How do I handle messages received at night or outside business hours on WhatsApp?
Set your hours: outside them, the agent sends a closing message (once) or hands the conversation to your team, as you choose.
Your customers write at any hour. Two ways to handle messages outside hours.
In the WhatsApp Business app
A schedulable away message replies with fixed text outside your hours.
With the WhatzAI AI agent
- In Agents → Missions, set the active days and hours (time zone included).
- Choose what happens outside: a closing message giving the next opening time, sent once, or a handover to a human.
- Photos, voice notes and documents are always passed to your team.
If you set no hours, the agent replies 24 hours a day.
Updated 18 October 2026. Meta's rules change: if in doubt, check WhatsApp Business's official documentation.