Set chat away hours and the offline message
Show an away message in the chat widget outside your business hours. Set the hours under Business hours and write the message on the Behaviour tab.
Last updated 2 min read
When your team is not around, the chat widget should say so. Outside your business hours, Hushdesk shows an away banner with your own message. Visitors can still write, and their messages wait in your inbox until you are back.
Before you start
- Who can do this: owners and admins.
- Plan: all plans.
- What you need: your opening hours and time zone. See Set your business hours.
- Time: a few minutes.
Step by step
- Open Settings > Business hours.
- Choose your time zone and set the opening and closing times for each day. Leave a day closed if you do not work it.
- Add holidays if you have them, then save.
- Open Settings > Chat widget and the Behaviour tab.
- Write your Message outside business hours, up to 300 characters. The hint under it reminds you that business hours come from Settings → Business hours.
- Press Save changes.
What happens next
Outside your hours, the widget shows a banner with the title We're away right now and your message under it. The header shows Away instead of Online. During your hours the banner disappears, and the welcome screen shows your Reply time if you set one.
Messages sent while you are away become normal chat tickets in your inbox, ready when your team starts.
Chat replies by email. Replies to chat tickets show in the visitor's chat window only. Sending the reply by email to a visitor who has left the page is not built yet. Until it is, ask visitors for their email with the pre-chat form and follow up from a new email ticket if needed.
Tips
- Word the away message honestly. The default text promises an email reply, which chat cannot send yet, so write your own, for example: "We're away until 9am. Leave your email and question and we'll get back to you."
- Turn on the pre-chat form with Email required if many chats arrive overnight.
- If the AI agent answers chats, it can work outside hours too. Start in Copilot so you can check its answers in the morning. See Turn on the AI agent.
- Holidays you add under Business hours count as closed all day.
Troubleshooting
The widget shows Away during our hours
Check the time zone under Settings > Business hours. Hours are read in that zone, not in your computer's zone. Browsers can also keep the old settings for up to five minutes.
"Unknown time zone"
The time zone was not recognised when saving business hours. Pick it from the list again.
The banner text is too long
The message is limited to 300 characters. Keep it to one or two sentences.
Frequently asked questions
What do visitors see when my team is offline?
Outside your business hours, the chat widget shows a banner titled We're away right now with your offline message, and the header status shows Away instead of Online. Visitors can still write to you. Their message waits in your inbox as a normal chat ticket until your team is back.
Where do I set the hours for the chat widget?
Chat uses your workspace business hours. Open Settings, Business hours to set the time zone, the opening and closing time for each day and any holidays. The chat widget, SLA clocks and reports all read the same hours, so you only set them once.
Can visitors still send a message when we are away?
Yes. The widget never closes. Outside your hours it shows the away banner, but the composer still works and the message arrives in your inbox as a chat ticket. Your team sees it when they are back and can reply in the same conversation.
Will customers get our chat reply by email if they left the page?
Not yet. Chat replies show in the chat window while the visitor's browser session lasts, so someone who closes the tab may miss them. Emailing chat replies to visitors who have left is not built yet, which is why the default offline message's promise of an email reply is worth rewording.
What is the default offline message?
If you leave the field empty, the widget shows We're offline right now. Leave a message and we'll reply by email. Because chat replies are not emailed yet, write your own message instead, for example asking visitors to leave their email or come back during your hours.
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Related articles
- Set your business hours and holidaysSet your time zone, opening hours for each day and holidays. SLA clocks count only these hours and the chat widget shows your away message outside them.
- Style your chat widgetPick a look for the chat widget, set your brand colour, font, corners and light or dark mode, and edit the header, all with a live preview.
- Answer live chats in real timeHow chat tickets arrive in the inbox, how typing shows on both sides, what the visitor sees when you reply or close the chat, and how to hand over to AI.
- Set SLA targets for reply and resolution timesCreate SLA policies for first reply and resolution, by channel, priority, tag or queue, counted in business hours or around the clock, and see breaches.
Still stuck?
Chat with the Hushdesk team. A person answers on every plan.