Call Transfer hands a live call from the AI agent to a real phone number — your cell, a front desk, on-call staff, an outside service. The caller hears a brief 'hold the line one moment' message from the agent, then the call connects to the human. The agent's transcript and context pass through to the human via the post-call recording and summary. This guide covers when to transfer, what to say before transferring, and configuration.
When to transfer
Transfer when: (1) the caller explicitly asks for a human ('Can I talk to a real person?'), (2) the situation is an emergency or urgent ('the basement is flooding'), (3) the situation requires judgment the agent does not have ('I'm calling about something you don't have listed'), (4) compliance-driven triggers for regulated industries (caller mentions bankruptcy, fraud complaint, attorney, regulator).
Do NOT transfer when: the caller's question is one your Agent node's prompt already covers ('what are your hours?'), the caller's intent is already on a different branch of the workflow, you'd just annoy a human with a routine booking.
What the agent says before transferring
Always tell the caller what's happening and why. Never silently switch the call. Example: 'I'm going to connect you with our on-call plumber right now — they have everything you've told me. Hold the line one moment.' This is the agent's last words before the transfer. After this line completes, the call connects to the human.
Avoid: 'Hold please.' (caller thinks the call dropped). 'Please wait.' (no context). 'Transferring now.' (technical jargon). Always tell the caller what they're getting and why.
Configuring the transfer node
Drag a Transfer node into the workflow. Drag a path from the Agent node (where the trigger phrase fires) to the Transfer node. In the Transfer node's right-side panel, set: Phone Number — the destination number to transfer to, in E.164 format (e.g. +15551234567). Transfer Message — the words the agent speaks before the transfer (the 'one moment' line above). Trigger conditions — phrases the LLM should detect to fire this transfer (e.g. 'caller asks for a human', 'caller mentions emergency', 'caller mentions bankruptcy').
Pattern — Emergency escalation
Transfer node phone: +15552017733 (your cell). Transfer message: 'I'm connecting you with [Name] right now — they can help with this. Hold the line one moment.' Trigger conditions: 'caller describes flooding, gas leak, fire, no power, or other emergency'. Use for plumbing, electrical, HVAC emergency lines.
Pattern — Compliance human transfer
Transfer node phone:
Frequently Asked Questions
What phone format does the Transfer node expect?
E.164: a plus sign, country code, area code, local number. Example: +15551234567. No spaces, dashes, parentheses, or extensions.
Can I transfer to multiple numbers?
Create multiple Transfer nodes with different trigger conditions. The agent transfers to whichever trigger matches the conversation. For round-robin or sequential, use your phone carrier's call-distribution feature on the destination number.
What does the human see when they answer?
The caller hears hold music from Twilio for the 1-2 seconds of transfer. When the human answers, they hear the live caller. The caller does not know they reached a different number from the original called number — it just feels like an internal transfer at the business.
Is the transfer recorded?
Yes — the entire call (including the post-transfer segment) is recorded. The recording appears in your Shopbell Recordings page with the full transcript. Useful for compliance audits and quality reviews of how your humans handle handoffs.