AI phone assistants still need a smooth handoff to real people

AI phone assistants can answer many customer calls, but some calls will always need a person. Mefteh Werghemmi, CEO and co-founder of Heedify, told CX Today that the hard part is the handoff, especially for companies whose staff work in Microsoft Teams.

What the issue is

Microsoft Teams is a workspace many companies use for calls, chat and seeing who is available. Voice AI, software that talks with callers, is now more than a virtual receptionist. If the AI tool sits outside Teams, staff may have to switch screens or search for customer details by hand. Werghemmi put it this way: "Your user experience must be mapped to your collaboration tool."

Why the handoff matters

Werghemmi says, "There will always be an edge case that needs to be escalated to a human." For those calls, he says the AI should ask a few questions and route the customer to the right queue. It should also pass along the relevant context in a format that fits how employees already work. That keeps customers from repeating themselves and gives staff a clearer starting point.

The article gives one example. A delivery management company could use an AI receptionist that combines its knowledge base with customer records to answer questions and update deliveries in real time. Even then, people still step in when the AI cannot resolve a request.

How to judge whether it works

• Track how often the AI completes requests without human help.
• Measure the AI's accuracy in customer conversations.
• Check that each escalated call reaches the right person at the right time.
• Compare AI results with human contact center performance.

Build it or buy it

Companies can build these tools themselves, but that takes technical expertise for ongoing maintenance and rules that keep up as business needs change. Regulated organizations face tougher demands, because data, decisions and handoffs must match internal controls and industry obligations. Heedify promotes a Teams-native approach as a more direct route, so that advice comes from a company with a stake in it.