SLA and escalation

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Searches run asynchronously. When automation cannot finish, or when time limits are exceeded, SNH AI escalates with verification.action_required (typically HUMAN_ESCALATION). Organization-level policy controls SLA windows and which escalation sources are enabled. Related: Errors · Webhook events · Third-party ban

Workflow terminal conditions

Research phase

No contacts found: verification.action_required with HUMAN_ESCALATION
Third-party record detected: verification.action_required with THIRD_PARTY_RECORD (structured contact details)
Banned third-party vendor: When searchConfig.thirdPartyBan contains the detected vendor code, the THIRD_PARTY_RECORD webhook is suppressed, an audit notation is recorded, and the search continues with manual/outbound handling. Inbound redirects to a banned vendor emit HUMAN_ESCALATION with metadata.escalationSubtype: "THIRD_PARTY_BAN". See Third-party ban.

Outbound phase

Transient retry cap reached: After 3 transient retries per channel (voice/email/fax), the search is reassigned with HUMAN_ESCALATION
Workflow failure: After max retries, the workflow terminalizes with SYSTEM_FAILURE, UPSTREAM_ISSUE, or SLA_REACHED. SLA_REACHED corresponds to the workflow_failure_sla_timeout source in the per-source table below.

SLA and automatic reassignment

Frequency: Checks run every 4 hours (system-level, not configurable)
Search SLA: Default 24 hours (organization-configurable via policy.global.searchSlaMinutes)
Reassignment window: Default 48 hours (organization-configurable via policy.global.reassignmentWindowMinutes)
Weekend adjustment: Deadlines that fall on Saturday/Sunday move to the next Monday (system behavior)
Trigger: Whichever of SLA or reassignment window is reached first
Reason code: HUMAN_ESCALATION with metadata
Contact plan: Optionally included when policy.global.includeContactPlanInEscalation is true (default false)

Example weekend adjustment: search created Friday 5 PM with a 24-hour SLA → Saturday 5 PM is extended to Monday 5 PM.

Configuring SLA settings

These settings are configured at the organization level via unified policy (not per API request unless you use searchConfig.timing):

{
  "policy": {
    "global": {
      "searchSlaMinutes": 1440,
      "reassignmentWindowMinutes": 2880,
      "includeContactPlanInEscalation": false
    }
  }
}

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`searchSlaMinutes`	number	`1440`	Search SLA timeout in minutes (default: 24 hours)
`reassignmentWindowMinutes`	number	`2880`	Reassignment window in minutes (default: 48 hours)
`includeContactPlanInEscalation`	boolean	`false`	Include contact plan research data in `HUMAN_ESCALATION` webhooks

Per-search overrides: see Search-level configuration (timing.searchSlaMinutes).

Per-source human escalation (optional)

Disable escalation for specific reasons via policy.global.humanEscalation.enabledForSource. Set a source to false to prevent reassignment for that reason. Omitted sources remain enabled. searchConfig.escalation.disableAutoEscalation=true on a search always suppresses escalation for that search, regardless of this tenant-level setting.

Source	When it triggers
`no_actionable_contacts`	All contacts for the search have already been attempted (outbound).
`no_actionable_outbound_methods`	This run created no new attempts and no follow-ups, and the search has no prior successful/scheduled/suppressed attempts.
`inbound_all_contacts_suppressed`	All next contacts received through inbound are unactionable.
`tenant_reassignment_window_exceeded`	Scheduling a second outbound would exceed the reassignment window.
`retry_cap_reached`	Transient retry cap reached for a channel (voice/email/fax).
`automatic_reassignment`	Scheduler reassignment (SLA or reassignment window exceeded).
`sla_timeout`	SLA exceeded when explicitly checking.
`workflow_failure_sla_timeout`	SLA exceeded during workflow failure handling.
`workflow_failure_action_required`	Workflow failed and SLA not exceeded; would emit `action_required`. Disabling skips the webhook and completes the search without emitting.

{
  "policy": {
    "global": {
      "humanEscalation": {
        "enabledForSource": {
          "no_actionable_outbound_methods": false,
          "sla_timeout": false
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: Disabling a source means the system will not escalate for that reason. Some searches may remain IN_PROGRESS until another condition is met. Use only when you accept that behavior. Existing organizations are unchanged if they do not set this config.

Important notes

When a workflow is terminalized, no further outbound attempts are made
Terminal conditions and automatic reassignment are idempotent (no duplicate escalation webhooks)
Contact plan data in escalation webhooks is opt-in per organization (includeContactPlanInEscalation)

Core concepts

Guides

Examples

Troubleshooting

SLA and escalation

SLA and escalation

Workflow terminal conditions

Research phase

Outbound phase

SLA and automatic reassignment

Configuring SLA settings

Per-source human escalation (optional)

Important notes

​SLA and escalation

​Workflow terminal conditions

​Research phase

​Outbound phase

​SLA and automatic reassignment

​Configuring SLA settings

​Per-source human escalation (optional)

​Important notes

SLA and escalation

Workflow terminal conditions

Research phase

Outbound phase

SLA and automatic reassignment

Configuring SLA settings

Per-source human escalation (optional)

Important notes