Your agents handle most conversations on their own, but sometimes a person should take over. The good news: stepping in is effortless, because the moment you show up, the agent gets out of your way.
When the agent asks for you
Sometimes the agent decides a conversation needs a human: a tricky question, a refund request, someone who just wants a real person. It goes quiet, sets the contact to Needs Human Intervention, and sends you a notification. The contact gets a clear Needs Attention banner on their profile so they stand out. The full list of reasons is in When your agent hands a conversation to you.
Just reply, and the agent steps aside
Here is the simplest thing to know: if you reply to the prospect yourself from Instagram, the agent notices and stops immediately. Any reply counts, even a sticker or a photo. The contact's status changes to Interrupted, any reply the agent was about to send is cancelled, and the conversation is yours from that point on.
There is no "take over" button to find, because you do not need one. Answering the person is the takeover.
Stopping the agent without replying
If you want the agent out of a conversation before you say anything, open the contact and choose Stop Sales Conversation from the menu in the top corner of their profile. Same result: the agent stops, the status flips to Interrupted, and nothing more gets sent.
The agent does not come back
Once a conversation is interrupted, it stays yours. The agent never rejoins a conversation a human stepped into, so you will never end up talking over each other. If you later want the agent to be able to start fresh with that person, use Allow New Sales Conversation; see Letting the agent re-engage a contact.
Tips
- Read the Activity tab first, so you pick up the conversation exactly where the agent left off.
- Keep an eye on the messaging window shown on the contact. Instagram gives you 24 hours from the prospect's last message; after that, you will need to wait for them to message again before you can reply.
- A quick heads-up for teams: anyone replying from the connected Instagram account interrupts the agent, so agree on who steps in.
- If a prospect asked to be left alone, there is nothing to step into. That conversation is already closed as Disqualified and the agent will not message them again. See When a prospect opts out.