Checking business hours and agent availability during AI agent conversations

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">During conversations between users and AI agents, business hours and agent availability can be used to determine how the AI agent should respond based on those factors.</p>
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<p class="p">During conversations between users and AI agents, business hours and agent availability can
be used to determine how the AI agent should respond based on those factors. </p>
<div class="p">You might leverage business hours and agent availability in the following scenarios:<ul class="ul" id="topic_q4y_bjr_m2c__ul_d3k_2qr_m2c">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Escalation flows</strong>: When a user asks to be escalated to a human agent, the AI agent
can check whether it's within business hours and whether any team members are
available.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Processes with team-specific transfer flows</strong>: For teams working different hours,
the AI agent can check hours and change the response as needed.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">System replies for welcome, default, and failed escalation</strong>: When system replies
are sent, the AI agent can provide different responses based on business hours.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="p">This article contains the following topics: <ul class="ul" id="topic_q4y_bjr_m2c__ul_pyb_ljr_m2c">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_p3s_mjr_m2c">Defining your business hours</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_rlj_4jr_m2c">Checking business hours in a conversation flow</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_epb_pjr_m2c">Checking team availability in a conversation flow</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">Related article:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_q4y_bjr_m2c__ul_zmc_dzk_kfc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756604186" target="_blank">About escalation strategies and flows for AI agents</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_p3s_mjr_m2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Defining your business hours</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Business hours define the working hours for your human agents. You can define different
time zones and business hours for different teams to support multi-region teams. </p>
<p class="p">You can set business hours in one of two ways:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_p3s_mjr_m2c__ul_ljl_5cn_rjc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ex3_vcn_rjc">Creating a schedule to define business hours (Recommended)</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_w52_xcn_rjc">Editing an operating hours rule (Legacy)</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested2" id="topic_ex3_vcn_rjc">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title3">Creating a schedule to define business hours (Recommended)</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can use a schedule to define the business hours for your Zendesk Support instance,
including AI agents. With schedules, you can select a time zone, define business hours,
and set holidays. For more information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408842938522" target="_blank">Setting your schedule with business hours and holidays</a>.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested2" id="topic_w52_xcn_rjc">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title4">Editing an operating hours rule (Legacy)</h3>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">
<div class="note" id="topic_w52_xcn_rjc__note_dsd_mks_rjc">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Only customers who created an operating hours rule prior to
July 2, 2026, can continue to use and update this rule. All other customers should use a
schedule instead.</div>
You can set your business hours by editing an operating hours
rule you previously created.</div>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To edit an operating hours rule</strong><ol class="ol" id="topic_w52_xcn_rjc__ol_qmv_mnr_m2c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_w52_xcn_rjc__d8e368" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_settings_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Operating hours</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">In <strong class="ph b">Rule name</strong>, enter a descriptive name for the rule.</li>
<li class="li">In <strong class="ph b">Time zone</strong>, select a time zone.</li>
<li class="li">Select the appropriate days of the week and specify the operating hours for each
day.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_w52_xcn_rjc__image_mlk_q22_kfc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_operating_hours_rule.png" width="450"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_rlj_4jr_m2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Checking business hours in a conversation flow</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">After you define your business hours, you can check them during conversations to determine
how your AI agent should respond.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To check business hours</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_rlj_4jr_m2c__ol_p2v_qlr_m2c">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357749494810#topic_ygq_4ym_g2c" target="_blank">Create a new dialogue</a> or <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9066753203738#topic_nvb_tzl_52c" target="_blank">open an existing one</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Add an <strong class="ph b">Availability</strong> block. <p class="p">For help, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357749494810" target="_blank">Creating dialogues to define scripted conversation flows for AI
agents</a>.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">In the first drop-down, select either <strong class="ph b">Schedules</strong> or <strong class="ph b">Operating hours</strong>,
depending on how you <a class="xref" href="#topic_p3s_mjr_m2c">defined your business
hours</a>.<div class="note" id="topic_rlj_4jr_m2c__note_kg1_kls_rjc">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> <strong class="ph b">Operating hours</strong> doesn't appear for
customers who didn't create an operating hours rule prior to July 2, 2026.</div>
</li>
<li class="li">In the second drop-down, select either the schedule or the operating hours rule you
created above.</li>
<li class="li">Define the AI agent's response based on the branch:<ul class="ul" id="topic_rlj_4jr_m2c__ul_mlm_25r_m2c">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Open</strong>: Add an <strong class="ph b">Escalation</strong> block with a message and escalation
method.</li>
</ul>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_rlj_4jr_m2c__ul_ifz_f5r_m2c">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Closed</strong>: Add an <strong class="ph b">AI agent message</strong> block explaining your hours, or
additional follow-up options for the customer as needed.<p class="p">For additional help, see
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756604186" target="_blank">Configuring escalation strategies and flows for
AI agents</a>.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_rlj_4jr_m2c__image_cq2_pl2_kfc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_operating_hours_simple_example.png" width="450"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong> to save your work for later, or click <strong class="ph b">Publish</strong> to make your
changes live.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_epb_pjr_m2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Checking team availability in a conversation flow</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can check whether agents are available before escalating or offering additional
options.</p>
<p class="p">Regardless of whether you use <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514" target="_blank">omnichannel routing</a>, this check assesses the Support status for
the agents within the escalation group. If any agent is online, the team is considered
available. If you want to check for agents' messaging status instead, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408843597850" target="_blank">contact Zendesk customer support</a> and ask that messaging-based team
availability be turned on.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To check team availability</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_epb_pjr_m2c__ol_uyx_cmr_m2c">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357749494810#topic_ygq_4ym_g2c" target="_blank">Create a new dialogue</a> or <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9066753203738#topic_nvb_tzl_52c" target="_blank">open an existing one</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Add an <strong class="ph b">Availability</strong> block. <p class="p">For help, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357749494810" target="_blank">Creating dialogues to define scripted conversation flows for AI
agents</a>.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">In the first drop-down, select <strong class="ph b">Team availability</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">In the second drop-down, enter the ID of the team (group) you want to check availability
for.<p class="p">For help, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408837673114" target="_blank">How can I retrieve the group ID in Support?</a></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Define the AI agent's response based on the branch:<ul class="ul" id="topic_epb_pjr_m2c__ul_wly_2mr_m2c">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Open</strong> (agents are available): Add an <strong class="ph b">Escalation</strong> block with a message
and escalation method.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Closed</strong> (no agents are available): Add an <strong class="ph b">AI agent message</strong> block
explaining that no agents are available, or additional follow-up options for the
customer as needed.<p class="p">For additional help, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756604186" target="_blank">Configuring escalation strategies and flows for AI
agents</a>.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_epb_pjr_m2c__image_clk_wn2_kfc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_agent_availability_simple_example.png" width="450"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<p class="p"> </p>
</div>
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