Hours and Availability
Configure your business hours, time zone, and how the AI behaves outside operating hours.
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Overview
The Hours page tells the AI when your business is open and what to do when it is closed. The AI uses these hours to decide whether to take orders, book appointments, or play an after-hours message.
Open this page at: ai.i118.com/app/schedule
Setting your hours
Select your time zone
Choose the time zone your business operates in. All open/close times are interpreted in this time zone.
Set hours for each day
For each day of the week, set the open and close times. To mark a day as closed, toggle it off.
Configure after-hours behavior
Choose what the AI does when a call arrives outside business hours. Options are configured on the Additional Settings page under Outside Business Hours Action.
Save
Click Save. Changes take effect immediately.
Time display format
You can switch between 12-hour (AM/PM) and 24-hour time display. This only affects how times appear in the dashboard — the AI understands both formats when talking to callers regardless of your display setting.
Special date overrides
You can set one-time overrides for specific dates without changing your regular weekly schedule. This is useful for:
- Holiday closures — close on Christmas, Thanksgiving, or any holiday
- Shortened hours — close early on a specific day (e.g., New Year’s Eve)
- Extended hours — stay open later for a special event
To add a special date override:
- Find the special dates or overrides section on the Hours page
- Select the date
- Set the hours for that date, or mark it as closed
- Click Save
The override applies only to that specific date. Your regular weekly schedule remains unchanged and automatically resumes the next day.
You can also use the AI Setup Assistant to set date overrides by typing something like "Close this Christmas" or "Set December 31 to 11am–3pm."
AI hours vs. business hours
The hours you set on this page are the AI operating hours — when the AI actively takes orders, books appointments, and handles full conversations.
If your physical business has slightly different walk-in hours, that distinction does not matter here. What matters is: during which hours should the AI accept orders and appointments?
If you want the AI to accept appointments outside your walk-in hours (for example, booking for the next day while you are closed), configure that in Appointment Integrations booking settings rather than extending your hours here.
Pre-open and pre-close buffers
Some businesses want the AI to stop taking orders slightly before closing, or to start slightly before opening.
- Pre-close buffer: If you close at 9 PM but want to stop taking orders at 8:45 PM, set your close time to 8:45 PM
- Pre-open buffer: If you want the AI to start accepting orders 15 minutes before you open, set the open time 15 minutes earlier
The AI does not have separate "buffer" fields — just adjust the open/close times to match when you want the AI to be active.
After-hours behavior
When a call comes in outside your configured hours, the AI follows the Outside Business Hours Action set on the Additional Settings page:
| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Inform closed and hang up | AI plays a message saying you are closed, then ends the call |
| Send to voicemail | AI plays a voicemail prompt and records the caller's message |
| Take reservations only | AI only books reservations or appointments — no orders or general service |
To test your after-hours behavior, temporarily set the current day's hours so that "now" falls outside them, then place a test call. Restore your real hours afterward.
Transfer number
Each day in the schedule has a Transfer to number field. This controls where the call goes when a caller requests to speak to a person — either by pressing 0 during the call intro audio, or by asking the AI to transfer them during the conversation.
| Transfer to number | What happens |
|---|---|
| Set | The call is transferred to that phone number |
| Left blank | The transfer request routes to voicemail |
You can set a different transfer number each day — useful when different staff members are on call for different shifts.
Do not enter the same number your calls are forwarded from (your business number). Doing so creates a call loop and the caller will be routed back to the AI instead of reaching a person.
Common issues
- Check that the correct time zone is selected — a wrong time zone shifts all hours
- Verify the current day is toggled on and has the correct open/close times
- If you recently changed hours, confirm you clicked Save
The AI follows the exact times on this page. If you open at 11 AM but the AI starts at 10:30 AM, your open time is set to 10:30. Adjust the times to match your desired AI availability window.
The after-hours audio and behavior are configured on the Additional Settings page, not on this page. Go to Additional Settings and check the Outside Business Hours Action and its corresponding audio scripts.
- Confirm you saved the override after entering it
- Check that the override date matches the current date (accounting for your configured time zone)
- If you set an override for today but it was already past the open time, the override may not take effect until the AI re-evaluates — try placing a new test call
Last updated 1 week ago
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