> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.plain.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Handoffs

> What Ari does when it cannot help: how it hands the thread to your team, and when.

When Ari can't or shouldn't help, it hands the thread to your team.

## What triggers a handoff

* The customer asks for a human, or to escalate

* The customer is frustrated or angry

* The request is about sales, billing, a security issue, or an incident

* Ari's search finds no relevant knowledge, or its draft doesn't pass its own quality check. This is the only handoff that records a [knowledge gap](/docs/product/agents/knowledge-gaps)

* A customer @-mentions a user on a Slack thread, unless you [turn that off](#when-a-customer-tags-a-user)

* Ari has nothing new to add, e.g. the customer repeats an answered question. It leaves an internal note and records no knowledge gap

* Anything you've told Ari to handoff via Custom Instructions

Vendor sales pitches are the exception: no reply, Ari unassigns itself.

## What happens mechanically

Ari genuinely transfers ownership. It sends a short handoff message to the customer (you can turn this off in preferences), unassigns itself, and never continues helping after handing off.

Security issues and incidents are also set to **Urgent**.

If the handoff moves the thread to needs first response, the [SLA](/docs/product/platform/slas) clock restarts from the customer's last message. Ari's handoff message doesn't count as a reply.

## Clarifying questions

If a question is ambiguous and your docs answer it differently depending on the detail, Ari asks one clarifying question instead of handing off. It never re-asks something the customer has already said.

## When a customer tags a user

Some customers @-mention a named contact on every Slack message out of habit, so Ari never gets to answer. To keep Ari working on those threads, turn off **Hand off when a teammate is tagged** on the [Ari → Preferences](https://app.plain.com/~/ai/ari/preferences) page. The other handoff triggers still apply.

## Customizing the handoff

The handoff message is written by Ari each time; there's no template to edit. To shape it, use [Custom Instructions](/docs/product/agents/ari/custom-instructions) to set expectations ("the team replies within 2 hours"), have Ari collect details your team needs, or force specific topics to always go to a human.

## Continue work after handoff

Use the `Ari unassigned` workflow trigger to start a workflow when Ari handsoff, for example:

1. Have the workflow post to Slack so that you know about the handoff

2. Kick off a Sidekick investigation

3. Automatically assign someone else from the team

Use this [Workflow Template](https://app.plain.com/~/workflows/gallery/investigate-unassigned-threads) to get started.