--- title: How to Manage Operating Hours and Agent Availability description: Control when your bot transfers chats to live agents. Learn to set operating hours and use filters to manage handovers based on your team's availability. --- [Skip to content](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/schedules-operating-hours#main-content) [Submit a ticket](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/kb-tickets/new?hsLang=en) [Customer portal](https://customer.ebbot.ai/support?hsLang=en) [![](https://customer.ebbot.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-ebbot-darker-green-rgb-Sep-30-2025-07-46-45-0435-AM-2.png?width=1032&height=309&name=logo-ebbot-darker-green-rgb-Sep-30-2025-07-46-45-0435-AM-2.png)](https://customer.ebbot.ai/?hsLang=en) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Submit a ticket](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/kb-tickets/new) - [Customer portal](https://customer.ebbot.ai/support) How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Ebbot Knowledge Base](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge?hsLang=en) 2. [Administration](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/administration?hsLang=en) # How to Manage Operating Hours and Agent Availability ## This guide explains how to control when your bot transfers conversations to a live human agent and when it should take a message instead.  **Important:** These settings strictly control live agent handovers. They do not turn off your bot or affect GPT/AI automation. Your bot can still answer questions 24/7; this guide simply controls whether the "Talk to a Human" door is open or closed. ### Part 1: Setting Your Operating Hours First, you need to define the schedule for when your team is supposed to be working. 1. Navigate to **Administration \> Operating Hours**. 2. Click **New** in the top right corner. ### Configuring the Schedule Settings - **Status:** Choose "Open" or "Closed." - *Note:* A "Closed" schedule always overrides an "Open" schedule. You do not need to create a specific "Closed" schedule for nights if you have already set your "Open" hours (e.g., 9 AM to 5 PM). However, you *should* create a "Closed" schedule for blocks of time during the day when you are unavailable, such as a lunch break. - **Days of the week:** Select the days this schedule applies to. - **Start and End Times:** Define your working hours (e.g., 08:00 to 17:00). - **Timezone:** Ensure this matches your team's local time. - **Schedule used for:** You can apply this to the whole Company, a specific Skill, or a Bot. We recommend selecting **Bot** for the most reliable functionality.  Part 2: Understanding "Open Door" Logic Setting the hours is only step one. For a customer to actually reach a human, an agent must be logged in and available. We call this "Open Door" logic. - **The Door is Open:** If at least one agent is set to **Ready**, the door is open. Customers can enter the queue. - **The Door is Closed:** If all agents are set to **Not Ready** or logged out (even during operating hours), the door is effectively closed. ### The Safety Net: Inactivity Threshold To prevent the door from staying open accidentally when agents walk away from their desks, set up an **Inactivity Threshold** in your settings. - This timer (e.g., 10 minutes) automatically switches an agent from **Ready** to **Not Ready** if they haven't touched their keyboard or mouse for a while. - This ensures customers don't wait in a queue for an agent who is on a lunch break but forgot to log out. ### Part 3: Configuring the Bot to React (Filters) Now that your schedule and agent rules are set, you must teach the bot how to check them. You will do this using **Filters** inside the Bot Builder. The bot uses a specific system attribute called **Online Agents Count** to decide what to do. ### Scenario A: No Agents Available (The "Closed" Message) You want the bot to say, "Sorry, no one is here," and offer to create a ticket when the door is closed. ![](https://customer.ebbot.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/1739180759123-Q8M-1.png?width=670&height=491&name=1739180759123-Q8M-1.png) 1. Go to your "Contact Agent" or handover step in the Bot Builder. 2. Add a **Filter** to the bot response or button. 3. Set the rule: **'online\_agents\_count' equals '0'**. - *Tip:* As shown in the system settings, you can also add **AND 'status' equals 'ongoing'** to make sure this logic only applies to active chats.   ![](https://customer.ebbot.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/1739180759059-M_Q-1.png?width=282&height=469&name=1739180759059-M_Q-1.png) 4. **Action:** Connect this step to a Ticket Creation scenario so the user can leave a message. ### Scenario B: Agents Are Available (The Handover) You want the bot to proceed with connecting the customer when the door is open. 1. In the same bot step, create a second response path. 2. Set the rule: **'online\_agents\_count' \> '0'** (Greater than 0). 3. **Action:** The bot can now ask for preliminary details (like "What is your order number?") before transferring the chat to the queue. #### Summary By combining your **Operating Hours** (the plan) with the **Inactivity Threshold** (the safety net) and **Bot Filters** (the logic), you ensure that customers are always routed to the right place—whether that is a live person or a ticket form. - [General](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/general?hsLang=en) - [Live chat](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/live-chat?hsLang=en) - [Integrations](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/integrations?hsLang=en) - [Settings](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/settings?hsLang=en) - [Ebbot GPT](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/ebbot-gpt?hsLang=en) - [Dashboards](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/dashboards?hsLang=en) - [Administration](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/administration?hsLang=en) - [Scenarios](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/scenarios?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Builder](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/scenarios?hsLang=en#builder) - [Training center](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/scenarios?hsLang=en#training-center) - [Chat history](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/chat-history?hsLang=en) - [TOPdesk](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/topdesk?hsLang=en) - [Chat widget](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/chat-widget?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Styling](https://customer.ebbot.ai/knowledge/chat-widget?hsLang=en#styling) [![](https://customer.ebbot.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-ebbot-darker-green-rgb-Sep-30-2025-07-46-45-0435-AM-2.png?width=1032&height=309&name=logo-ebbot-darker-green-rgb-Sep-30-2025-07-46-45-0435-AM-2.png)](http://ebbot.com) Copyright © 2025, Hello Ebbot AB