Chatbot vs Human: A Sane Division of Labor

A healthy split

• Bot: greetings, prices, hours, stock, standard booking, contact capture (80% of volume).
• Human: negotiation, complaints, weird cases, big closes (20% that decides revenue).

Handoff rules (bot to human)

• Clear triggers: "complaint/disappointed/cancel" words, 2x "don't know", or direct request for a human.
• Context handover: forward the chat summary, never make them repeat.
• Time promise: "our team replies within 5 work-hour minutes" — and keep it.

Common mistakes

• Forcing the bot to hard-close ("PROMO ENDS TODAY!!!") — kills trust.
• Humans never reading bot logs — new question patterns never improve.
• No clear on-duty hours when the bot gives up.

Winning combo: fast bot + warm human, with a smooth handover bridge.