Guide · Chatbots
How to set up an after-hours chatbot
In short
An after-hours chatbot tells customers you’re closed and when you’ll be back, answers the questions that don’t need a person, and takes a proper message for the rest. Done well, the morning shift starts with every overnight request sorted, with the details already collected.
Reviewed 9 November 2026. Terms used: WhatsApp 24-hour window, Ticketing system, SLA (service level agreement).
Seven steps to an after-hours bot
Start with the hours, then the words, then what happens to the message.
Write down your hours, holidays and timezone
The bot can only say “we’re closed” correctly if it knows when you’re open. Set your opening hours for each day, the public holidays you close for, and the timezone they’re in. Decide whether a holiday has hours of its own.
Say you’re closed, and exactly when you’re back
“We’re closed” leaves the customer guessing. “We’re back tomorrow at 9 am” tells them what to expect. Say it once at the start, not in every message.
The opening message Hi! Our team is away until tomorrow at 9 am.
I can answer a few questions now, or take a message for the team.
Answer what doesn’t need a person
Opening hours, delivery areas, the returns policy, how to care for a product: anything your help articles already answer can be answered at night. Link the article so the customer can read the whole thing.
Take a message the morning team can act on
Ask only for what you don’t already have: a name and an email or phone number if the chat doesn’t give them, then the message itself. On WhatsApp you usually have the number and the profile name already, so don’t ask again.
Confirm that it’s been passed on, and say when to expect a reply.
Turn every message into a sorted request
A message in a chat log is easy to miss. Make each one a ticket with a category and a priority, so the right team finds it in the morning without anyone reading the whole night’s chats first.
Don’t promise what nobody can keep
If nobody is on call, don’t say “an agent will be with you shortly”. If you do have an urgent route, such as a number for emergencies, give it clearly and only for urgent cases.
Reply first thing, and use the window
On WhatsApp, the customer’s message opened a 24-hour window. A message at 11:40 pm can still be answered with a normal reply the next morning; one from the morning before may need a template. Work the overnight requests first.
Once a week, read what the bot couldn’t answer and turn the common questions into help articles.
How it works in Axonave
A separate flow for after hours, and a ticket waiting in the morning.
Each website widget and WhatsApp number in Axonave can run one flow in business hours and another after hours, by the hours and holidays you set in your timezone. The After hours starter flow is ready in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese. Its Leave a message step asks only for what it doesn’t already know and makes a ticket with the category and priority you choose; with auto-assignment on, tickets that arrive at night are held and assigned when you open.
- The AI answers from your published articles, at night too (Pro or an AI pack)
- A closed WhatsApp number sends your away message once per closed period
- SLA policies can count business hours only
In our demo workspace, Aisyah’s late-night WhatsApp message became TKT-1281 with its category (Delivery › Late delivery), its source and the chatbot’s note: her order number and that she writes in Bahasa Malaysia.
Common questions
Should the bot hand over at night if an agent happens to be online?
That’s up to you. In Axonave a channel’s bot can also step in only when nobody can take the chat, so a late agent still gets the chat, and the bot covers when nobody’s free.
What if the customer asks something the bot can’t answer?
Offer to take a message. In Axonave the AI hands over when it isn’t sure, and the question is kept as an unanswered question for someone to turn into an article.
Does the SLA clock run overnight?
Only if your policy counts around the clock. An Axonave SLA policy can count your business hours and holidays only, so a message left at night isn’t late by morning.
See it working with your own customers.
We reply within one business day by email or WhatsApp.