when to transfer:
Example:
## Transfers
If the caller requests to speak with a person, or asks for something
you cannot help with, offer to transfer them to a team member.
Say something like: "I'd be happy to connect you with someone who
can help with that. Would you like me to transfer you?"
Be specific about when transfers are appropriate.
Step 4: Save Agent
Transfer Message Examples
Good Transfer Messages
General Transfer: "Let me transfer you to someone who can help with that."
Department Specific: "I'll connect you with our sales team now."
By Name: "Let me transfer you to Sarah, our service manager."
With Wait Time: "I'm connecting you now. This will take just a moment."
Specialized Help: "Let me get you over to our technical team who can assist with that."
Not-as-great Transfer Messages
Too Vague: ❌ "Transferring..." ❌ "One moment"
Too Formal: ❌ "Your call will now be transferred to the appropriate department."
Too Casual: ❌ "Hang on, let me dump you to someone else"
Too Long: ❌ "Okay so what I'm going to do is transfer you over to our sales team who should be able to help you with that question about pricing and they can also discuss options and..."
How Transfers Work
Normal Transfer Flow
- Caller makes request requiring transfer
- AI determines transfer is appropriate
- Agent says transfer message to caller
- Call is transferred to destination number
- Destination phone rings
- If answered: Caller connected, agent call ends
- If not answered: Depends on phone system (typically voicemail)
Call ends for the AI agent - transfer is one-way, agent doesn't stay on the line.
AI Decision Making
The AI decides to transfer based on:
- Agent instructions about when to transfer
- Caller's explicit request ("I want to talk to a person")
- Situation beyond AI's capability
- Escalation scenarios defined in instructions
You control when transfers happen through agent instructions.
Multiple Transfer Destinations
You can configure multiple destinations:
Example Setup:
- Sales Team: +15551111111 - "I'll connect you with our sales team."
- Support: +15552222222 - "Let me transfer you to technical support."
- Manager: +15553333333 - "I'll get you to our manager."
In Instructions:
## Transfers
- If caller asks about sales or pricing: Transfer to Sales Team
- If caller has technical issues: Transfer to Support
- If caller asks for a manager: Transfer to Manager
- For general requests to speak with someone: Transfer to Sales Team
AI selects appropriate destination based on conversation context and your instructions.
Agent-to-Agent Handoffs (Voice Agents 3.0)
Voice Agents 3.0: Handoffs are only available on v3.
A handoff lets the current agent pass the live call to another AI agent instead of to a phone number. Unlike a transfer, the call never leaves the system - the new agent picks up instantly with the full conversation history, then continues in its own voice with its own instructions and tools.
Handoff vs. Transfer
| Transfer | Handoff (v3) | |
|---|---|---|
| Goes to | A phone number (human or external line) | Another AI agent |
| Context | Caller re-explains to whoever answers | New agent already has the full conversation |
| Caller experience | Brief hold / ring | Seamless, no ringing |
| Use for | Reaching a person, escalations | Routing to a more specialized AI agent |
Rule of thumb: use a transfer to reach a human, and a handoff to reach another AI agent. If you previously phone-transferred between AI agents, convert that to a handoff.
Specialists
Handoffs pair naturally with Specialist agents - focused, phone-numberless agents that exist only to be handed calls. For example, a main inbound agent can hand billing questions to a "Billing" specialist and warranty questions to a "Warranty" specialist. See Voice Agent Specialists.
You can also hand off to any regular agent (not just specialists).
Configuring Handoffs
In the Transfers & Handoffs tab:
- Enable Handoffs
- Add a handoff destination for each agent you want to be able to hand off to:
- Agent: Which agent receives the call
- Label: A short name for the destination (helps the AI choose)
- Description: When this handoff is appropriate (e.g., "billing, payments, or invoice questions")
- Handoff message (optional): A short line the current agent says as it hands off (e.g., "Let me bring in our billing specialist."). If set, it smooths the transition while the new agent takes over.
- Save the agent
You can also let Ava ("Edit with AI") set up handoffs for you - she'll pull in your other active agents as destinations and add matching guidance to the prompt.
Guiding When to Hand Off
As with transfers, give the agent explicit instructions about when to hand off in the Instructions tab:
## Handoffs
- If the caller has a billing, payment, or invoice question, hand off to the Billing specialist.
- If the caller asks about warranty coverage, hand off to the Warranty specialist.
- Handle everything else yourself.
How a Handoff Works on the Call
- The current agent decides a handoff is appropriate (based on your instructions/destination descriptions)
- It optionally says the configured handoff message
- The destination agent takes over in its own voice, with the full conversation so far
- The new agent continues the call (and can even hand off again, within limits)
Handoffs are recorded in the call's transcript and in the Call Sequence so you can see exactly where the call changed hands.
