Take over a conversation from the AI

When the AI Lead Agent hits something it should not handle alone — an urgent job, a request outside its rules — it pauses itself and flags the conversation Needs Review. You take over directly in the thread: read the conversation, reply yourself using the channel's composer, then choose Mark Reviewed (a human saw it), Resume AI (let the agent continue), or Close Lead (done, no job). The AI never talks over you: while the handoff is active it sends nothing on that lead.

Before you start

• You need access to the Leads page (Phone Enterprise plan).
• SMS replies use your normal texting path — your sending number must be SMS-ready and the customer must not have opted out.

How a lead lands in review

• Urgent requests — anything the customer marks urgent, emergency, ASAP, or today. The AI pauses automatically.
• Rule limits — the agent hands off rather than break a rule (for example a price question it has no verified answer for).

Flagged conversations show a red left edge and the Needs Review badge in the list, plus an Urgent chip when the customer's urgency was captured. The thread header shows "Urgent lead — AI is paused. Dispatcher review required." with the captured facts (service type, address, phone) underneath.

Step 1 — Open the conversation

1. Open Leads in the left sidebar.
2. Click the flagged conversation. Review the full thread — the header also shows a one-line summary of the agent's last action (replied, drafted, handed off, or skipped, with the reason).

Step 2 — Reply yourself

The composer under the thread matches the lead's channel:

• SMS and Google Maps leads — the Text reply box. Type your message and click Send text. It goes out through your normal billable SMS path, so opt-outs and quotas are respected.
• Yelp leads — the Yelp reply box with Send via Yelp (requires the outbound Zapier hook — set it up here).
• Facebook Messenger — the Messenger reply box with Send via Messenger. A chip shows "Reply window open" or "Reply window closed" — Meta only allows replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message.
• Instagram — the Instagram reply box with Send via Instagram, under the same 24-hour window rule.

While the handoff is active, the Draft reply button is disabled and the panel notes "AI is paused for dispatcher review." — asking the AI for a draft on a lead in human review is intentionally blocked.

Step 3 — Decide what happens next

Three buttons appear on every Needs Review conversation:

1. Mark Reviewed — records that a dispatcher saw the lead. The conversation stays with your team.
2. Resume AI — clears the handoff. The agent picks the conversation back up on the customer's next message.
3. Close Lead — closes the conversation without creating a job.

Troubleshooting

• "This customer has opted out of SMS." — the customer texted STOP at some point. You cannot text them until they opt back in (START).
• "This conversation has no customer phone number." — the lead arrived without a phone (for example a webhook lead with email only). Reply by the channel it came in on, or call/email them directly.
• "This conversation is closed and can't be replied to." — the lead was closed. Closed leads are read-only.
• "Reply window has closed. The customer must send a new message first." — the Meta 24-hour window lapsed on a Messenger or Instagram lead. Wait for the customer's next message.
• "No active handoff found." — someone else already resolved the handoff (marked reviewed, resumed, or closed) before your click landed. Reload the conversation.
• "Draft skipped: this lead is currently in human review." — you asked for an AI draft on a lead in handoff. Resolve the handoff first with Resume AI if you want the agent drafting again.