Setting operating hours for advanced AI agents

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AI agents - Advanced

Operating hours define the working hours for your human agents and can determine how AI agents handle escalations during and outside of operating hours. You can define different time zones and operating hours for different teams to support multi-region teams. Operating hours are available for email and chat.

You might leverage operating hours for the following use cases:

• Escalation flows: For escalations, the AI agent can check whether it's within operating hours and team members are available.
• Processes with team-specific transfer flows: For teams working different hours, the AI agent can check hours and change the response as needed.
• Intent "I want to speak to a human": When customers request to speak to a human, the AI agent can check hours to appropriately set user expectations with its reply.
• System replies for welcome, default, and failed escalation: When system replies are sent, the AI agent can provide different responses based on operating hours.

This article covers the following topics:

• Setting operating hours
• Building escalation flows with operating hours
• Checking team availability

Setting operating hours

Operating hours define the working hours for your human agents. It's a good idea to set operating hours so that AI agent know whether human agents are available for a handoff or escalation. Based on operating hours and agent availability, the AI agent can respond with the appropriate options.

To set operating hours

1. In AI agents - Advanced, click Settings in the sidebar, then select AI agent settings > Operating hours.

   

2. Click Create rule.
3. Enter a rule name, then select a time zone and specify hours for each day of the week.

   

4. Click Save.

Building escalation flows with operating hours

Before you start defining escalation flows for teams based on operating hours, understand that the way that you organize your team depends on your CRM.

• Zendesk
• Freshchat
• Salesforce
• Live Chat

Note: Sunshine Conversations does not support agent availability, only operating hours.

After you create rules to define operating hours, you can create an escalation dialogue using operating hours. You first need to have either an intent or template reply for your escalation use case, then you can build your escalation flow.

To build an escalation flow with operating hours

1. Navigate to your intent or template reply and edit the reply dialogue.
2. In the language reply, add an availability block.
3. Click the Rule drop-down, then select the operating hours to check.
4. For the open and closed options, define your follow-up communication.
   • For the open branch, you can add an escalation block afterward.
   

   • For the closed branch, you might have follow-up options for the customer.

     

Checking team availability

Within operating hours, you can check whether agents are available before escalating or offering additional options.

You do not need to perform this check for email ticket automation, as real-time team availability is not needed in that case.

To check team availability before offering additional options

1. Navigate to your intent or template reply and edit the reply dialogue.
2. Add an availability block.
3. Click the Type drop-down, then select Team Availability.

   Alternatively, you can click the top bar on the availability block to open the side panel and make your selection.

4. Under Team, enter the exact name of the transfer team, depending on your CRM.
5. Create the following AI agent messages, then add your escalation block after the messages.
   • If agents in the defined group are available, the AI agent follows the open path.
   • If no agents in the defined group are available, the AI agent follows the closed path.