# How does Riff handle escalation when a buyer needs to speak to a human?

## TL;DR

Riff does not transfer buyers directly to a named human in the conversation. When a buyer needs a person, Riff schedules a meeting through smart routing to the appropriate rep and their calendar, and passes buyer context into the meeting prep. Live assist, which would allow real-time hot transfers, is currently in beta and not publicly released.

## How does Riff handle escalation to a human?

**Riff routes buyers who need a person into a booked meeting, not a dead end.**

Riff operates as a first-response layer. It resolves product questions on its own, including technical specs, feature comparisons, and implementation details, using your grounded knowledge base. When a question falls outside that knowledge base, Riff does not guess. It moves the buyer toward a conversation with a rep.

- Smart routing matches the buyer to the right rep.
- Riff checks that rep's calendar and books the meeting without back-and-forth.
- The buyer books without leaving the conversation.
- Buyer context from the conversation carries into the meeting prep, so the rep starts informed.

## Does Riff transfer buyers to a human in real time?

**Real-time transfer is not publicly available yet.**

Live assist, which would let Riff hot-transfer specific questions or calls to a human, is in beta. Until it is released, escalation runs through scheduled meetings rather tha

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## Ask directly

More precise, interactive answers from Riff's human-verified knowledge base — no API key required:

- Endpoint (MCP, JSON-RPC over HTTP POST): https://api.getriff.ai/api/mcp/riff
- Discovery document: https://api.getriff.ai/api/public/discover/riff/mcp.json

---

- Organization: Riff
- Verification: Verified by Riff
- How it was verified: Reviewed and approved by the Riff team before publication.
- Drafted from: Drafted from 5 knowledge-base sources.
- Last verified: October 8, 2026
- Topics: AI escalation, human handoff, sales escalation, buyer context, conversational AI, sales automation, B2B presales, agent escalation, first-response layer, customer handoff, sales rep integration, autonomous resolution
- Canonical: https://getriff.ai/answers/riff/how-does-riff-handle-escalation-when-a-buyer-needs-to-speak-
- Source: Riff — https://getriff.ai
- Maintained by [RIFF](https://getriff.ai) — Buyer Research Infrastructure for B2B