Skip AI Routing

Bypass the AI chatbot and route visitors directly to live chat with a human agent.

How to get there: Go to Setup → Chatbot in the top menu → click your chatbot → Behavior → Live Chat in the sidebar.

What is Skip AI Routing?

By default, all chatbot conversations start with the AI. Visitors interact with the AI first, and can request a human if needed.

With Skip AI Routing enabled, visitors go straight to live chat without any AI interaction.

When to Enable

You Should Enable Skip AI Routing When:

1. Your chatbot is primarily for sales

High-value, complex products require human touch
Prospects expect immediate sales representative contact
Personal relationships are key to your sales process

2. You have 24/7 human coverage

Agents are always available
No need for AI to handle off-hours
Fast human response is your competitive advantage

3. AI isn't trained well yet

Chatbot is new and still learning
Training data isn't comprehensive
You don't want visitors experiencing low-quality AI responses

4. Highly specialized support

Questions are too complex/unique for AI
Every situation requires human judgment
AI can't access needed systems (order status, accounts, etc.)

5. Premium customer segment

VIP customers expect white-glove service
Brand positioning emphasizes personal service
Human interaction is part of the value proposition

You Should KEEP AI Routing (Default) When:

You want to scale support without adding headcount
AI can handle 50%+ of questions effectively
Agents aren't always available (business hours only)
You want AI to qualify leads before human contact
Common questions have clear answers in your knowledge base
You want to reduce agent workload

How It Works

With Skip AI Routing Enabled:

1. Visitor clicks chatbot button
2. Chat window opens
3. Message: "Connecting you to our team..."
4. Waiting for available agent
5. Agent accepts → Live chat begins
   OR
6. No agent available → Shows unavailable message

With Skip AI Routing Disabled (Default):

1. Visitor clicks chatbot button
2. Chat window opens
3. AI greeting message appears
4. Visitor asks question
5. AI responds
6. If visitor requests human → Routes to agent
7. Otherwise, conversation continues with AI

Enabling Skip AI Routing

Go to your chatbot settings
Navigate to "Routing" or "Live Chat" section
Find "Skip AI Routing" toggle
Enable it
Save changes

Takes effect immediately for new conversations.

What Happens When Enabled

Visitor Experience

When agents are available:

Fast connection to human (usually < 30 seconds)
Personal, immediate service
No AI interaction

When agents are unavailable:

Shows your configured "unavailable message"
Option to leave contact info and message
No fallback to AI (unless you configure it)

Agent Experience

Higher volume of incoming chats
All chats are from real visitors (no AI filtering)
Some may be simple questions AI could have handled
Need to be ready for immediate response

Considerations & Trade-offs

Pros of Skip AI Routing

✅ Immediate human connection

VIP treatment for all visitors
Build personal relationships from first interaction

✅ No AI quality concerns

Don't worry about AI giving wrong answers
Every response is accurate and empathetic

✅ Handle complex situations

Agents can access all systems
Can make judgment calls AI can't

Cons of Skip AI Routing

❌ Requires full agent coverage

Need agents available during all hours widget is shown
Without agents, no one gets help (vs AI fallback)

❌ Higher staffing costs

Can't scale to handle volume without adding agents
AI can't handle the "easy" 50% of questions

❌ Slower response when busy

Visitors wait in queue if all agents busy
AI could have helped immediately

❌ Missed qualification opportunity

AI can't pre-qualify leads
Agents spend time on all visitors, not just qualified ones

Alternative: Hybrid Approach

Instead of fully skipping AI, consider a hybrid:

Option 1: Fast AI Pre-qualification

Enable AI for first 1-2 messages
Train AI to quickly determine if human needed
Auto-escalate based on intent

Example flow:

AI: "Hi! How can I help - Sales or Support?"
Visitor: "Sales"
AI: "Great! Connecting you to our sales team..."
[Routes to human immediately]

Option 2: AI as Backup

Start with live chat (skip AI)
If no agent available after 2 minutes → Fallback to AI
AI keeps visitor engaged while agents are notified

Requires custom configuration

Option 3: Business Hours Toggle

During business hours (9-5): Skip AI, route to humans
After hours: Use AI only
Best of both worlds

Configure via page conditions or custom business hours logic

Best Practices

1. Set Clear Availability

If skipping AI, ensure:

Widget shows current status (Online / Offline)
Business hours are visible
Unavailable message is clear about when agents return

2. Fast Agent Response

With no AI buffer:

Target < 60 second response time
Train agents on quick initial response
Use saved replies for common greetings

3. Quality Unavailable Message

When no agents available, say:

"Our team is currently assisting other customers.
Average wait time: 3-5 minutes.

Or leave your email and question, and we'll respond within 2 hours."

Not:

"No one is available."

4. Monitor Queue Length

Watch your live chat queue:

If often > 5 people waiting, consider re-enabling AI
AI can handle simple questions while agents help complex ones

5. Collect Contact Info First

Enable "Require email before live chat":

Ensures you can follow up if visitor abandons due to wait
Reduces abandoned chats
See Customer Info Timing guide

6. Train Agents for Volume

Agents should:

Use saved replies for efficiency
Be ready for higher chat volume
Know when to politely end low-value chats

Use Cases

Premium Concierge Service

Who: Luxury e-commerce, high-end services

Config:

Skip AI: Enabled
Availability: 24/7 live agents
Message: "Welcome to [Brand]. You'll be connected to a personal shopper immediately."

Sales-Focused SaaS

Who: Complex B2B products

Config:

Skip AI: Enabled during business hours
After hours: AI enabled (answers FAQs, collects leads)
Agents: Sales team, not support

Human-First Support

Who: Brands emphasizing personal touch

Config:

Skip AI: Enabled
Wait time: Show realistic estimate
Fallback: Contact form if > 5 min wait

Troubleshooting

Problem: Too many abandoned chats

Cause: Visitors don't want to wait for agents

Solutions:

Re-enable AI as fallback
Reduce wait time (add more agents)
Improve unavailable message (set expectations)
Show estimated wait time upfront

Problem: Agents overwhelmed

Cause: Volume too high for team size

Solutions:

Re-enable AI to filter simple questions
Hire more agents
Use business hours (skip AI only when fully staffed)

Problem: Simple questions wasting agent time

Cause: AI could handle basic FAQs

Solutions:

Re-enable AI
Use hybrid approach (AI pre-qualification)
Create self-service knowledge base + widget FAQ

Problem: Visitors prefer chatbot

Cause: Some users more comfortable with AI

Solutions:

Offer choice: "Chat with AI or Human?"
Don't force human contact
Re-enable AI routing

Comparison

Feature	Skip AI Enabled	Skip AI Disabled (Default)
First responder	Human agent	AI chatbot
When no agents	Unavailable message	AI continues helping
Scaling	Limited by agent count	Scales infinitely
Cost	Higher (more agents)	Lower (AI handles volume)
Response time	Depends on queue	Instant (from AI)
Answer accuracy	High (human judgment)	Good (if trained well)
Best for	Premium service	Scaling support

Quick Decision Guide

Enable Skip AI Routing if:

✅ You have 24/7 agent coverage
✅ Personal service is your competitive advantage
✅ Products/services are too complex for AI
✅ You're willing to pay for more agents

Keep AI Routing (Default) if:

✅ You want to scale without adding headcount
✅ Many questions are simple/repetitive
✅ Agents aren't available 24/7
✅ AI is well-trained and performs well

Still unsure? Start with AI enabled (default). Monitor for 2 weeks. If AI response quality is consistently poor OR you have excess agent capacity, consider enabling skip AI routing.