shopify/Live Agent Handoff

Live Agent Handoff

The perfect blend of AI efficiency and human connection. When customers need a real person, the handoff is seamless—and when your team is away, you never miss a lead.

Key Benefits:

  • 🤝 Seamless escalation — AI detects when customers need human help
  • 📅 Smart scheduling — Define availability in natural language
  • 📱 Contact capture — Collect leads 24/7, even when agents are offline
  • 🔔 Webhook notifications — Integrate with your CRM or email tools

Accessing Live Agent Settings

Navigate to Live Agent in the Intufind app.

Live Agent Settings Screenshot: shopify-live-agent.png

Availability

Live agent handoff is available on:

  • Starter plan and above
  • Requires active subscription

Supported Providers

ProviderStatusCost
SlackAvailableFREE (with existing workspace)
WhatsAppComing Soon—
ZendeskComing Soon—

Setting Up Slack

Easy Setup (Recommended)

The fastest way to connect Slack:

  1. Navigate to Live Agent in the Intufind app
  2. Select Slack as your provider
  3. Click Add to Slack button
  4. Authorize the Intufind app in your Slack workspace
  5. Configure your support channel

Add to Slack Screenshot: shopify-slack-add.png

Note: Slack may show a warning that the app is not in their App Directory. This is normal for custom integrations. Click "Allow" to proceed.

Channel Configuration

After connecting Slack:

  1. Create a dedicated support channel (e.g., #customer-support)
  2. Add the Intufind app to this channel:
    • Right-click the channel → View channel details
    • Go to Integrations → Add Apps
    • Select Intufind
  3. Find the Channel ID:
    • In channel details, scroll to the bottom
    • Copy the ID (starts with C)
  4. Enter the Channel ID in Intufind settings
  5. Click Save Channel

Channel Configuration Screenshot: shopify-slack-channel.png

Manual Configuration (Advanced)

For custom Slack bots:

  1. Create a Slack app at api.slack.com/apps
  2. Add bot scopes: chat:write, channels:read, users:read
  3. Install to your workspace
  4. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token (starts with xoxb-)
  5. Enable Event Subscriptions with Request URL: [Cloud API URL]/live-agent/webhook/slack
  6. Create a support channel and add your bot
  7. Enter credentials in Intufind:
    • Bot User OAuth Token
    • Channel ID
    • Signing Secret
  8. Click Save & Validate Credentials

Handoff Behavior

Configure when and how conversations are handed off.

Handoff Behavior Screenshot: shopify-handoff-behavior.png

Enable Live Agent

  • Description: When enabled, customers can connect with human agents
  • Default: Disabled (until configured)

AI-Suggested Handoff

  • Description: AI proactively offers human help when it detects frustration or complex issues
  • Default: Enabled

Custom Escalation Criteria

Define when the AI should escalate:

Always escalate:
- Refund requests
- Order cancellations
- Billing disputes
- Account problems
- Requests requiring system access the AI cannot provide

Max: 1,500 characters

Manual Handoff Button

  • Description: Displays a "Talk to a Human" button in the chat
  • Default: Enabled

Display Hours

  • Description: Simple text displayed when agents are unavailable
  • Example: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm EST

This is a fallback message shown to customers. For smarter scheduling, use the Availability Schedule below.

Availability Schedule

Define when your live agents are available using natural language. The AI interprets this schedule in real-time to determine if agents are currently available.

Availability Schedule Screenshot: shopify-availability-schedule.png

How It Works

  1. You define the schedule in plain English
  2. AI interprets it against the current date/time
  3. Customers get smart responses like "Our team will be back Monday at 9 AM EST"

Example Schedules

ScheduleWhat It Means
M-F 9AM-5PM ESTWeekdays, standard business hours
Mon-Fri 8AM to 6PM EST, Sat 10AM-2PMExtended hours with Saturday coverage
24/7 except 12/25 and 1/1Always available except holidays
Weekdays 9-5, closed US federal holidaysStandard hours respecting holidays

Schedule + Real-Time Status

The AI considers both your schedule and real-time agent status:

  • ✅ Within schedule + agents online → "Connect Now" offered
  • ⏰ Within schedule + no agents online → "Leave contact info, agents should be available soon"
  • 🌙 Outside schedule → "Leave contact info, we'll be back [next available time]"

This ensures customers always get accurate expectations.

Contact Form Fallback

When agents are unavailable, customers can leave their contact information instead of abandoning the conversation.

Contact Form Screenshot: shopify-contact-form.png

What's Captured

  • Name (optional)
  • Email (required if no phone)
  • Phone (required if no email)
  • Message (optional)

Webhook Integration

Contact submissions trigger a contact.submitted webhook event, allowing you to:

  • Add leads to your CRM automatically
  • Send email notifications to your team
  • Trigger SMS alerts
  • Create support tickets

See Webhooks for setup instructions.

Example Webhook Payload

{
  "event": "contact.submitted",
  "data": {
    "thread_id": "web_1234567890_abc",
    "name": "Jane Doe",
    "email": "jane@example.com",
    "phone": "+1-555-123-4567",
    "message": "I need help with my recent order",
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T14:30:00Z"
  }
}

How It Works

  1. Customer requests help (or AI detects need)
  2. Conversation forwarded to your Slack channel
  3. Agent responds through Slack
  4. Messages appear in the chat widget in real-time
  5. Conversation ends when agent closes the thread or timeout occurs

Disconnecting Slack

To remove the Slack integration:

  1. Navigate to Live Agent
  2. Click Disconnect Slack or Delete Credentials
  3. The live agent feature will be disabled

Troubleshooting

"App not configured" error

  1. Ensure you've completed the Slack setup
  2. Verify the Channel ID is correct
  3. Confirm the Intufind app is added to your support channel

Messages not appearing in Slack

  1. Check the Channel ID
  2. Verify the Intufind app has been added to the channel
  3. Test with the "Add to Slack" button if using manual config

Customers not seeing agent responses

  1. Check your Slack workspace is connected
  2. Ensure the agent is replying in the correct thread
  3. Check Usage & Limits for quota issues

Next Steps