# Stepping in as an operator

> When a person is needed, take the conversation over from the AI agent, reply to the customer and then hand it back to the agent.

Page: https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/conversations/take-over/ · Section: Conversations · Updated on 30 October 2026

In the console's language, the **operator** is the person on the team who steps into a conversation. While the operator has the chat, the AI agent stays silent.

> **Before you start**
>
> - The live chat (the Operator Chat tab) turned on: Chat agent › Agent profile › Operator Chat, Enable Live Chat switch (see [Agent profile: Operator Chat](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/operator-chat.md)).

> **Warning**
>
> **With the live chat off.** The conversation shows neither Take control nor Ignore request, and Request an operator disappears from the widget. The agent can still ask for a person, though, if the agent's Playground has a [Live chat node](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/playground.md#live-chat): the conversation moves to “Waiting for operator” and stays there, because nobody can take it or ignore it. If you use that node, keep the live chat on. Conversation notes, on the other hand, can always be written. And chats that [move to operators on their own](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/conversations/take-over.md#when-the-chat-moves-to-operators-on-its-own) can be handled even with the live chat off, if your plan includes live chat.

## How an operator request arrives

A conversation moves to “Waiting for operator” in two cases:

- the **customer** asks for a person from the website widget, with the Request an operator item. The item is there if you turned on Show the "Request Operator" Button in the Widget Header;
- the **agent** hands the conversation over to a person, in the cases you set up in the agent's [Playground](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/playground.md).

If you turned on Mandatory Contact Form before the handover, the customer leaves their contact details first. That way you know who they are even if nobody is online.

While waiting, the customer keeps talking to the agent. On the website they read “You will be connected to an operator shortly. In the meantime, our AI assistant is at your disposal.”. Outside the operators' hours, they get the “Unavailability Message” you wrote in the Operator Chat tab instead.

> **Note**
>
> **Four different schedules.** Don't mix them up:
>

- the **operators' hours**, in [Operator Availability Hours](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/operator-chat.md#operator-availability-hours), decide when someone who asks for a person reads the unavailability message;
- the **agent's hours**, in [Agent Reply Hours](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/interface.md#agent-reply-hours) for the website and in the page of each other channel, such as WhatsApp's [Availability and Reply](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/integrations/whatsapp-settings.md#availability-and-reply), decide when the agent stays silent and the chat moves to operators on its own;
- the **workspace hours**, in [Opening hours](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/workspace/settings.md#opening-hours-and-closing-days), are the table the two previous choices refer to, for example “Only during opening hours”;
- a **campaign's hours**, in [Allowed hours](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/campaigns/options.md#allowed-hours), start from the workspace hours and then apply only to that campaign.

In the console, the conversation appears in the Waiting for operator view (the signals are explained on the [inbox](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/conversations/inbox.md) page). Inside, the banner at the top says “The customer asked for an operator” and the bar at the bottom says “The customer is waiting for an operator.”. To find out even when the inbox is closed, turn on the Operator Request and Live Chat Message emails: see [Agent profile: General](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/general.md#email-notifications).

![A website conversation from Mario Rossi waiting for an operator, with the banner “The customer asked for an operator” and the Ignore request and Take control buttons.](https://supportfast.ai/_astro/04-conversazioni-operatore.CPDeL8sg.webp)

_When the customer asks for a person, choose whether to take control or ignore the request._

## Taking control

1. **Open the conversation**
   From the Waiting for operator view, or from any conversation: you can step in even if nobody called you.

2. **Press “Take control”**
   The button is at the bottom right. From this moment, the agent stops answering in this conversation.

3. **Reply to the customer**
   Type in the field and send, as explained in [Writing, attachments and tools](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/conversations/tools.md).

4. **Hand the chat back to the agent**
   The conversation doesn't go back to the agent on its own: when you're done, press Hand back to AI. The agent answers again from the customer's next message.

> **Result**
>
> While you have the chat, the banner at the top says “An operator is handling this conversation” and the conversation is among those “Handled by operator”. When you hand it back, it returns to “Handled by AI”.

## Ignoring a request

If you can't step in, press Ignore request, next to Take control. The wait ends, the conversation returns to “Handled by AI” and the agent keeps answering. In the console you see “Operator request ignored”. On the website the customer reads “The request was not accepted. Our AI assistant is still at your disposal.”.

## What the customer sees

| Channel | What they see |
| --- | --- |
| Website chat (widget and full page) | The notice “The operator has joined the chat”, then your messages with your first and last name, as written in your [profile](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/account/profile.md) (“Operator” if they're missing). When you hand the chat back, they read “The operator has left the chat”. |
| WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger | Only your messages, in the same chat where they were writing to the agent. They get no notice when you join or leave. |

## When the chat moves to operators on its own

In two cases the conversation moves to operators without anyone taking it: the reply field is already available, without “Take control”, and the banner at the top says why.

- “Opened by business hours”: in that time slot the agent is set not to answer (for the website in Chat agent › Agent profile › Interface, for the other channels in the channel's page, in Workspace › Integrations). It goes back to the agent when the agent's hours start again: the banner says at what time.
- “Handled from the WhatsApp app”: someone replied to the customer from the WhatsApp Business app, on the same number. When it goes back to the agent is decided by [Agent Return](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/integrations/whatsapp-settings.md#agent-return).

In both cases you can hand it back earlier with Hand back to AI.

## Closing and reopening a conversation

The Close chat button, at the top right, marks the conversation as closed; Reopen chat reopens it. It's a status the team uses to keep the inbox in order, with the Open and Closed filters.

- Closing doesn't notify the customer and doesn't stop the agent.
- If the customer writes again, the conversation reopens on its own and, if no operator has it, the agent answers.
- It also reopens when you write or send a template; a conversation note doesn't reopen it. On a closed conversation, the bar warns “This conversation is closed, writing reopens it.”.
- Closing doesn't hand a chat you took back to the agent.

## See also

- [Writing, attachments and tools](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/conversations/tools.md): Quick replies, notes, files and WhatsApp templates.

- [The conversations inbox](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/conversations/inbox.md): Statuses, filters, search and sound notifications.

- [Agent profile: Operator Chat](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/operator-chat.md): Live chat, widget button, hours and unavailability message.