# Escalate to Human

Configure when the agent should ask for consent, collect details, and queue a human handoff.

## Overview

The Escalations action defines how a conversation reaches the configured support destination. It combines selection instructions, customer confirmation, optional details collection, and channel availability.

## Configure General

1. Open Build → Actions and choose Escalations.
2. Enter an Action name and review the Escalation destination shown for this workspace.
3. Describe the requests that require a handoff in When to use.
4. Describe the cases the AI should continue handling in When not to use.
5. Review the confirmation and Playbook controls, then save and continue.

## Handoff controls

| Control | Behavior |
| --- | --- |
| Only use in Playbooks | Makes the action available to Playbooks while excluding it from general action selection and intent routing. |
| Confirm explicit requests | Asks for confirmation when the customer directly requests a human. |
| Confirm AI recommendations | Requires customer consent when the AI recommends a handoff. |

## Collect details

Use Details collection to decide whether the handoff needs customer information. Review each field's name, description, type, and required status. The initial configuration includes name, email, subject, and description. Use Skip when no details are needed for your flow.

## Publish to channels

Choose at least one connected channel. With direct selection enabled, use Publish to make the configuration available. With Only use in Playbooks enabled, use Save for Playbooks and reference the action from the relevant procedure.

## Verify the handoff

- Test a direct request for a human and a request where the AI recommends escalation.
- Check the enabled confirmation prompt and try both consent and cancellation.
- Verify required details are collected before queueing.
- Confirm the handoff reaches the configured support destination.
- Have a support associate take over and verify the customer sees the expected reply.

> **Destination**: Use the destination actually displayed in your workspace. This editor does not establish a connection to an arbitrary external ticketing system.

## Related guides

- [Live Chat](/docs/user-guides/actions/live-chat)
- [Testing and publishing](/docs/user-guides/actions/testing-and-publishing)