--- title: "Call Transfer - Auto-Respond Docs" description: "Let your voice agent transfer live calls to a human - cold or warm, with a private handoff and clear criteria." source: https://auto-respond.com/docs/voice-agent/call-transfer/ last_updated: 2026-04-21 --- ![Call Transfer documentation guide](https://auto-respond.com/assets/docs/voice-agent-call-transfer.svg "Call Transfer Documentation") A visual guide to the Call Transfer documentation, covering the setup, configuration, and workflow details explained on this page. Documentation illustration for Call Transfer. # Call Transfer Call Transfer allows the agent to hand a live call to a human when it makes sense - for example, when a customer insists on speaking to a manager, when a booking can’t be completed, or when the request is genuinely outside the agent’s scope. ## Getting here In Auto-Respond, go to **Voice Agent** → **Voice Agents** → open an agent → **Advanced** tab → **Call Transfer**. ## Options ### Enable Call Transfer - **Toggle.** - When off: the agent never transfers calls. It will take a message or politely ask the customer to call back instead. - When on: the rest of the transfer options become available. ### Transfer phone number - **Required when transfer is enabled.** - E.164 format with a leading `+` (e.g., `+12125551234`). - The number the agent calls to complete the transfer. ### Transfer type - **Cold Transfer** - the customer is transferred directly to the target number without introduction. The human answering hears the customer instantly. Use this when you have a shared team line that expects handoffs and doesn’t need context. - **Warm Transfer** - the agent calls the target number, greets the person who answers, summarizes the situation (using the **Private Handoff Prompt** below), and only then bridges the customer in. The human hears context first, the customer hears silence or hold music briefly. Recommended for most setups. ### Private Handoff Prompt - **Warm transfer only. Required when warm transfer is selected. Max 1000 characters.** - The instructions the agent follows when speaking privately to the receiving person (before the customer is bridged in). - The customer does not hear this conversation. - **Default:** _“Greet the team member, then summarize what the customer needed, what you offered, and why you’re transferring. Keep it brief.”_ **Writing a good handoff prompt:** - Tell the agent what to say, not what to include. “Greet politely, then in one sentence say what the customer wants” beats a checklist. - Keep it brief - the customer is waiting on the other line. - If you have multiple team members who answer the transfer line, add a rule for identifying which customer type goes to which person. ### Transfer Criteria - **Textarea. Max 3000 characters.** - Rules that tell the agent _when_ to transfer. The agent only initiates a transfer if one of these criteria is met. - **Default lists three criteria:** 1. Customer explicitly demands a manager or a human **and** insists after you offer to help. 2. Unable to book after correction attempts. 3. Request is outside your capabilities **and** seems urgent. **Customizing criteria:** - Add industry-specific transfer triggers. For example: _“Transfer if the customer mentions a gas leak, water damage, or any safety emergency.”_ - Be specific about the “and” conditions - you don’t want every “can I speak to a manager?” to transfer the second it’s said. The default requires the customer to insist after a help offer. ## Behavior when transfer is disabled If **Enable Call Transfer** is off and the customer asks for a human, the agent: - Politely declines and offers to help directly. - If the customer insists, offers to take a message with their contact details. - Logs the call with an appropriate reason so you can follow up manually. ## Best practices - **Start with warm transfer.** It gives the human answering a chance to prepare, which keeps the customer experience smooth. Switch to cold transfer only after you’re sure the receiving line is always staffed and expecting transfers. - **Be honest in Transfer Criteria.** If your business has a genuinely common scenario where the agent should transfer (safety emergencies, high-value quote requests, technical scope outside the agent’s training), name it explicitly. Vague criteria lead to either over-transferring or under-transferring. - **Match the transfer number to your team’s availability.** Transfers to a line nobody answers are worse than no transfer at all - the customer feels abandoned mid-call. If your team can’t cover the transfer line during all of your agent’s call hours, consider disabling transfer outside your staffed hours. ## Troubleshooting **The agent is transferring too often.** - Review recent call transcripts in Call Logs to see which criteria the agent is triggering on. - Tighten **Transfer Criteria** - add “and” conditions so the agent tries to help first. - Consider toggling **Aggressive Sale Mode** on in Personality so the agent handles objections instead of giving up. **The agent isn’t transferring when it should.** - Confirm **Enable Call Transfer** is on. - Review your **Transfer Criteria** - the agent follows them strictly. If a scenario you care about isn’t listed, add it. - Confirm the **Transfer phone number** is in E.164 format. **Warm transfer silence is too long.** The customer can hear silence while the agent briefs your team member. Keep the **Private Handoff Prompt** short (one sentence of context) and tell your team to answer the transfer line quickly. **The receiving person doesn’t get any context.** Check that transfer type is **Warm Transfer** (not Cold) and that the **Private Handoff Prompt** is filled in. *** Questions? Email . Last updated: April 21, 2026