> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.ciarem.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# After the handoff: getting to a waiting customer

> How your team learns a conversation needs a person, how to set yourself available, and what happens after hours.

A [transfer rule](/ai-agent/human-handoff-and-escalation) is only half the story. Once the agent hands a conversation over, a person has to actually pick it up. This is how that works, and how to make sure a transfer at 9pm is not a customer left hanging.

## How your team finds out

A transferred conversation lands in the [Inbox](/using-ciarem/inbox) as **Awaiting reply** and, if assignment applies, assigned to a teammate. The team is alerted through **browser notifications**: turn them on from the notifications bell, where **New messages** and **New conversations** can each be enabled. A newly assigned conversation shows an "Assigned to you" alert.

Browser notifications only reach someone whose browser allows them and who has Ciarem open, so treat them as a nudge, not a guarantee. The Inbox's **Awaiting reply** count is the source of truth.

## Set yourself available

The Inbox header shows your **Session** status, and it controls whether new conversations reach you:

* **Active**: you receive new conversations.
* **Inactive**: you do not receive new conversations.
* **On a break**: you do not receive new conversations.

Set yourself **Active** during the hours you handle chats. If everyone is Inactive or on a break, a transfer has no one to go to.

## Team availability and after hours

Readiness includes a **Team availability** check for exactly this reason: someone needs to be Active to take handoffs. When your clinic is closed and no one is Active, a transferred conversation simply waits in the Inbox until someone comes back and works it. Nothing is lost, but the customer waits, so a couple of habits help:

* Keep at least one person **Active** during business hours.
* Check the Inbox's **Awaiting reply** every day, first thing, and clear it to zero.
* If a lot of transfers happen after hours, consider a transfer rule or first message that sets expectations about when a person will reply.

An unworked transfer is the same lost lead as an unanswered message, just slower. Availability plus a daily Inbox habit is what closes that gap.