{"Status":true,"Message":"","Response":{"post":{"postuid":"588b3198-9eaf-4b34-9933-063a62305fe9","tenantuid":"d8b744fc-2e70-4089-bb80-dd1d08f6c7b2","projectuid":"fc6490ac-7527-4f49-b06e-46f701280e85","title":"Chat Support Hours","slug":"article/chat-support-hours","html":"\u003Cp\u003ESupport hours tell the messenger when your team is actively staffing chat. The AI agent is your first line of support and keeps answering from your articles around the clock, so outside hours only the wording about people changes: anything that mentions a reply from your team names the next opening time.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022set_your_hours\u0022\u003ESet your hours\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGo to \u003Cb\u003EInbox\u003C/b\u003E, then \u003Cb\u003EMessenger settings\u003C/b\u003E. On the \u003Cb\u003EGeneral\u003C/b\u003E tab, under \u003Cb\u003ESupport hours\u003C/b\u003E, switch on \u003Cb\u003EUse support hours\u003C/b\u003E. Support hours are off by default, which means your team is treated as always available.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ctable border=\u00221\u0022 style=\u0022border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\u0022\u003E\u003Cthead\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Cth\u003EField\u003C/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EWhat to enter\u003C/th\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003C/thead\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ETime zone\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EThe zone your schedule is written in. Pick it from a list of city names grouped by region, for example \u003Cb\u003EChicago (GMT -6)\u003C/b\u003E, with your own time zone at the top under \u003Cb\u003EYour time zone\u003C/b\u003E. The offset shown is standard time; daylight saving is handled for you.\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EWeekly schedule\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EFor each day: staffed or not, and from and to times. An end time at or before the start runs past midnight (22:00 to 06:00).\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EHolidays\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EDates when you\u0027re away all day, one per line, as \u003Ccode\u003EYYYY-MM-DD\u003C/code\u003E\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOut-of-hours welcome\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOptional. Leave it blank and the AI\u0027s own \u003Cb\u003EWelcome message\u003C/b\u003E is used around the clock. If you write one, it replaces the AI\u0027s welcome outside hours. \u003Ccode\u003E{next_open}\u003C/code\u003E is replaced with the next opening time.\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003C/table\u003E\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Cimg class=\u0022lazy-load\u0022 data-src=\u0022https://graffiti-auf7e6dwhxhcbwek.z03.azurefd.net/d8b744fc-2e70-4089-bb80-dd1d08f6c7b2/fc6490ac-7527-4f49-b06e-46f701280e85/images/24702fa4afb84bee8198a5aa8f4404d0.png?v=-193238838\u0022 data-width=\u0022986\u0022 data-height=\u0022839\u0022 style=\u0022max-width: 100%;\u0022 alt=\u0022Support hours with a time zone picker, weekly schedule, holidays and an optional out-of-hours welcome\u0022/\u003E\u003Cfigcaption\u003EGeneral tab, Support hours\u003C/figcaption\u003E\u003C/figure\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter you save, the page shows whether you\u0027re open right now and, if not, when you\u0027re next open.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022what_changes_outside_hours\u0022\u003EWhat changes outside hours\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWelcome:\u003C/b\u003E with the AI on, new conversations still open with the AI\u0027s \u003Cb\u003EWelcome message\u003C/b\u003E (on the \u003Cb\u003EAI agent\u003C/b\u003E tab), unless you\u0027ve written an out-of-hours welcome. With the AI off, visitors get the out-of-hours welcome; if you leave it blank, it reads \u003Ci\u003E\u0022Hi! Our team is away right now \u2014 we\u0027re back {next_open}. Leave a message and we\u0027ll get back to you.\u0022\u003C/i\u003E, where {next_open} becomes, for example, \u0022tomorrow at 9:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time\u0022.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMessenger home screen:\u003C/b\u003E shows \u003Ci\u003E\u0022The team is away \u00B7 back Monday at 9:00 AM\u2026\u0022\u003C/i\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EExpected reply time:\u003C/b\u003E becomes \u003Ci\u003E\u0022We\u0027re back\u2026\u0022\u003C/i\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EHandoffs:\u003C/b\u003E when the conversation goes to your team, the visitor is told when the team is back. If you don\u0027t have their email, a small form asks for their name and email so you can follow up.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThe AI keeps answering\u003C/b\u003E from your help content, and anything that needs a person is picked up when your team returns.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EInbox:\u003C/b\u003E your team sees an \u003Ci\u003EOutside support hours\u003C/i\u003E label in the inbox header.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Cimg class=\u0022lazy-load\u0022 data-src=\u0022https://graffiti-auf7e6dwhxhcbwek.z03.azurefd.net/d8b744fc-2e70-4089-bb80-dd1d08f6c7b2/fc6490ac-7527-4f49-b06e-46f701280e85/images/831b2ce50b464e54a5fb8cd66a2a9735.png?v=-1762536656\u0022 data-width=\u0022448\u0022 data-height=\u0022764\u0022 style=\u0022\u0022 alt=\u0022The messenger Home screen outside support hours, reading The team is away and when they are back\u0022/\u003E\u003Cfigcaption\u003EThe Home screen outside support hours\u003C/figcaption\u003E\u003C/figure\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022good_to_know\u0022\u003EGood to know\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EA teammate who is \u003Cb\u003EAvailable\u003C/b\u003E in the inbox overrides the schedule. While anyone is Available, visitors get the normal reply-time and \u0022someone will be with you shortly\u0022 wording, even outside hours.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAn inbox left idle for 15 minutes switches its owner to \u003Cb\u003EAway\u003C/b\u003E automatically, so an unattended browser tab doesn\u0027t count as someone being available.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EOpening times are written in your time zone, and include its name.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EHours are checked when a page loads or a message is sent. A visitor who leaves a page open across your opening time sees the change on their next page or message.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPair support hours with \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/chat-notifications-and-teams\u0022\u003EChat Notifications and Teams\u003C/a\u003E, so anything that comes in overnight reaches your team by Slack or email. See also \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/configuring-the-chat-ai-agent\u0022\u003EConfiguring the Chat AI Agent\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E","publish_status":0,"post_type":"Article","authoruid":"3dde8c16-763a-4a2b-ae0b-1d8c50c62e3d","author":{"authoruid":"3dde8c16-763a-4a2b-ae0b-1d8c50c62e3d"},"featured_image_updating":false,"meta_description":"Set and manage your team\u0027s support hours in Messenger to show availability, out-of-hours messages, and AI help outside staffed times.","display_toc":true,"has_workingcopy":false,"allow_indexing":true,"sort_order":13,"total_views":4,"date_published":"2026-09-26T16:45:00","date_updated":"2026-10-05T13:23:39.69","date_created":"2026-09-26T16:29:35.46"}}}