A prospect emails about a two-bedroom apartment, calls the next morning, and asks to speak with the leasing team. The useful test of an AI assistant is what happens next. Can the person who takes over see the question, understand what was promised, and act without making the prospect repeat the conversation?
A handoff is complete when someone owns the next action. A transcript or notification alone does not establish that ownership. Before switching on an automated leasing workflow, agree on the transfer route, the fallback when nobody answers, and how the team will know that follow-up is still outstanding.
Choose between a live transfer and a prepared handoff
A live transfer connects the caller to a person during the call. A prepared handoff creates the context for a person to follow up later. Both can be useful, but they set different expectations. Do not tell a caller they are being connected if the system is only creating a callback request.
- Live transfer: use an agreed destination and operating schedule. Decide what the caller hears while connecting and what happens if the destination is busy.
- Prepared handoff: record the question, the next action and the responsible person or queue. Give a response window only if the team has committed to it.
- Failed transfer: preserve the conversation and offer the approved fallback. Do not silently mark an unanswered transfer as resolved.
Write down the reasons to bring in a person
Start with clear triggers: the prospect asks for a person, the answer is missing from approved information, an action fails, or the request requires an exception. A request to negotiate a concession is different from a question about published opening hours. Define which requests the assistant can answer and which require the team's judgment.
Sensitive requests and urgent situations need their own approved handling process. The assistant should not invent an emergency route, decide eligibility, or promise an exception because it sounds helpful. Test the approved response with the people responsible for that process before launch.
Give the team a compact, actionable summary
- Context: the property and enquiry, with the relevant conversation attached.
- Customer request: the question in the customer's own terms, without inferred personal characteristics.
- Confirmed facts: preferences and details the person actually supplied; separate these from missing information.
- Actions and outcomes: what was attempted, what succeeded, and what is still pending.
- Commitments: any callback window, appointment or next step already communicated.
- Ownership: the responsible team or person, a due time where agreed, and a status that can be updated.
An example your team can test
Illustrative example: Jordan emailed about a two-bedroom home at Willow Court, then called to ask whether a Saturday tour could include the accessible entrance. The assistant recorded the request and attempted the agreed transfer. Nobody answered. The next action is for the leasing team to confirm the entrance arrangements and available tour time. No appointment is confirmed yet.
That summary is useful because it distinguishes a request from a completed booking. It also avoids turning a question about access into an assumption about the prospect. The assigned team can verify the details and continue the conversation in the customer's preferred channel.
Test the awkward cases before the happy path
Run the same enquiry during office hours and after closing. Try an unanswered transfer, a disconnected call, a repeat email and a corrected appointment request. Check that duplicate messages do not create competing tasks. Ask the receiving team to find the latest commitment without reading the entire transcript.
Review whether the handoff reached the right owner, whether its summary was accurate, and whether the customer received the promised next step. Tykuno supports live voice transfers and prepared team handoffs. Routing, supported actions and implementation scope should be agreed for the particular workflow, then tested with the team that will use it.