How to Set Up Chat Operating Hours

April 15, 2026

Schedule when your chat widget is active and set how LenoChat handles visitors outside those hours.

What Is Chat Operating Hours?

Chat Operating Hours is a scheduling feature built into every LenoChat workspace. When enabled, you define the days and hours your team is available for live chat. Outside those hours, your workspace automatically enters offline mode and LenoChat switches to whichever offline behaviour you have configured — collecting visitor messages via form, showing a static away message, or hiding the chat bubble entirely. When the feature is disabled, your workspace is treated as available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This feature is especially important for businesses that operate in specific time zones, have predictable support windows, or want to prevent visitors from waiting for replies during hours when no agent is present.

Avoid unresponsive chats — prevent visitors from starting conversations when no agent is available to reply promptly.
Capture leads after hours — pair operating hours with the offline form to collect contact details from visitors who arrive when your team is away.
Set accurate expectations — visitors see a clear offline message rather than being left waiting for a reply that will not come.
Protect team availability — avoid chat requests piling up overnight or on weekends when your support team is not working.

Accessing Chat Operating Hours Settings

The Chat Operating Hours settings page is located in your profile settings menu. Owners and Admins can both view and edit all settings on this page. Agents can view the page but all controls are read-only — agents cannot change any operating hours settings. Follow these steps to open the page:

Step 1: Log in to your LenoChat dashboard.
Step 2: Click your account or profile icon in the lower-left corner of the sidebar navigation.
Step 3: Select Chat Operating Hours from the profile menu. The menu item is identified by a clock icon.
Step 4: The Chat Operating Hours page opens, showing the master enable toggle at the top and a row for each day of the week below it.

LenoChat Chat Operating Hours settings page showing the master enable toggle and day-by-day schedule configuration for the week

Enabling the Feature: The Master Toggle

The very first control on the Chat Operating Hours page is the master on/off toggle. This single switch determines whether the entire operating hours system is active for your workspace.

Toggle OFF (default): Your workspace is treated as available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No schedule is enforced, and the day-by-day configuration below the toggle has no effect. The page displays 'Chat is available 24/7' when the toggle is off.
Toggle ON: Your configured schedule is active. LenoChat evaluates the current time in your company's timezone against each day's configured open and close times. Outside those windows, your workspace enters offline mode.
Unsaved changes: When you adjust any setting, an 'Unsaved Changes' banner appears at the top of the page with a Save button. Changes are not applied until you click Save. If you navigate away without saving, all changes are reverted automatically.

Tip: Before enabling operating hours, verify your company's timezone is configured correctly in your account settings. LenoChat uses your company timezone — not the visitor's local timezone — to evaluate whether the current time falls within your business hours. A misconfigured timezone can cause your chat to go offline earlier or later than intended for visitors in your target market.

Configuring Hours for Each Day of the Week

With the master toggle enabled, you can define individual hours for each of the seven days of the week. Each day has its own row with two controls working together: a day toggle and a time range slider. Configuring each day takes only a few seconds, and days can be enabled or disabled independently without affecting any other day.

Day Toggle: A checkbox at the start of each day's row controls whether that day is an active working day. When checked, the day is open and the time range slider appears. When unchecked, the entire day is marked as 'Closed All Day' and the chat is automatically offline for the full 24 hours of that day.
Opening Time: The left handle of the dual-range slider sets the time your chat opens on that day. Drag it to your desired opening hour. The handle moves in 30-minute increments — for example, 9:00AM or 9:30AM.
Closing Time: The right handle sets the time your chat closes. Set it to the time when your last agent leaves or when you want the widget to enter offline mode. The slider range spans from 12AM (midnight) to 12AM (end of day).
Example — standard 9-to-5 workweek: Enable Monday through Friday and set the opening time to 9AM and the closing time to 5PM on each day. Leave Saturday and Sunday unchecked (Closed All Day).
Example — extended hours with a Saturday morning: Enable Monday through Saturday, set Monday–Friday hours to 8AM–8PM, and set Saturday to 10AM–2PM. Leave Sunday unchecked.
After configuring all days, click Save. A success notification confirms the schedule is live. The new schedule takes effect immediately for all visitors to your website.

