Business hours — after-hours auto-responder

What are business hours?

Business hours let you tell your chatbot when you're open and closed. When someone contacts you outside your set hours, the bot automatically:

1. Leads with your after-hours message ("We're currently closed…")
2. Still captures their name and phone number so you can call them back
3. Answers any questions it can using your knowledge base

The chat is never blocked — the bot just adjusts its framing so customers know what to expect.

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Setting up business hours

1. Go to Dashboard → Chatbot → Business Hours (or Settings → Business Hours)
2. Toggle Enable business hours on
3. Set your timezone (defaults to Australia/Sydney)
4. For each day, toggle it open or closed and set the opening and closing times
5. Write your after-hours message — this is what the bot leads with outside your hours
6. Click Save changes

Tips for the after-hours message

Keep it friendly and action-oriented. Examples:

"We're currently closed. Leave your name and number and we'll call you back first thing in the morning."

"Our team is off right now but we'll be back at 7am. Drop your name and number and we'll call you straight back."

"Thanks for reaching out! We're closed right now but operate 24/7 for emergencies — call 0480 020 798 or leave your details and we'll follow up ASAP."

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How it works

When a visitor starts a chat:

1. Pivra checks the current time against your configured hours in your timezone
2. If outside hours: the after-hours message is injected into the bot's instructions so it naturally leads the conversation toward collecting a callback number
3. If inside hours: the bot behaves normally with no changes

The bot doesn't hard-block the chat — it still answers questions. The after-hours message ensures the visitor knows when to expect a call back and leaves their contact details.

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Closed days

Toggle a day off entirely to mark it as Closed. The bot will treat that day the same as outside hours.

Default schedule (suitable for most Australian trades businesses):

• Mon–Fri: 7:00am – 6:00pm
• Saturday: 8:00am – 2:00pm
• Sunday: Closed

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Validation

Opening and closing times must be logical — the closing time must be after the opening time. If you accidentally set it the wrong way, the closing time input turns red and the save is blocked with a message naming the affected day.

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Frequently asked questions

Does this work with the 24/7 answering pitch? Yes — the bot still answers 24/7. Business hours just changes how it responds after-hours. A plumber running true 24/7 callouts would leave business hours disabled and rely on their system prompt alone.

What timezone should I use? Use the timezone where your business operates. For Sydney/Melbourne/ACT/NSW: Australia/Sydney. The timezone is applied correctly for daylight saving.

Can I set different hours for different chatbots? Yes — business hours are configured per chatbot, so you can have different schedules for different bots.

Does it affect the lead form? No — the lead form is shown based on your Settings → Leads configuration, regardless of business hours.