AI live chat means a visitor gets a real answer inside a few seconds, at any hour, and a person on your team takes over the moment the conversation needs judgement. On the levelpartner.ai platform the AI agent answers first, the handover lands in Conversations, and nobody has to sit watching a chat window all day. This article answers one question: how do you split live chat between an AI agent and your staff so that speed goes up without quality going down?
Why the split matters more than the bot
Most firms that try live chat fail for a staffing reason, not a software reason. Someone has to be watching, replies slow down after lunch, and by Friday the chat bubble promises something the team cannot deliver. An AI agent removes the watching. It handles the first exchange, answers the questions it is allowed to answer, collects a name and contact detail, and passes the conversation to a person when a rule says so.
The value is in the handover rules. Get them right and your people only see conversations worth their time. Get them wrong and they either see everything, which defeats the purpose, or see nothing until a prospect has already left.
Before you start
- A chat widget already installed on your site. If you have not done this yet, read setting up the live chat widget first.
- An AI agent in the AI Agents section with a short knowledge base: services, areas covered, opening hours, how to book.
- A named person or small group who owns chat handovers during business hours.
- A clear list of topics the AI must never answer itself, such as fees, legal or regulatory advice, and complaints.
- Agreement on what counts as a qualified conversation for your business.
How to set it up
Write the agent's instructions in plain sentences first: who it represents, what it may answer and what it must pass to a person, such as pricing questions, complaints or anything outside its knowledge base. Then connect it to the widget and set the handover.
- Go to Sites > Chat Widgets, open your widget and save it.
- Go to AI Agents > Conversation AI and open the bot.
- Select the Deploy tab and turn on Chat Widget.
- Open the Chat Widget channel's edit icon and turn on Assign channel.
- Select the widget and add tag conditions if needed.
- Click Update, save the bot and test the widget on your site.
- Select the Bot Goals tab.
- Under Setup Your Actions, click Human Handover.
- Turn on Enable Scenario for Human Requested, adding example phrases.
- Turn on Lack of Information and Failed to Resolve Issue too.
- Choose the user each handed-over conversation is assigned to.
- Write the final message the bot sends before handing over.
- Set how long the bot stays paused after handover.
So the assigned person hears about it, open Settings, then My Staff, edit their profile and switch on the notification for conversations assigned to them. Then send ten test messages from a private browser window, two of which should trigger a handover, and check each one lands in Conversations with the right owner and a contact record.
What the AI should handle and what it should pass on
A good rule of thumb: the AI answers anything a well-briefed receptionist could answer from a printed sheet. Opening hours, which services you offer, which locations you cover, how long a first meeting takes, how to book. It also asks the qualifying questions you would ask on a first call.
It passes on anything that needs a decision. A mortgage broker's agent can explain what documents a first meeting needs, but should hand over the moment someone asks whether they will be approved. A consultancy's agent can describe the engagement types, but should hand over a scoping question. The same logic holds for agencies and real estate firms.
Suppose chat is staffed from nine to five and about 40 chats a month arrive outside those hours, each waiting until the next morning. With AI live chat, every one of those would get an answer within seconds. If the agent books 12 discovery calls a month straight into the calendar and hands over 9 conversations that need a partner's judgement, the partner would spend roughly 20 minutes a day on handovers. Every number here is an assumption for the sake of the arithmetic.
What it replaces and what it costs in time
AI live chat replaces two things: a staffed chat rota and the contact form that sits unanswered until someone checks the inbox. You still need a person, but their job changes from watching to deciding.
Plan on an hour a week once it is running. Read a sample of AI conversations, correct anything the agent got wrong, add answers to the knowledge base, and check that handovers were picked up the same day. In the first month, plan on double that while you tune the instructions.
The usual mistake is letting the AI pretend to be a person. Visitors work it out quickly, and the trust you lose costs more than the chat gained. Give the agent a clear name, say it is an assistant in the greeting, and tell visitors how to reach a person.
When not to use it
Do not switch on AI live chat if nobody will act on handovers within the working day. A fast first reply followed by two days of silence is worse than a form with an honest reply time. Also hold off if your services change weekly and nobody owns the knowledge base: the agent will confidently give out last month's answers.
If your sales are almost entirely referral based and visitors rarely ask questions before calling, a simple form plus the unified inbox may be all you need. Chat earns its place when visitors arrive cold and have questions.
How it fits the rest of the platform
Because the conversation lives in Conversations, the contact can later receive SMS, email or a call in the same thread. That continuity is what omnichannel communication means in practice. It also means you can report on which chats became opportunities, which is covered in tracing revenue back to chat and other channels.
Troubleshooting
The AI never hands over. Handover triggers are written too vaguely. Replace "if the question is complex" with specific topics and phrases, then test each one.
Handed-over chats sit unassigned. The assignment rule points at a user who is inactive or on leave. Check the rule and add a fallback owner.
The AI gives wrong answers about pricing or availability. The knowledge base holds an old document. Remove it, add the current version, and add an instruction to hand over all pricing questions.
Visitors abandon after the first reply. The greeting asks for an email before answering anything. Let the AI answer the first question, then ask for contact details.
Frequently asked questions
Can the AI book appointments directly in live chat?
Yes. Connect the agent to a calendar and it can offer times and book them. The booking appears in Calendars and on the contact record, so your reminder workflows run as normal.
Will visitors know they are talking to AI?
They should. State it in the greeting and give the assistant its own name. Visitors accept an assistant that is honest and useful far more readily than one that pretends.
What happens to chats that arrive at night?
The AI answers them in real time. Anything that needs a person is assigned and waits for the morning, with a notification sent to the owner so it is the first thing they see.
Do I need separate staff to run AI live chat?
No. Most firms give handovers to an existing salesperson or office manager. The weekly review takes about an hour once the agent is tuned.
The journey this guide describes
Instant lead response
- Trigger
Form or ad lead
Website form, ad form or portal email
- Trigger
Message or missed call
Chat, social, WhatsApp or phone
Enquiry captured
Every channel lands in one contact record with its source, so nothing sits in a personal inbox.
InstantFind the contact
Match on email or phone
- New contactNot in the CRM yet
First reply sent
A personal reply goes out on the channel the enquiry came in on, with a link to book.
Under 60 secondsWait for an answer
Up to 2 minutes
Intent read
AI reads the message and labels what the person wants, so the right follow-up starts.
Seconds- Ready to talkWants a call or a time
Call-back within 5 minutes
The owner is connected to the lead
Owner alerted
The person responsible gets the enquiry, the history and the next step on their phone.
InstantDeal opened
A deal is created in the pipeline with its source, so the enquiry is tracked to the outcome.
Instant- Done
- Just lookingNo time yet
Moved to nurture
Useful follow-up on a rhythm
- End
- Ready to talkWants a call or a time
- Existing clientAlready in the CRM
Sent to their account owner
With the full history attached
Owner notified
By text and in the app
- End
- New contactNot in the CRM yet