Direct Answer (TL;DR)
Brilo AI's best feature, TopicSwitch, handles sudden topic changes by having the phone answering system detect intent shifts in real time and following your configured response: continue the conversation, ask a short clarifying question, or route the call to a human. The Brilo AI voice agent uses intent detection (natural language intent recognition), confidence thresholds, and escalation rules to decide whether to keep handling the call or perform a transfer.
Why This Question Comes Up (problem context)
Callers often pivot mid-call from a routine request to a complaint or a safety concern. When the Brilo AI voice agent does not detect the new intent reliably, callers repeat themselves and human agents lose time. Teams ask how Brilo AI TopicSwitch prevents unnecessary repetition, avoids missed escalations, and preserves context during handoffs.
How It Works (High-Level)
During a call, the Brilo AI voice agent continuously evaluates each utterance for intent and entity changes. The agent monitors for an intent shift (topic switch) and then compares the detected intent to configured rules. If system confidence is high the AI phone answering agent continues the best existing workflow. If confidence is borderline the Brilo AI voice agent asks one short clarifying prompt (clarifying question). If the new intent matches an escalation rule or fails confirmation the Brilo AI voice agent follows the call transfer path you defined.
The transfer path can perform cold transfer, warm transfer, or warm transfer with context (conversation summary). The Brilo AI voice agent captures conversation history and intent metadata so the next human receives context without making the caller repeat details.
Guardrails & Boundaries
Guardrails define allowed and disallowed behavior for the Brilo AI voice agent. Typical guardrails include confidence thresholds and maximum clarifying attempts. For sensitive topics you should define immediate-transfer rules so the Brilo AI voice agent routes without delay. For ambiguous topics you can require one clarifying prompt before escalation. The Brilo AI voice agent must not guess required facts. If the Brilo AI voice agent cannot confirm required details the Brilo AI voice agent should escalate according to your rules.
Applied Examples
A billing caller switches from asking about a charge to saying they want a refund. The Brilo AI voice agent detects the intent shift and asks one confirmation question, then continues to collect refund details when the caller confirms.
A caller moves from product support to threatening self-harm. The Brilo AI voice agent matches safeguarding keywords and your immediate-transfer rule, and routes to an escalation endpoint without further probing.
A sales inquiry becomes a request to talk to a specific rep. The Brilo AI voice agent recognizes the request and executes a warm transfer with context, so the rep receives the caller’s intent and captured fields.
Human Handoff & Escalation
The AI phone answering system does best in supporting several handoff types. A cold transfer connects the caller to a destination without passing contextual metadata. A warm transfer notifies the receiving human first. A warm transfer with context includes a conversation summary (call summary) and intent metadata so the human receives relevant details before answering. During handoff the Brilo AI voice agent can attach a short summary and the collected entities to reduce caller repetition.
Handoffs should include escalation rules that define who is notified, how many retry attempts occur, and fallback routing if the destination is unavailable. The Brilo AI voice agent can be configured to retry, route to voicemail, or route to an alternate team.
Setup Requirements
To enable TopicSwitch behavior for the Brilo AI voice agent you must provide the following:
At least one configured Brilo AI voice agent and admin access to edit the agent.
A list of escalation intents and example utterances that indicate transfer or safeguarding.
Confidence threshold values and a maximum number of clarifying attempts for handling uncertainty.
Defined transfer destinations or a Phone book for departments and on-call personnel.
Integration with your telephony provider if you plan to transfer to real phone numbers.
Approved conversation-summary settings for warm transfers so the Brilo AI voice agent includes context.
Business Outcomes
Properly configured TopicSwitch reduces repeat questions and lowers average handling time. The Brilo AI voice agent improves first contact resolution by maintaining context across intent shifts. Human agents receive better handoff context and spend less time asking for background. For safety-sensitive workflows, the Brilo AI voice agent ensures faster escalation and reduces risk of missed safeguarding events.
Next Step
Review the Brilo AI call transfer guidance to define transfer types, Phone book entries, and warm-transfer summaries. Assess the transfer capabilities and uncertainty handling. To implement the best setups for uncertainty and escalation flows in your AI phone call agents, book a call with us for guided support.