Automatic escalation
Chatonio monitors conversations for signals that a human operator should get involved. Escalation can be triggered by:
- Keywords — configurable words/phrases like "speak to a human", "manager", "complaint"
- AI detection — the AI recognizes frustration, complex issues, or situations it can't handle
The escalation mode controls how aggressively escalation triggers:
- Off — never escalates. For pure-AI projects where the AI handles everything.
- Keywords only — escalates solely on your keyword list, with no AI evaluation (and no extra AI cost).
- Auto (the default) — the AI evaluates each conversation and decides. You can steer it with your own plain-language escalation directives; when set, your directives fully define the escalation policy.
- Always — escalates every conversation on the first message. Useful for sales or high-touch support.
Keywords act as hard triggers in every mode except Off. You can set the escalation mode, keywords, and directives as project defaults and override them per channel.
What happens when escalated
- The conversation status changes to Escalating
- All project operators receive a push notification
- The conversation appears highlighted in the Unassigned tab
- The AI continues responding until an operator claims the conversation
Operator handoff
When an operator claims a conversation:
- Status changes to Processing
- A fallback timer starts — if the operator doesn't respond within the configured time, the AI sends a fallback message
- The operator can close, reassign, or mark the conversation as waiting
Auto-close
AI-only conversations (no operator involved) are automatically closed after a configurable period of inactivity. A check-in message is sent 5 minutes before closing.