Take over and hand back
There are two different things people mean by "stop the agent", and the difference matters.
| You want to | Do this | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Handle this one conversation yourself | Take it over | That conversation only |
| Stop the agent answering this board | Turn the board's switch off | Every conversation on the board |
Taking over
Taking a conversation makes you its owner and stops the agent answering on it. The full history stays exactly where it is — you are stepping into a thread, not starting one. The card shows that you are on it, so nobody else replies in parallel.
This is the right move for the ordinary case: a customer asks for a person, or the answer needs a judgement call the agent should not be making.
Handing back
Release the conversation and the agent resumes on it, with everything that happened while you were there. Nothing is replayed and nothing is lost.
Transferring
A conversation can be passed to another member instead of released. Ownership moves; the history does not change. Use transfer when the conversation needs a specific person, and hand-back when it needs no person at all.
Turning the whole board off
One switch, per board. Your team is on the board instantly and the agent answers nothing there until you flip it back. Messages keep arriving and cards keep landing — only the answering stops.
A flip takes effect on the next inbound message, because the policy is read fresh for every message. See On and off.