When a customer writes after hours, an away message tells them you’ve seen it and when you’ll answer. It follows each channel’s own opening hours.
- Set the hours first. Open Channels › Connected, press ⋯ on the channel’s card, then Edit channel. Under Business hours press Enable, tick the days you open, set the times and choose the Timezone. Press Save Changes. Do this for each channel.
- Open Automation and press New automation.
- Under When? choose We’re closed. If a channel has no opening hours, the page says so under the choice.
- Edit the suggested reply. For example: “Thanks for writing to Corner Bistro! We’re closed now and open again at 12:00. Leave your question and we’ll answer first thing.”
- Keep Pause the AI for this message on if you don’t want the AI to answer as well. Switch it off if the AI should add an answer after yours.
- Leave Limit on Once per conversation, so a customer who writes three times gets one away message.
- Under Where should it run? choose the channels and press Save automation.
Good to know
- A channel with no opening hours never counts as closed, so nothing is sent there.
- A day you don’t tick counts as closed all day.
- The hours are read in the channel’s Timezone. Check it before you rely on the message.
- Want the AI to answer at night and a person to follow up in the morning? Press Visual and start from Closed at night.