Instagram Human Handover to Your Team Inbox and CRM Owner
Human handover is the point where an Instagram conversation moves from AeroChat to a person on your team. You decide when it happens. AeroChat reads the contact owner in HubSpot or the deal owner in Pipedrive, assigns the conversation to that person in the shared AeroChat inbox, and writes a summary to the CRM so nobody asks the customer to repeat themselves.
What happens today
The Instagram inbox lives on one phone or one login. Several people share it, and nobody is sure who is answering which DM.
When a chat is passed on, the colleague scrolls back through the thread to understand it. Sales DMs end up with whoever opened the app first, and some get no reply at all once the 24-hour window has passed.
How it runs on Instagram
- AeroChat handles the DM: it answers, looks up records and completes simple requests.
- A handover rule triggers. The customer asks for a person, is upset, asks for something above your limit, or matches a rule such as an order over S$1,000.
- AeroChat asks for an email or phone number if it does not have one, finds the customer in HubSpot or Pipedrive, and reads who owns the contact or the open deal.
- It assigns the conversation to that person in the AeroChat inbox, or to the team queue if there is no owner.
- It writes a note to the CRM with a summary of the conversation and the reason for the handover.
- It tells the customer a person will reply. Your team member replies from the desktop inbox or the mobile app, and sees the whole thread.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
Handle Instagram conversations yourself until one of these rules applies, then hand over.
- Hand over if the customer asks for a person, uses angry language, or asks about a refund, a discount or a collaboration (example).
- Before handing over, ask for their email if we do not have it, and search HubSpot for the contact.
- If the contact has an owner, assign the conversation to that owner. If not, assign it to the Sales team for new enquiries or the Support team for existing customers (example).
- Add a note to the contact with a three-line summary: what they asked, what you already told them, and why you handed over.
- Tell the customer: “I’ve passed this to Sarah (example), who looks after your account. She’ll reply here.”
Do not make promises on behalf of the person you hand over to. Reply in the customer’s language.
Replace the team names and handover rules with your own. Pipedrive works the same way with the deal owner.
Connect the systems behind it
- HubSpot: gives the contact owner for routing and stores the handover summary as a note.
- Pipedrive: gives the deal owner and records the summary on the deal.
- Zoho CRM: gives the record owner and stores the summary as a note.
- Freshsales: gives the contact owner and logs the conversation on the contact.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
Meta’s rules on Instagram
Automated replies on Instagram must go within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. A person on your team gets a separate 7-day window to reply by hand, which is meant for exactly this case: a handover that needs time to sort out. That window is not for automated replies. After a click-to-Instagram-Direct ad, you can reply for up to 7 days from the customer’s first message. A comment allows one private reply within 7 days of the comment.
Also on WhatsApp, TikTok and web chat
The same handover rules run on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, web chat and email. All channels arrive in the same AeroChat inbox, so one team handles them all.
Who uses it
- Property agents: serious buyers passed to the listing agent with their answers.
- Beauty stores: reaction reports passed straight to a person.
- Hotels: guest complaints passed to the duty manager.
Read more: Instagram AI chatbot for business.
Questions
Can my team take over an Instagram chat from AeroChat?
Yes. Anyone on your team can take over any conversation at any time, from the desktop inbox or the mobile app.
How long does my team have to reply after a handover?
A person on your team can reply by hand within 7 days of the customer’s last message. Automated replies are limited to 24 hours.
Does Meta’s own AI agent hand over to a person?
Meta’s developer documentation for Meta Business Agent describes it on WhatsApp, with handoff going to the business’s own app, and no human inbox is described. AeroChat includes the shared inbox and the mobile app, with agent seats on every plan.
Which plan do I need?
Workflows via Skills are on every plan, Free included. Starter has 500 AI responses and 3 seats, Growth 2,000 and 10 seats, and Advanced 5,000 and 25 seats.
Let your team step in only where it matters
Start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed.
On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: Instagram CRM integration and returns and refunds.