How to Stop AI During Active Conversations

When AI is actively chatting with a customer, agents can take over the conversation at any time using two simple methods.

Taking over a chat is something you do yourself — by design, a human stepping in is a manual action. What the AI Co-Worker can set up for you is the automation around it: for example, ask it to "return chats to AI automatically after 30 minutes of silence" and it will configure the Chat Timeout for you.

Methods to stop AI manually

Method 1: Assign Yourself in Live Chat

1. Navigate to the Live Chat interface
2. Find the conversation where AI is currently responding
3. Click on the Assignee field
4. Select yourself as the assignee
5. AI will immediately stop responding and transfer control to you

Method 2: Direct Reply in Chat

1. Open the conversation where AI is active
2. Simply type and send a message directly in the chat
3. AI will automatically detect agent intervention
4. The AI will stop and let you handle the conversation

What Happens When You Take Over

• Immediate handoff - AI stops responding instantly
• Seamless transition - Customer continues conversation without interruption
• Full context preserved - You can see the entire conversation history
• No notification needed - The takeover happens automatically

Best Practices

• Review the conversation history before responding
• Check what the AI was discussing to maintain continuity
• Use either method based on your workflow preference
• The AI will not re-engage unless manually reactivated

When to Take Over from AI

• Customer requests human assistance
• Complex issues beyond AI capabilities
• Sensitive situations requiring human judgment
• Technical problems that need manual resolution
• VIP customers requiring personal attention

"Automation stopped — someone used the app"

Automation pauses automatically whenever an agent replies through the native messaging app (Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or any other connected channel). The platform detects the human reply and Chatfuel stops AI to avoid talking over you.

This is normal behavior — it protects the customer from receiving conflicting replies from AI and a human at the same time.

How to resume automation

To hand the conversation back to AI, open the chat in Chatfuel and set Fuely AI as the assignee. Automation will resume immediately for that contact.

Hybrid service

You can mix human and AI replies in the same conversation on any channel:

1. Reply to the customer from the native app whenever you need to handle something personally.
2. When you're done, open the chat in Chatfuel and assign it to Fuely AI.
3. AI picks up where you left off and continues handling the conversation.

This lets you step in for complex questions and hand routine follow-ups back to AI without toggling any automations on or off.

Reactivating AI

After taking over, you can reactivate AI assistance when needed:

• Set Fuely AI as the assignee — automation resumes immediately
• Remove yourself as assignee to allow AI to resume
• Transfer the chat back to the AI queue
• Or let the Chat Timeout return it automatically after a period of inactivity

Tips

• Both methods work instantly — no delay in stopping AI
• Choose the method that fits your current workflow
• Replying from the native app (Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.) always pauses automation — assign Fuely AI to restart it