---
title: "Escalate to human"
url: "/channels/handoff"
description: "Let an agent hand a conversation to a human operator when it cannot help, or the user insists on one."
productArea: channels
audience: ["business-user", "admin"]
tags: ["escalation", "handoff"]
lastReviewed: 2026-08-22
---

# Escalate to human (/channels/handoff)



Escalation lets an agent hand a conversation to a human operator when it cannot help, the user
insists on a human, or the issue is high-stakes. When an agent escalates, KlicForge notifies the
configured operators and surfaces the conversation in the **Inbox**, under **Needs Attention**
in the dashboard, where an operator can take over and reply directly.

## How it works [#how-it-works]

Escalation combines three things that are kept in lockstep: a tool the agent calls to escalate,
a skill that tells the agent when to escalate, and per-agent configuration. Enabling escalation
on an agent attaches the tool and skill automatically — you never wire them up by hand.

## Enabling escalation [#enabling-escalation]

On the agent's **Settings** tab, in the **Escalation** section:

1. Turn on **Enable escalation**.
2. Select which team members are notified when an escalation happens. Defaults to whoever
   enables it.
3. Optionally choose a custom detection skill to override when the agent decides to escalate.

Creating an agent from a [template](/agents/templates) that includes the handoff tool turns
escalation on for you automatically — if your workspace is on a paid plan and you have a verified
Telegram account. Otherwise it stays off, exactly as above, ready to enable by hand.

## What happens at runtime [#what-happens-at-runtime]

1. The agent decides to escalate and calls the escalation tool with a reason and an optional
   summary.
2. KlicForge notifies each configured operator — see [notifications](/organization/notifications).
3. The conversation appears in the **Inbox**, where an operator can take over and reply to
   the user directly.
4. If nobody takes it over, the same operators get a follow-up reminder. Taking over, or a
   colleague doing so, clears it — you won't be reminded about a conversation someone already has.

An agent also escalates automatically if it hits its tool-iteration limit while escalation is
enabled.

## Requirements [#requirements]

* **At least one notification channel** must be configured so operators can receive the alert —
  see [notifications](/organization/notifications).
* **At least one operator** must be selected, or escalation cannot be dispatched.
* Delivery to each operator is independent — if one operator's channel fails, the others still
  receive the alert.

## Related pages [#related-pages]

* [KlicForge Inbox](/conversations/inbox) — where operators pick up an escalated conversation
* [Channels](/channels)
* [Notifications](/organization/notifications)