Escalate and hand off with ease
Think back to the last time you reached out to a brand for assistance. Did you find yourself going in circles with an automated support system? Or maybe when you finally reached a real, human agent, did you need to repeat yourself again and again because context and chat history were lost during the handoff?
Smooth escalations are essential to a strong customer experience. When thoughtfully designed, they help customers reach the right support fast without repeating themselves or losing important context between systems.
Enable your handoff process
There are 2 main paths to escalate and handoff conversations in Helpdesk: through Customer Hub and Customer Agent. Explore the gallery below to learn how to enable your escalation and handoff process for each path
From Customer Hub to Helpdesk
Customer Hub provides a personalized, on-brand experience where shoppers can discover products, view recommendations, and manage their relationship with your brand. When they need support, they can open the Chat tab to start a conversation with your team. The conversation is then managed in Helpdesk, where an agent can review the thread and reply.
Set up the path:
- Enable Customer Hub and confirm that the Chat tab is available.
- Enable Web Chat in Klaviyo under Settings > Web Chat.
- In Customer Hub, go to Extensions > Web Chat and confirm that the extension is enabled.
- Configure the visibility and login settings for the chat experience.
- Confirm that Helpdesk is enabled, staffed, and ready to receive incoming conversations.
- Open the storefront as a shopper and start a web chat conversation.
- In Helpdesk, confirm that the conversation appears as an open ticket.
- Reply from Helpdesk and verify that the shopper receives the response in the chat thread.
Customer Hub and Web Chat share the same onsite widget when Customer Hub is active. Customer Hub controls the widget’s appearance, while Web Chat controls chat-specific behavior such as the welcome message. See Getting started with web chat and Getting started with Customer Hub for additional product setup details.
From Customer Agent to Helpdesk
Customer Agent can answer routine questions using its configured content, skills, and Guidance. When the agent can’t resolve a request or an escalation rule is triggered, it can create a Helpdesk ticket and hand the conversation to a human.
Set up the path:
- Confirm that Customer Agent is enabled and that its content and Guidance are configured.
- Go to Customer Agent > Settings.
- Open the Handoff section for the channel you want to configure.
- Select Send a ticket to your helpdesk as the handoff method.
- Select the Helpdesk destination and customize the shopper-facing handoff message.
- Review your escalation rules in Customer Agent Guidance. Include rules for situations that require human support, such as policy exceptions, complex issues, or requests involving sensitive customer information.
- Confirm that the relevant channel is active and that Helpdesk users can receive and respond to tickets.
- Use the Customer Agent test sidebar to trigger an escalation.
- Confirm that the Helpdesk ticket includes the conversation context and that the shopper can continue the conversation as expected.
Customer Agent handoff settings are configured separately for web chat, email, text, and WhatsApp, so a change made for 1 channel does not automatically apply to the others. See Managing Customer Agent settings for more detailed configuration instructions.
Note: Customer Agent can live on Customer Hub via web chat.
Keep in mind that a handoff does not automatically move the shopper from one channel to another. For example, a shopper who starts in web chat will continue receiving Helpdesk responses in web chat, not by email or text.
Check the details shared during handoff
After a successful handoff, confirm that the human agent has enough context to continue without asking the shopper to repeat the issue. Depending on the Helpdesk destination, the handoff can include:
- Conversation transcript
- Conversation timestamps
- Shopper email address
- Klaviyo profile ID
- Unique identifier (differs depending on the channel)
Be sure to check the Activity panel in the bottom right corner of the Overview section. You’ll see open tickets, orders, events, subscriptions, and more for that full customer profile.
Optimize your handoffs
Once your handoff paths are enabled and you’ve confirmed that the right information carries over, you can fine-tune how the experience works for shoppers. A few key settings control what customers see and how handoffs work when your team is unavailable.
Expand the dropdowns below to learn how to configure each setting.
Customize your handoff message
A shopper has spent time explaining what they need and is ready to speak with your team. Use your automated handoff message to acknowledge that moment in your brand’s voice and briefly explain what happens next.
- Go to Customer Agent > Settings.
- Open Handoff for the channel you want to configure.
- Select Send a ticket to your helpdesk.
- Add the shopper-facing handoff message, save, and test the escalation.
Keep the message brief, reassuring, and consistent with your brand’s voice. It should:
- Confirm that the conversation is being handed off to your support team.
- Explain what the shopper should expect next.
- Share an estimated response time only if your team can reliably meet it.
- Use warm, conversational language without sounding overly casual.
- Avoid internal terms, technical details, or promises of an immediate reply.
For example:
“Thanks for reaching out about your exchange. I’m connecting you with our support team now, and they’ll review the conversation before replying here.”
Set your team's office hours
A customer may request human support at any time, but your team may not always be available to respond. Use office hours to clearly communicate when live support is available and what shoppers should expect outside those hours.
- Click Service > Helpdesk > Settings
- Under Office hours, click Add hours and set the days and times your team is available.
Make sure your office hours:
- Reflect when agents are actually available to respond.
- Use the correct time zone for your support team.
- Account for weekends, holidays, and seasonal schedule changes.
- Stay consistent with any hours listed on your website or help center.
Create an out of office message
A shopper who reaches out after hours should not be left wondering whether their message was received. Create an out-of-office message that acknowledges their request and lets them know when your team will be available again.
- Go to Helpdesk > Settings > Auto-responders.
- Select the channel you want to configure.
- Turn on the out-of-office auto-responder.
- Add your message, save your changes, and repeat for any other channels.
Keep your message brief and helpful. It should:
- Confirm that the shopper’s message was received.
- Explain when your team will be available again.
- Link to your Help Center, order-tracking page, or a frequently used resource.
- Note when seasonal volume may result in longer response times.
- Match your brand’s voice without distracting from the essential information.
For example:
“Thanks for contacting [brand name]. Our team is currently offline and will return Monday at 9 a.m. ET. In the meantime, visit our [Help Center] for quick answers or check your order status [here].”
An agent must be set to Online (as opposed to Offline) in order to receive ticket assignments. Ensure your agents turn on the Online toggle when they would like to receive tickets.
Next, we’ll provide more recommendations for settings, tools, and features you should use to improve efficiency, and reduce clutter.