AI Working Hours: Control When Your GHL AI Agent Responds

AI Working Hours adds much more than a basic on-and-off schedule to GoHighLevel. You can set working days and times for each Conversation AI agent, use different hours on different days, and add multiple time slots. That’s useful for businesses with lunch breaks, split shifts, shorter weekend hours, or other schedule changes.

You also control which communication channels follow AI Working Hours. GHL supports SMS, Email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Chat Widget, Live Chat, and TikTok. If you don’t select a channel, the AI agent can continue responding through that channel 24/7. You can also choose whether the schedule follows the contact’s timezone or the business timezone.

GoHighLevel has also added several tools for handling messages outside those hours. You can send a custom off-hours auto-reply, notify specific team members by email, and automatically add a tag to contacts who reach out while the business is closed. These actions trigger once during each closed period rather than firing again for every message the customer sends.

When business hours resume, the Conversation AI agent can follow up with the customer automatically. GHL skips that follow-up if the agent or a team member has already replied. You can also allow conversations that started during AI Working Hours to continue after closing until they become inactive.

The result is a more flexible schedule that controls when your AI communicates without simply shutting down your after-hours customer experience.

AI Working Hours solves a simple problem: just because your AI can respond 24/7 doesn’t mean it always should. A customer may think your team is available right now when the actual business closed hours ago. That can create the wrong expectations, especially when a conversation needs a human to step in.

With AI Working Hours, you can make your GoHighLevel Conversation AI agent behave more like the business it represents. A dental office can stop normal AI conversations when the front desk closes. A home service company can keep selected channels active longer. An agency can give every client a schedule that matches their real operating hours.

The big advantage is that going off-hours doesn’t mean ignoring the lead. GHL can still acknowledge the customer with an automatic reply, notify the right team members, and tag the contact for easier tracking. When business hours begin again, the AI agent can follow up if nobody has already responded.

That balance makes AI Working Hours useful for agencies managing Conversation AI across different industries. You get more control over the customer experience without losing the speed and consistency that makes AI automation valuable in the first place.

Instead of choosing between a 24/7 AI agent and no response at all, you can build a smarter middle ground. Customers know what to expect, your team keeps clearer boundaries, and after-hours opportunities still have a path forward.

How to Set Up AI Working Hours in GoHighLevel

Setting up AI Working Hours lets you decide when a specific Conversation AI agent can respond and what should happen when a customer reaches out after hours. You’ll build the agent’s schedule first, then choose which channels follow that schedule and configure how GHL handles customers while the agent is outside its working hours.

You’ll also have control over your timezone, ongoing conversations, automatic replies, team notifications, contact tags, and follow-up when business hours resume. Because Working Hours are configured per agent, you can repeat this process with different schedules for each Conversation AI agent.

• Access the Conversation AI Agent
• Open the AI Working Hours Settings
• Set the AI Working Hours Schedule
• Select the Channels and Timezone
• Configure the After-Hours Response
• Configure After-Hours Notifications and Tags
• Set the Business Hours Follow-Up
• Save and Test the AI Working Hours

To start make sure you are logged in to your GoHighLevel sub-account.

The Main Menu on the left side of your screen has all the main areas that you work in when using GHL.

1.1 Access Ai Agents

• Access the Ai Agents in the Main Menu on the left side of your screen has all the main areas that you work in when using GHL.

1.2 Access the Conversation AI area of your sub-account.

• Open the area where your Conversation AI agents are managed.
• The exact navigation path is not identified in the supplied changelog, so this should be confirmed against the current GHL interface before publishing.

1.3 Click Agent List

• Click Agent List and Choose the agent you want to Edit the Working Hours

1.4 Select the Conversation AI agent you want to update.

• Working Hours are configured separately for each agent.
• This means one agent can follow standard office hours while another agent uses a completely different schedule.

2.1 Open the Working Hours settings for the selected agent.

• Inside of Conversation Ai agent Seetings or traning Area Click Deploy
• This opens the controls used to set when the agent should respond.
• Working Hours are optional. If you leave the feature disabled, the agent continues responding at any time as it did before this update.

