Managing escalations

Escalations let an agentic CX designer conversation hand control back to a flow in Amazon Connect Customer when the user needs human support or the application should leave the conversational AI experience.

Use escalations when a task requires an agent, a business rule prevents automation, the user asks for a person, or the flow needs to transfer the conversation into a Connect Customer queue.

When an Escalate node is reached in an agentic CX designer flow, the conversation exits through the Escalation path on the Agentic CX block in the Connect Customer flow.

From there, the Connect Customer flow controls what happens next.

A common escalation pattern is:

1. The user reaches an Escalate node in agentic CX designer.

2. The conversation returns to the flow in Connect Customer through the Escalation path on the Agentic CX block.

3. A Set contact attributes block stores any context returned from agentic CX designer.

4. A Set working queue block selects the queue.

5. A Transfer to queue block transfers the customer to an agent.

Add an Escalate node

To add an escalation to a flow

1. Open the flow in the Canvas.

2. Add an Escalate node where the conversation should transfer out of agentic CX designer.

3. Add a message, if needed.

4. Optionally add a State modification to set a context variable to pass context back to a flow in Connect Customer.

5. Connect any available failure, timeout, or continuation paths.

6. Save the flow.

7. Create a new application build and deploy it to the environment used by the Connect Customer flow.

Example escalation message:

Connecting you to an agent now.

Pass context during escalation

You can pass context back to a Connect Customer flow from the Escalate node using a context variable.

Use this when you want the human agent or Connect Customer flow to receive information collected or generated during the AI conversation.

Examples of escalation context:

• Transfer summary

• Customer intent

• Sentiment

• Authentication status

• Callback number

• Claim number

• Selected product or reservation

• Reason for escalation

State modification format

To pass data, add one or more State modifications to the Escalate node in your agentic CX designer flow that set one or more context variables.

For example, you may set a context variable {summary} to a variable generated upstream by a Generative text node that summarized the system transcript.

Set returned context as contact attributes

After the Agentic CX block's Escalation path, add a Set contact attributes block in a flow in Connect Customer.

Use this block to store the values returned from agentic CX designer so they can be used later in the Connect Customer flow or surfaced to an agent.

To set returned context

1. In the Connect Customer flow, connect the Escalation path from the Agentic CX block to a Set contact attributes block.

2. Add a new contact attribute.

3. Enter the attribute key you want to create, such as transferSummary.

4. Choose Set dynamically.

5. Select the Agentic CX namespace.

6. Select the returned context value, such as summary.

7. Confirm the block.

Example mapping:

Contact attribute key	Returned value from agentic CX designer
transferSummary	summary
customerIntent	customerIntent
callbackNumber	callbackNumber

Use clear attribute names so the values are easy to reference later in the Connect Customer flow or agent workspace.

After setting contact attributes, continue the Connect Customer flow by routing the customer to the appropriate queue.

A typical queue transfer sequence is:

1. Set contact attributes — Stores context returned from agentic CX designer.

2. Set working queue — Selects the queue the contact should use.

3. Transfer to queue — Transfers the customer to the selected queue.

For example, if the AI determines that the user needs billing support, the escalation path can pass customerIntent=billingSupport. The Connect Customer flow can then use that value to route the customer to the correct queue.

Use escalation context for the agent experience

Escalation context helps the human agent understand what happened before the transfer.

Use returned context to provide:

• A short summary of the AI conversation

• The reason for escalation

• Values the customer already provided

• Relevant IDs or selections

• Authentication or eligibility status

• Failed automation details

This reduces repeat questions and helps the agent continue the conversation with more context.

Example transfer summary:

The customer wants to update their billing address but the request
requires agent verification. The customer provided their account email
and confirmed they are the account holder.

Recommended flow pattern

Use this pattern when designing escalation from agentic CX designer to Connect Customer:

1. In agentic CX designer, collect or generate the context you want to preserve.

2. Store important values as context variables, slots, Define outputs, or Generative text outputs.

3. Add an Escalate node.

4. Add a user-facing escalation message.

5. Add a State modification to the Escalate node that sets a context variable, such as {summary}.

6. Build and deploy the application.

7. In a flow of Connect Customer, connect the Agentic CX block's Escalation path to Set contact attributes.

8. Store returned values from the Agentic CX namespace.

9. Route the contact with Set working queue and Transfer to queue.

Common issues

Issue	Likely cause	Fix
Escalation does not leave agentic CX designer	The flow did not reach an Escalate node or the deployed build is outdated.	Confirm the Escalate node is connected, then create and deploy a new build.
Returned context is missing in Connect Customer flow	State modification was not used to set a context variable.	Use a State modification to Set a context variable in the flow of agentic CX designer when the Escalate or Exit application nodes are reached.
Returned value is empty	The referenced variable was not in scope at the Escalate node.	Store the value as a context variable, Define output, Generative text output, or captured slot before escalation.
Agent receives no summary	The Set contact attributes block was not added after the Agentic CX escalation path.	Add Set contact attributes before Set working queue or Transfer to queue.
Wrong queue is selected	Queue routing logic does not use the returned context.	Use returned attributes to determine the correct queue before transfer.
Recent escalation changes are not active	The application was edited but not redeployed.	Create a new build and deploy it to the environment used by the Connect Customer flow.