Two features work together to control what happens when a customer asks for a human and no live agents are available: follow-up check-in behavior and bot-only mode.
Follow-up check-in behavior
When a customer goes inactive, Fin sends a follow-up check-in after 4 minutes. This timer is fixed and cannot be changed. For custom timing, set up a separate Workflow with a Wait action.
Configure check-in behavior at:
Simple Deploy: Fin AI Agent > Deploy > Chat > Follows up
Advanced Workflows: the "Let Fin handle" step in your workflow
You can choose whether Fin:
Checks in with the customer
Checks in and offers escalation
Turns off follow-ups entirely
When a customer actively asks for a human with no agents available
Fin adapts based on whether a human routing target is configured. If no routing target exists ("bot only" mode), Fin does not offer escalation. The conversation ends with a "get more help" instead of routing to a team.
Use Escalation Guidance at Fin AI Agent > Train > Escalation to tell Fin what to communicate in this situation — for example, your team's availability hours or next steps for the customer. Pair this with a Workflow to control the routing behavior.
Tip: Do not write contact details (email addresses, phone numbers) directly into Escalation Guidance text. Deliver this information through Workflow messaging steps instead — this gives you formatting, routing, and conditional logic that Guidance text does not support.
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