Human Override and Handoff
SI knows when to stop — and you can steer it when you need to
What It Is
SI is designed to be autonomous but not unchecked. Two mechanisms ensure humans stay in control:
Human Handoff — When SI detects that a contact needs personal attention rather than more automation, it stops all automated outreach and creates a notification for the contact owner. The notification includes the contact's engagement score, trend, a summary of recent interactions, talking points, and suggested next actions. SI does not resume automation for this contact until the recommendation is changed.
Human Override — From the SI Command Center, you can override any AI recommendation for any contact. Click into the Lifecycle, Trend, or Recommendation breakdowns, find the contact, and set a manual override with an explanation. Your override takes precedence over the AI's recommendation — and SI reads your explanation on its next pass to understand your reasoning.
Why It Matters
The goal of SI is not to replace human judgment. It is to extend it — handling the routine nurturing at scale while surfacing the high-value moments that deserve personal attention.
There are moments in every sales cycle where a human touch matters more than any AI-generated message: when a prospect is ready to close, when a customer is at risk of churning, when a contact has a complex question that requires nuanced understanding, or when the relationship has reached a point where personal connection will make the difference.
SI is trained to recognize these moments. A contact with an 85 engagement score, rising trend, and multiple buying signals (meeting booked, proposal viewed, positive SMS sentiment) is not someone who needs another automated email. They need a personal phone call from someone who knows their situation. SI detects this and hands off — with a complete brief so the human is prepared.
The override capability goes the other direction. If you know something SI does not — a conversation at a conference, a personal relationship, a strategic decision to prioritize or deprioritize a contact — you can tell SI directly. Your override changes SI's behavior immediately, and your explanation becomes part of the context SI uses going forward.
How It Works
When SI Triggers a Human Handoff
SI recommends human handoff based on the engagement score recommendation. The scoring engine produces a `human_handoff` recommendation when it detects a pattern that requires human judgment:
- High engagement score with buying signals → the contact is ready for a personal conversation
- Complex situation that automation cannot resolve → the contact has raised issues or questions outside SI's scope
- Declining engagement despite multiple channel attempts → all automated approaches have been exhausted
- Strategic account that warrants personal attention regardless of score
When handoff triggers, SI creates a HIGH PRIORITY notification that includes: the contact's engagement score and trend, an AI-written summary of the situation (e.g., "Brandon is a highly engaged SQL in the WIN pipeline phase. He exhibits clear, high-intent behavior including multiple successful appointment bookings and proactive SMS communication. He is currently evaluating a proposal."), and suggested next actions.
SI stops all automated outreach for this contact until the recommendation changes.
How to Override from the Command Center
In the SI Command Center, the By Lifecycle, By Trend, and By Recommendation cards show counts for each group. Click any group (e.g., "Human Handoff: 18") to see the specific contacts.
For each contact, you can:
- View their SI Journey to understand the full engagement history
- Set a manual override — choose a different recommendation (e.g., change from "human_handoff" to "continue_automation") and provide an explanation (e.g., "Spoke with Brandon at the conference — he confirmed he is waiting for budget approval in May. Resume nurturing with monthly check-ins.")
- Clear an existing override — return control to the AI recommendation
Your override takes precedence immediately. SI reads your explanation on its next processing pass and incorporates it into its decision-making for this contact.
QC-Driven Human Review
Separate from engagement-based handoffs, the QC system can also require human intervention. When a message is quarantined (below minimum QC score in a phase with manual autonomy), you receive a notification with the full message content and QC findings. You can:
- Approve — send the message as-is
- Edit and Approve — modify the message before sending
- Discard — delete the message; SI will try again on the next cycle
- Override — adjust the contact's recommendation or SI settings based on what you see
Examples
SI hands off a contact showing strong buying signals
Brandon Carse has an engagement score of 85 (rising), classified as an opportunity in the WIN phase. He has booked multiple appointments, actively explored product features, communicated proactively via SMS, and is currently evaluating a proposal. SI creates a notification: "Zyntro SI recommends human intervention for Brandon Carse. Engagement: 85/100 (rising)." with the full context summary. SI stops sending automated messages. The contact owner sees the notification, reviews the brief, and calls Brandon personally — fully prepared.
You override SI's recommendation based on offline knowledge
SI has recommended "Pause Outreach" for a contact with a score of 15. But you met this person at a conference last week and they expressed strong interest verbally. From the Command Center, you click into Pause Outreach, find the contact, and set an override: recommendation = "Continue Automation", explanation = "Met at SaaS Connect conference April 1 — verbal interest in the platform, requested follow-up materials." SI reads this on its next pass and resumes engagement, incorporating the conference context.
You disagree with SI's lifecycle classification
SI classified a contact as "Lost" with a score of 14 and a declining trend. But you know this contact is a seasonal buyer who always goes quiet in Q2 and returns in Q3. You override: keep the lifecycle as-is but change the recommendation to "Decrease Frequency" with the explanation: "Seasonal buyer — pauses every Q2. Resume normal cadence in July." SI adjusts its cadence without marking the contact as permanently lost.