Best Practices
Be Selective with Transfers
Don't:
- Transfer every call
- Transfer too quickly (AI can handle most questions)
- Transfer without attempting to help first (just don't route calls to voice ai that you don't want voice ai handling)
Do:
- Let AI try to assist first
- Transfer when genuinely needed
- Transfer for explicit requests ("I want to speak to a person")
- Transfer for complex scenarios you don't want Agent handling
Always Explain the Transfer
Bad: Transferring immediately without explanation Good: "I'll connect you with someone who can help with that specialized request. Transferring you now."
Caller should understand:
- Why they're being transferred
- Who they're being transferred to (team/person)
- What to expect
Test Transfer Numbers
Before going live:
- Call each transfer destination
- Verify numbers are correct
- Ensure someone answers during business hours
- Have backup plan for after-hours
Set Clear Expectations in Instructions
Tell the agent:
- When transfers are appropriate
- Which destination for which scenario
- What to say before transferring
- When to try helping first vs. transferring immediately
Have a Transfer Strategy
Consider:
- Business hours availability
- After-hours routing
- Backup if primary destination doesn't answer (would be handled by your phone system - agent makes the transfer and ends it's leg of the call)
- Queue vs. direct transfer (would be handled by your phone system - agent makes the transfer and ends it's leg of the call)
Monitor Transfer Frequency
Review voice logs:
- How often transfers happen
- Why transfers are happening
- If AI could handle more without transferring
- If transfers are successful (call answered)
Adjust if:
- Too many transfers (AI should handle more)
- Too few transfers (might be missing escalation opportunities)
- Transfers to wrong destinations
Common Transfer Scenarios
Scenario 1: Simple Human Request
Caller: "I'd rather talk to a real person"
Agent: "Of course! Let me connect you with someone from our team. This will just take a moment."
Transfers to: Main team line
Scenario 2: Specialized Technical Issue
Caller: "I'm having trouble with my advanced system configuration"
Agent: "I'll transfer you to our technical specialist who can help with that. One moment please."
Transfers to: Technical support line
Scenario 3: Sales Inquiry
Caller: "I want to discuss a large commercial project"
Agent: "I'll connect you with our commercial sales team who can assist with that. Transferring now."
Transfers to: Sales manager
Scenario 4: After Hours (No Transfers)
Alternative approach:
Don't configure transfers, instead:
- AI takes complete message, and sends summary email to selected team members (to configure call summary emails, go to AI Agents > AI Voice Agents > Click the bell icon on the Agent you want summary emails from)
- Book appointment
- Answer FAQs and end call
- Stay in the loop about everything with summary emails and notification emails triggered by conditional tools
- Assure the contact they will be taken care of. (in your agent instructions: "After the user has confirmed they have shared everything they need, tell the user you have noted their request, and will pass it along to our team, and someone will be in touch as soon as possible")
Transfers vs. Other Options
When to Transfer
- Caller explicitly requests it
- Complex issues requiring expertise
- Personal touch needed
- AI genuinely can't help
When to Use Conditional Tools Instead
- Just need to alert team (don't need transfer)
- Can handle with SMS follow-up
- Information gathering call
When to Use Booking
- Caller needs appointment
- Scheduling consultation
- AI can fully handle
Troubleshooting
Problem: Transfers failing
Solution:
- Verify phone numbers are correct (include +1)
- Test destination numbers manually
- Check transfer messages are configured
- Ensure "Enable Call Transfers" is on
- Verify phone provider supports transfers
Problem: Agent transferring too often
Solution:
- Review agent instructions
- Make transfer criteria more specific
- Enable AI to handle more scenarios
- Add knowledge base information
- Check if agent has necessary tools/data
Problem: Agent not transferring when requested
Solution:
- Check transfer instructions are clear
- Verify transfers are enabled
- Make transfer conditions less restrictive
- Test with explicit transfer request
Problem: Wrong destination being selected
Solution:
- Clarify which destination for which scenario in instructions
- Test different request types
- Review call logs
- Adjust instruction specificity
Problem: Transfer message sounds awkward
Solution:
- Rewrite in more natural language
- Keep it conversational
- Test by listening to actual transfers
- Get team feedback
Problem: Transferred calls not being answered by your team
Solution:
- Verify transfer numbers during business hours
- Set up voicemail on destination numbers
- Consider queue or ring group instead of direct number
- Have backup destination
- Configure after-hours handling
Related Features
- AI Voice Agents Overview - Main voice agent guide
- Voice Agent Specialists - Handoff-only expert agents (v3)
- Voice Phone Settings - Other call behavior settings
- Voice Conditional Tools - Automate actions during calls