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

# AI controls

> Pause, resume, and manage AI responses in live conversations. Hand off from AI to human agents and back with automatic pause detection.

When a chat agent is handling a conversation, you can control whether the AI continues responding or hands off to a human.

## Pause indicator

When a conversation is paused, a banner appears at the top of the timeline showing:

* **Why** the AI was paused
* **When** it will auto-reactivate (if configured)
* An **Unpause AI** button to resume immediately

## Pause reasons

The AI can be paused automatically or manually:

| Reason             | What happened                                                    |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Manual message     | A team member sent a message in the conversation                 |
| Keyword trigger    | The contact used a protection keyword (e.g., "manager", "human") |
| Escalation         | The contact requested to speak with a human                      |
| Appointment booked | A calendar booking was completed                                 |
| Max messages       | The conversation hit the message limit                           |

## Resuming AI

### Manual

Click **Unpause AI** in the pause banner to let the agent start responding again immediately.

### Automatic

If the agent has **auto-reactivate** configured (set in the agent's Settings tab), the AI resumes after the specified time. The banner shows a countdown.

For example, if auto-reactivate is set to 30 minutes, the AI pauses when a team member sends a message and resumes 30 minutes later if no further manual messages are sent.

## How it works with manual replies

When you send a message from Unibox while an AI agent is active on the conversation:

1. The AI pauses automatically (if "Pause AI after manual message" is enabled on the agent)
2. The pause banner appears with the reason
3. You handle the conversation manually
4. Either click **Unpause AI** or wait for auto-reactivate

This prevents the AI from responding over you while you're talking to the customer.

## Configuring pause behavior

Pause settings are configured per agent, not per conversation. Go to the agent's **Settings** tab to adjust:

* Whether to pause after manual messages
* Auto-reactivate timing
* Protection keywords that trigger a pause
* Whether to pause after escalation or appointment booking

See [Chat Agents](/agents/voice-agents#chat-agents) for full configuration details.