A useful human handover leaves the customer with one clear responder and gives the teammate enough context to continue. In Momo Business, you can stop automated handling for one WhatsApp conversation, assign a colleague, add an internal note and later return the chat to its account default.
Use this when a customer asks for a person, a complaint needs judgment, or an AI answer requires verification. Changing one chat keeps the exception focused on that customer.
Prepare the person who will take over
The teammate needs access to the WhatsApp account and permission to work in its Inbox. Changing AI handling, assigning conversations and sending messages are distinct capabilities; an owner may see controls another colleague cannot use.
Choose a real owner for the next action. “The team will handle it” is difficult to follow up when nobody knows who should respond. Agree on coverage and a realistic response expectation before promising either to the customer.
You can review role and account access with the team-access guide. Confirm that the intended recipient can open the actual conversation, rather than testing only as the workspace owner.
Stop automation for this conversation
- Open Inbox, select the correct WhatsApp account and open the customer's chat.
- Read the latest messages, including any recent AI answer. Check the current responder indicator, such as AI: On, AI: Draft or Flow.
- Open the responder control and choose Handle this chat manually.
- Confirm that the indicator changes to AI: Off and that the chat is using its own setting.
- Review any message already sent before continuing. Changing the responder does not retract earlier replies.
This chat setting takes priority over the account default. It also stops the chat's previous flow. Changing the whole account to Manual has a wider effect and lets existing flow sessions finish, so it is not the equivalent of taking over one conversation.
Do not rely on assignment alone to establish manual handling. An assigned conversation normally receives drafts, but an explicit Let AI handle this chat choice permits automatic AI replies even when a person is assigned. Select the manual option when that is your intended outcome.
Assign ownership and leave a useful note
Open the conversation sidebar and use Assigned to to select the responsible teammate. In Internal notes, record the customer's request, what is known, what remains uncertain and the next action. Internal notes are for the workspace team; write the customer's acknowledgement separately in the message composer.
A useful note is short and specific:
“Customer asks to change collection for order MB-204 to Friday afternoon. Current readiness is unconfirmed. Asha will check with dispatch and reply here. No collection time has been promised.”
Avoid pasting a long transcript that is already visible in the chat. Include an order or ticket reference when one exists, and distinguish the customer's preference from a confirmed business commitment.
Then send a customer-facing acknowledgement that matches your actual coverage:
“Thanks for explaining. Asha from our team will review your collection request and reply here. Your new collection time is still awaiting confirmation.”
Naming a colleague in a message is not the same as assigning the conversation. Complete the assignment and make sure that colleague can see it.
Follow the request through to an answer
For work that extends beyond a quick reply, create or link a support ticket and identify the same owner there. A ticket helps track the work; it does not remove the need to update the customer in the appropriate channel.
Before sending the resolution, read the latest thread again. Another colleague may have acted, or the customer may have changed the request. Check that your message addresses the current situation and that its delivery result succeeds. A sent acknowledgement is not evidence that the underlying issue is resolved.
If a flow reaches Hand to human, it ends the flow, switches the chat to manual handling and marks it for human attention. A teammate still needs to review and respond. The optional handover message may fail if the channel cannot send it, so check the Inbox state as well as what the customer received.
Return the chat to normal when appropriate
Once the exception is resolved, decide whether future messages should follow the account again. Open the responder control and choose Use account default. Read the resulting indicator and account policy before leaving the conversation.
Returning to the default can mean an AI agent, a flow or manual handling, depending on the saved account choice. It does not resume an old flow at the exact point where you stopped it. If a human assignment remains, the AI's effective behavior may still be draft mode.
For a controlled check, send another message from a test identity and verify the expected responder. Use the account automation guide when the result differs.
Troubleshoot an incomplete handover
If AI continues answering, inspect the selected chat and its saved override before changing agent instructions. If the teammate cannot see the conversation, check account assignment and role access. If nobody responds after a flow handover, check ownership and coverage: a human-attention marker is a request for help, not confirmation that a person has accepted the work.