# Escalate: smart To create a smarter experience, the **Escalate: Smart** node extends the regular [**Escalate: Default**](/studio/flows/nodes/escalate-default.md) functionality with fallback capabilities. This saves you creating additional flow steps and branching.
If the conversation happens within opening hours, the system will announce the forward and escalates to the corresponding inbox. If the conversation happens outside opening hours, the system will provide a closed message and fall back to a specified Flow. The same thing happens if the timeout period that is configured in the node details is exceeded, or if the Alternative button is clicked (on web capable devices), assuming there is no agent present to take the conversation.
The Web details are only relevant for web capable Bots (web widget and PWA). While waiting on web the following control is displayed:
| Property | Description | Explanation | | -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | To | Inbox tag of the inbox to escalate to. | Optional (only when [multiple inboxes](/inbox/inbox/multiple-inboxes.md) are configured) | | Text | Announce the forward | | | Opening hours | Specify how the opening hours are determined |

Options:

Notice that you need the skill Timeplans to be installed to use the "from timeplan" option.

| | Only escalate when online | Will only escalate during opening hours | | | **Closed situation:** | | | | Text | The message to provide when closed | | | Flow | The Flow to jump to if closed | | | **Unavailable situation:** | | | | Text | The message to provide when unavailable | | | Flow | The Flow to jump to if unavailable | | | **Web details:** | | Only applicable for web capable Bots (widget or PWA) | | Caption | The caption to present when waiting for an agent | | | Description | The description to present when waiting for an agent | | | Timeout (seconds) | Amount of seconds to wait before continuing to the alternative Flow (unavailable Flow) | | | Button | The text to present on the button to give users the option to continue using the unavailable Flow. | | ## Continue or wait This Escalate: smart node is able to force the user to wait for an operator to join. On web interfaces it shows a wait control with a spinner so it is clear for the user that someone is on their way to join the chat. Make sure to choose the Timeout property and provide a caption and description to present a waiting message, see explanation of the properties above. ## Resources * [Chat flows](/store/skills/chat-flows.md) * [Escalate: default](/studio/flows/nodes/escalate-default.md) * [Multiple inboxes](/inbox/inbox/multiple-inboxes.md) * [App Settings](/settings/app-settings.md) * [Timeplans](/store/skills/timeplans.md) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://manuals.dialox.ai/studio/flows/nodes/escalate-smart.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.