Transfers and escalation

Understand how calls flow between you and your receptionist, and what happens when the AI can't help.

The AI Receptionist is designed to work around your team, not instead of it. The usual pattern isn't "AI transfers to human" — it's "human first, AI as the safety net."

You ring first, the AI catches what you miss

Your number's call handling decides who a call reaches. Calls can ring you or your team first; the receptionist steps in when nobody answers, when you're marked unavailable, or outside your business hours. That means the escalation path for most callers is simply: if it matters, you pick up — the AI only handles what you didn't.

Configure that ordering per number under Settings → Phone numbers and with your availability and business-hours setup — see Call configuration and Incoming calls.

When the agent can't help

Each agent has a fallback message — what it says when it can't answer or the call winds down (for example, "Thank you for calling. Have a great day!"). Edit it by opening the agent on the AI Receptionist page and clicking Edit.

In practice, the most reliable escalation is instructing the agent to take a message: name, callback number, and what the caller needs. That message lands in the call summary in Call Logs and the agent's Recent calls feed, so you can call back within minutes. Add this to the agent's instructions explicitly:

If you can't answer a question, or the caller asks for a human,
apologize, take their name and number, and promise a callback.
Never guess.

Escalate less by training more

Every "I don't know" is a gap in the agent's knowledge. Review transcripts in Call Logs, spot the questions it fumbled, and add the answers — see Train your AI Receptionist.

Quick changes without opening settings

You can also adjust routing conversationally with Ask LimeAI: "Forward my calls to +1 555…", "Always put Mom through", or "I'm away this week — take messages." Rules show as pills you can remove to undo.