2.2 Enable Working Hours for the agent.

• Additional scheduling and after-hours options become available for you to configure.

3.1 Select the days when the Conversation AI agent should respond.

• Choose the working days that match the business’s actual operating schedule.
• Each agent can have its own schedule.

3.2 Set the working times for each selected day.

• You can use different hours on different days.
• For example, you could run the agent from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Thursday and use shorter hours on Friday.

3.3 Add additional time slots when the business has breaks or split shifts.

Multiple time slots let you create gaps in the schedule instead of treating the entire day as one continuous working period.
This is useful for businesses that close for lunch or operate separate morning and evening shifts.

4.1 Select the communication channels that should follow AI Working Hours.

• Available channels include SMS, Email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Chat Widget, Live Chat, and TikTok.
• Only the channels you select are controlled by the agent’s Working Hours.
• Channels you don’t select can continue responding 24/7.

4.2 Choose the timezone the schedule should follow.

• Select Contact Timezone when the schedule should be based on the individual contact’s local time.
• Select Business Timezone when the same business schedule should apply regardless of where the contact is located.

5.1 Choose whether an ongoing conversation can continue after Working Hours end.

• When enabled, an active conversation can continue after closing instead of stopping as soon as the scheduled time ends.
• The agent can continue until that conversation becomes inactive.

5.2 Configure the Off-Hours Auto-Reply.

• Write the message customers should receive when they contact the business outside the agent’s Working Hours.
• Supported custom values can be included to personalize the message.
• Keep the message clear about when the customer should expect the next response.
• The Off-Hours Auto-Reply triggers once during the closed period. GHL doesn’t send another auto-reply every time the same customer sends another after-hours message.

5.3 Choose who should receive an email notification for after-hours activity.

• Notifications can be sent to admins, users, assigned users, selected team members, or custom email addresses.
• Select the people who actually need to know that a customer has reached out while the business is closed.

5.4 Configure the contact tag for after-hours contacts.

• GHL can automatically apply a tag when a contact reaches out outside Working Hours.
• You can use this tag later to identify, filter, report on, or automate follow-up for these contacts.
• Notifications and tags trigger once during the closed period rather than every time the customer sends another message.

7.1 Enable the option to follow up when business hours resume.

• The Conversation AI agent can automatically continue with an after-hours customer once its AI Working Hours begin again.
• This helps move the conversation forward without requiring your team to manually find every customer who contacted the business overnight.

7.2 Confirm how the follow-up should work with your existing team process.

• GHL skips the business-hours follow-up when the customer has already received a response from the AI agent or a team member.
• This helps prevent the customer from receiving an unnecessary duplicate response.

8.1 Save the agent’s Working Hours configuration.

• Confirm your schedule, selected channels, timezone, after-hours actions, and follow-up settings before leaving the agent.

8.2 Test a selected channel during the agent’s Working Hours.

• Confirm that the Conversation AI agent responds normally.

8.3 Test the same channel outside the agent’s Working Hours.

• Check that the Off-Hours Auto-Reply works as expected.
• Confirm the correct team notification is sent.
• Check that the after-hours contact tag is applied when configured.

8.4 Confirm the follow-up when Working Hours resume.

• Make sure the agent follows up when nobody has already responded.
• If a team member replies first, confirm that the scheduled business-hours follow-up is skipped.

For example, a dental office could set AI Working Hours from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM for SMS and Live Chat. A new patient who sends a message at 8:00 PM can receive the office’s Off-Hours Auto-Reply, get tagged as an after-hours contact, and trigger a notification for the appropriate team member. When the office reopens, Conversation AI can continue the conversation if nobody has already replied.

One setting deserves extra attention if you already use Advanced Follow-Up. When Followup Hours are configured there, the Conversation AI agent’s Working Hours take priority for channels included in Working Hours. Suggestive Mode can still generate suggestions outside Working Hours, and you can manually activate an agent outside its scheduled Working Hours from the conversation panel.

AI Working Hours gives you plenty of flexibility, but don’t automatically use the same schedule for every agent and channel. Start with how the business actually handles customers. A channel used for general questions may follow normal office hours, while a high-intent channel could stay available longer if the business has a process for handling those conversations.

