What are escalation rules?
Escalation rules tell your Weav AI agent when to hand off a conversation to a human teammate instead of answering it. When a customer message matches a rule, the agent stops replying as usual, sends a short handoff message, and the conversation is assigned to a teammate (or to your inbox if you use a default escalation assignee). Rules are defined as conditions in plain language. A separate AI step evaluates each new customer message against your rules and picks the first matching rule, if any. That way you can prioritize (e.g. “speak to a human” before “billing question”) by ordering your rules. Escalation rules are configured per channel: you can have different rules (and different assignees) for Chat and Email.How escalation rules are evaluated
- When: After the customer sends a message and the agent has enough context, Weav checks escalation before generating a normal reply. Only the latest customer message in the thread is used for the check.
- Matching: An internal classifier compares that message to each of your rules in order. It returns the first rule whose condition “clearly relates” to what the customer said. If none match, the agent continues and answers as usual.
- Result: If a rule matches, the conversation is escalated: the agent sends a single handoff message (e.g. “I’m sorry about the frustration — let me get you to a teammate who can help.”), the conversation is reassigned to the rule’s assignee (or your default escalation assignee), and a system note is added. The agent does not generate a full answer in that turn.
Where to configure escalation rules
- Chat: In the Weav dashboard, open your Agent → Chat settings → Deploy section → Escalation rules (Manage).
- Email: Same agent → Email settings → Deploy section → Escalation rules (Manage).
- Condition: A short description of when to escalate (e.g. “If the customer mentions a refund or return”).
- Assignee (optional): A teammate to assign the conversation to. If you leave this blank, Weav uses the channel’s Escalation assignee (the default person for that channel).
Good examples of escalation conditions
These are clear, intent-based conditions that work well with the classifier:| Condition | Why it works well |
|---|---|
| If the customer sounds angry, frustrated, or upset | Describes a state; matches many ways of expressing frustration. |
| If the customer asks or demands to speak with a human | Clear intent; catches “real person,” “human agent,” “not a bot,” etc. |
| If the customer asks to speak with a manager or supervisor | Specific request type; easy for the model to recognize. |
| If the customer requests a refund or return | Concrete topic; covers “refund,” “return,” “money back,” etc. |
| If the customer mentions a legal threat or legal action | Sensitive topic; good to escalate consistently. |
| If the customer says they want to cancel their account | Clear business outcome; avoids the agent trying to “save” them alone. |
| If the customer reports a security concern or compromised account | High-priority, sensitive; benefits from human handling. |
Examples to avoid
These tend to be too vague, too narrow, or too literal and can lead to missed or wrong escalations:| Condition | Why to avoid |
|---|---|
| Refund | Too short; no “if” or context. Prefer: “If the customer requests a refund or return.” |
| When they say the word “manager” | Too literal; “I’ll ask my manager” might false-positive. Prefer intent: “If the customer asks to speak with a manager.” |
| Complaints | Too broad; almost any negative message could match. Be more specific (e.g. “If the customer is angry or demands to speak with a human”). |
| If the customer writes more than 100 words | Not about intent or topic; the classifier is built for meaning, not length. |
| If the customer uses ALL CAPS | Focuses on formatting, not content; unreliable and often irrelevant. |
| If the message contains “@” or “#” | Same issue; symbols don’t reliably indicate when to escalate. |
Tips for writing escalation rules
- Use “If…”
Start with “If the customer…” so the condition reads like a single, clear criterion. - Describe intent or topic, not exact words
“If the customer asks for a refund or return” is better than “If the customer says refund.” - One main idea per rule
Keep each rule to one situation (e.g. human handoff, refunds, legal, security). Split into two rules if you have two distinct cases. - Order by priority
Put “speak to a human” and “angry/frustrated” above “billing question” if you want those to take precedence. - Use the default escalation assignee
Set a default assignee for the channel so rules without a specific assignee still go to someone. Rule-level assignees override the default.
What happens after an escalation?
- The customer sees one agent message that explains they’re being transferred (tone is adjusted if they seem frustrated).
- The conversation is assigned to the chosen teammate (or unassigned if no assignee is set).
- A system event is recorded (e.g. “escalated to [Name]” or “unassigned via escalation”).
- The conversation appears in the Inbox for your team to pick up; you can filter or report on “escalated” conversations.
Summary
- Escalation rules = conditions (in plain language) that tell the agent when to hand off to a human.
- They are evaluated by a separate AI step on the latest customer message; the first matching rule wins.
- Configure them per channel (Chat and Email) in your agent’s Deploy settings.
- Write clear, intent-based conditions (good examples above) and avoid vague or literal wording (bad examples).
- Order rules by priority and use the default escalation assignee so every escalation has an owner.