Configure Chatbot Business-Hours and After-Hours Behaviour

A website chatbot can answer approved questions at any hour, but the business behind it keeps real hours. Configure after-hours behaviour by separating answer availability from human availability: keep factual answers on, change the callback promise, booking path and alerts to match your actual schedule, and test each state before relying on it.

A visitor at 10 p.m. does not need to be told the business is "always here for you". They need an accurate answer to their question and an honest description of what happens next.

Separate the two promises#

The assistant can answer approved questions now. Services, service area, normal hours, how quoting works and how to book are all safe to answer at midnight, provided the answers come from approved material.

A person will respond according to the business's actual hours. Callbacks, attendance, quotes and anything that needs judgement depend on when someone is working. The chatbot should describe that timing honestly rather than imply a person is standing by.

Most after-hours problems come from blending these: a bot that answers instantly and then implies someone will ring back "shortly", when nobody will see the enquiry until morning.

Define the states you operate in#

Write down each state and decide four things for it: which answers stay available, whether booking is offered, which alerts fire, and what expectation the visitor sees.

The first two states map directly to Pivra's business-hours settings. Public holidays and temporary closures are not separate modes in Pivra: handle them by marking the day closed, adjusting the hours, or updating the after-hours message for the period, then changing it back. Put a reminder in your calendar so the override does not outlive the holiday.

Set business hours in Pivra#

In Pivra, business hours are configured per chatbot (business hours guide):

1. Go to Dashboard → Chatbot → Business Hours.
2. Turn on Enable business hours and set your timezone.
3. For each day, set opening and closing times, or mark the day closed.
4. Write the after-hours message the chatbot should lead with when you are closed.
5. Save.

Outside your hours the chatbot leads with that message, still answers what it can from your knowledge and asks for a name and phone number so you can call back. The chat is never blocked. Inside your hours it behaves normally. The timezone is applied with daylight saving, so a Sydney business set to Australia/Sydney does not need to change anything in October or April.

If your business genuinely takes emergency callouts around the clock, you may prefer to leave business hours off and describe your emergency process in the chatbot's instructions instead.

Write absolute, keepable wording#

Relative phrases cause confusion near midnight and across time zones. Compare:

• Vague: "Someone will get back to you tomorrow morning."
• Clear: "We're closed now. We reopen Monday at 7:00 a.m. Leave your name and number and we'll call you from then."

Use the reopening day and time. Avoid a specific response time unless the business consistently meets it on its busiest night. "We aim to call back within two hours" is a commitment; if it is broken on Saturdays, customers notice.

Emergency services need one more distinction#

Emergency plumbers, electricians and locksmiths often accept enquiries after hours without promising immediate attendance. The assistant can collect the location, the issue and the urgency, then say that a person must confirm availability. It should not imply that a technician has been dispatched.

For situations involving immediate danger, such as a gas smell or exposed live wiring, the chatbot should show your approved safety wording and direct the visitor to the appropriate emergency service rather than attempt a diagnosis. Put that wording in your instructions and test it in every state.

Booking and alerts by state#

• Booking. Appointment booking puts your scheduling link (Calendly, a Google Calendar appointment schedule, Cal.com, Acuity or another URL) into the chat (appointment booking). If routine bookings are fine after hours, leave it on; if every booking needs a person to check, say so in the after-hours message.
• Alerts. SMS lead alerts go to one verified mobile number per workspace and contain the lead's name and phone (SMS alerts). Email actions can notify more people (automations). Decide who receives what out of hours, and make sure that person knows it is their job.

Booking, lead capture and alerts are on Starter and above.

Test each state before relying on it#

Business hours are checked against your configured timezone when a visitor starts a chat, so changing your own computer's clock will not simulate after hours. Test it properly instead:

1. Test during real hours and after real hours, on desktop and mobile.
2. Or edit the hours temporarily (for example, mark today closed), run the test chats, then restore the schedule. Do this at a quiet time, because real visitors see the change too.
3. Check the wording: does the after-hours message appear, and does it name the right reopening time?
4. Submit a test lead and confirm it lands in Leads and that the alert reaches the right person.
5. Check booking: is the link offered when it should be, and is the expectation around confirmation clear?

Repeat before each public holiday period and after any change to staff rosters. For a fuller pre-launch test, use the 30-question accuracy scorecard; for designing the overall after-hours flow, see the after-hours enquiry map.

A short checklist#

• Answers that stay available in every state are approved and sourced.
• Business hours and timezone are set per chatbot.
• The after-hours message names a specific reopening time.
• Holiday and closure overrides have a reminder to undo them.
• Emergency wording is approved and tested.
• Alert recipients know what they are responsible for out of hours.
• Every state has been tested with a real lead.

Pivra includes business-hours configuration and supports alerts, booking and human handover (after-hours lead capture). Those features create value only when the wording reflects how the business really operates.

Next step: write the after-hours promise your business can keep on its busiest night, then set it in your chatbot and test it tonight.