Pay close attention to your Off-Hours Auto-Reply. Don’t just say, “We’re closed.” Tell the customer that you received their message and give them a clear idea of what happens next. This keeps the automation useful while setting realistic expectations.

Use after-hours contact tags with a purpose. For example, you could identify leads who regularly contact the business after closing and use that information for reporting or additional automation. GHL only triggers the configured after-hours tag, notification, and auto-reply once during each closed period, so customers won’t trigger the same actions with every new message.

If you use Advanced Follow-Up, check those settings before activating AI Working Hours. For channels included in Working Hours, the agent’s schedule takes priority over Followup Hours configured for Advanced Follow-Up. Suggestive Mode can still generate suggestions outside the schedule.

Finally, test everything from the customer’s side. Check at least one selected channel both inside and outside your AI Working Hours. A five-minute test can catch the wrong timezone, channel selection, schedule, notification recipient, or after-hours message before a real lead finds it for you.

AI Working Hours gives your team clearer boundaries between automated conversations and actual staff availability. Your Conversation AI agent can follow the schedule you set without forcing employees to monitor every supported channel around the clock.

That doesn’t mean after-hours leads disappear into a black hole. GoHighLevel can acknowledge the customer, notify the right people, and tag the contact for easier tracking. When AI Working Hours begin again, the agent can follow up automatically if nobody from your team has already responded.

This is especially useful when different people handle different types of conversations. You can notify admins, assigned users, selected team members, or custom email addresses when customers reach out after hours. That gives you more control over who needs to know about new activity without alerting everyone on the team.

You also aren’t completely locked into the schedule. If a conversation needs immediate attention, an agent can be manually activated outside its normal AI Working Hours from the conversation panel. This gives your team a way to handle exceptions without changing the agent’s regular schedule.

For agencies, the per-agent setup is one of the biggest benefits. You can configure AI Working Hours around each client’s actual business instead of forcing every account into the same schedule. A home service company, dental office, and real estate team can each have a Conversation AI setup that better matches how their teams work.

AI Working Hours should give you a more controlled customer experience without giving up the advantages of Conversation AI. Your agent can respond when you want it active while GHL still gives you ways to manage customers who reach out when the business is closed.

One of the biggest improvements is clearer customer expectations. Instead of an AI conversation making the business appear fully available at any hour, your Off-Hours Auto-Reply can acknowledge the message and explain what happens next. That’s especially helpful when a customer needs support from a real team member.

You should also have a cleaner process for handling after-hours leads. Notifications can alert the right people, while contact tags help identify customers who reached out during a closed period. When AI Working Hours resume, Conversation AI can follow up automatically if the customer hasn’t already received a response.

For agencies, you gain more control over how Conversation AI fits each client. Different agents can use different schedules, and only selected channels need to follow those schedules. That means you can build around the client’s actual operating hours instead of using one standard setup everywhere.

The real result isn’t simply fewer AI responses after hours. It’s better control over when automation responds, what customers are told when the business is closed, and how those conversations move forward when the business opens again.

AI Working Hours gives you something every good automation setup needs: control. Instead of letting every Conversation AI agent respond around the clock, you can match its availability to the way the business actually operates.

You can create different schedules for individual agents, decide which channels follow those schedules, and choose whether the contact or business timezone controls when the agent is available. When customers reach out after hours, GHL can still acknowledge them, notify your team, apply a contact tag, and follow up when business hours resume.

For agencies, this makes Conversation AI easier to customize for each client. You’re no longer limited to choosing between an AI agent that runs 24/7 and one that simply stops communicating when the business closes. AI Working Hours gives you a practical middle ground that keeps automation useful while setting clearer expectations for customers.

Start with one Conversation AI agent and build a schedule around the client’s actual operating hours. Then test the selected channels during and outside those hours. Make sure the Off-Hours Auto-Reply, notifications, tags, and follow-up behave exactly as expected.

Once you know the setup works, you can roll AI Working Hours out to other agents and clients. It’s a relatively small GHL setting that can make a noticeable difference in how naturally Conversation AI fits into a real business.