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Automation & Escalation Rules
Control when the AI replies on its own, and when it hands off to your team
Updated Aug 9, 20262 min read
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Where Automation Lives
Open AI Receptionist › Text replies. This page decides when the AI acts without you.
Auto-Reply Mode
| Mode | Behavior | Good For |
|---|---|---|
| Always on | AI replies to inbound messages automatically, at any hour | Round-the-clock replies once you trust the AI |
| After-hours only | AI replies only outside your business hours | Teams that answer personally during the day |
| Disabled | AI never replies on its own; conversations wait for a human | Evaluation and manual-first workflows |
Per-channel overrides let you run different modes on different channels — for example, always-on for web chat but after-hours only for SMS.
Handoff Rules
- Max qualifying questions — how many questions the AI asks before involving a human
- Quote events — hand off when a customer rejects a quote, accepts one, or starts negotiating
- Thresholds — minimum answer confidence, grounding confidence, and a sentiment threshold that escalates frustrated customers
When a rule fires, the conversation lands in Needs attention for your team to acknowledge and resolve.
AI Behavior & Guardrails
- AI disclosure — the first AI reply in every conversation starts with a fixed sentence telling the customer they are talking to your AI assistant. It cannot be changed or turned off. You can add optional text after it (for example, a short welcome), but not text that says the sender is a person or is not an AI
- History window — how much conversation history the AI considers per reply
- Spend cap — a per-conversation AI budget limit so a runaway thread cannot become expensive
Missed-Call Text-Back
When a call is missed, the AI automatically texts the caller back after a delay you choose, with a message you control. This converts hang-ups into conversations — enable it as soon as SMS is live.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| AI is not replying at all | Mode is Disabled, or After-hours only during business hours | Check the mode and your operating hours in Settings |
| AI escalates too often | Confidence or sentiment thresholds too strict | Lower the confidence threshold gradually and retest |
| Missed-call texts not sending | SMS not fully provisioned | Verify A2P registration status in Settings › Channels |
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