Time Configuration Quick Reference

Setting	What It Controls	Available Values
Master Toggle	Whether any operating hours schedule is enforced	ON (schedule active) / OFF (24/7 available)
Day Toggle	Whether a specific day of the week is open	Checked (open, shows time slider) / Unchecked (Closed All Day)
Opening Time Slider	The time the chat opens on that day	12AM to 11:30PM in 30-minute increments
Closing Time Slider	The time the chat closes on that day	12AM to 12AM in 30-minute increments
Timezone	The reference timezone used for all schedule calculations	Set in your company profile — applies to the entire workspace

What Happens When Chat Is Outside Operating Hours?

When the current time in your company's timezone falls outside your configured business hours — or on a day marked as Closed All Day — your workspace automatically enters offline mode. Three distinct offline behaviours are available, and you configure which one is active in a separate settings panel: Settings → Widget Customisation → Offline tab.

Show Offline Form: The chat widget displays a contact form so visitors can leave their name, email address, phone number, and a message. Submissions are forwarded to the email address you specify in the offline form settings. This option is ideal for businesses that want to capture leads and follow up with every visitor who arrives after hours.
Display Offline Message: The widget shows a static text message of your choice — for example, 'We're offline right now. Leave us a message and we'll reply within one business day.' No form fields are shown. This is the simplest option and works well when you want to set expectations without collecting structured contact details.
Hide Chat Widget: The chat bubble is completely hidden from the page when the workspace is outside business hours. Visitors will not see any chat option. This option is appropriate when you have other contact methods available — such as a contact page or phone number — and do not want to draw attention to a chat feature that is currently unavailable.

Tip: The 'Show Offline Form' option is the most effective choice for capturing visitor intent outside business hours. A visitor who completes the form has actively expressed interest — treat each submission as a priority and aim to reply within one business day. Set the forwarding email to a monitored inbox that your team checks first thing every morning.

Setting Up the Offline Form

The offline form is configured in a separate panel from Chat Operating Hours — operating hours defines when offline mode activates, while the offline settings panel defines what visitors see during offline mode. To configure the offline form, navigate to Settings → Widget Customisation → Offline tab in your dashboard.

Step 1: In your LenoChat dashboard, click Settings in the left-hand navigation sidebar.
Step 2: Select Widget Customisation from the settings menu.
Step 3: Click the Offline tab at the top of the customisation panel.
Step 4: Select Show Offline Form as the active offline option.
Step 5: Enter your Offline Form Message — a title prompt shown above the form fields (up to 250 characters). Example: 'We're away right now — leave your details and we'll be in touch!'
Step 6: Set the Submit Message — the confirmation text shown to visitors after they submit the form (up to 250 characters). Example: 'Thanks! We'll get back to you within one business day.'
Step 7: Enter the Forwarding Email Address where offline form submissions will be delivered, then click Save.

Placeholder image — replace with actual screenshot of offline form settings

How Leno AI Behaves Outside Business Hours

If your workspace has Leno AI configured, the AI agent has its own outside-hours behaviour that is separate from the widget-level offline settings. When the current time falls outside your operating hours, Leno AI switches to an outside-hours mode and can respond to visitors with a dedicated message rather than attempting to handle the conversation as it does during business hours.

Outside-hours AI message: Configure the message Leno AI sends when a visitor initiates a chat outside business hours. This setting is located in Settings → Leno AI, in the field labelled 'AI Message — Outside Business Hours'. A helpful example: 'Hi! We're currently outside our support hours. Leave your email and we'll follow up as soon as the team is back online.'
Quick action — leave a message: When operating hours are active and the chat is outside those hours, Leno AI presents a quick-action button prompting visitors to leave a message. This connects naturally with the offline form if you have it enabled.
AI handoff outside hours: If your Leno AI handoff mode is set to route conversations to human agents, you can separately configure how it handles handoffs outside business hours. During offline periods, it is typically best to collect visitor details rather than attempt a live agent handoff.

Permissions: Who Can Edit Operating Hours

Access to the Chat Operating Hours settings depends on your account type in the workspace. The page is visible to all account types, but editing is restricted to Owner and Admin accounts only.

Owner: Full access to view and edit all Chat Operating Hours settings, including enabling or disabling the feature and changing any day's hours.
Admin: Full access to view and edit all Chat Operating Hours settings — the same permissions as Owner for this feature.
Agent: Can view the Chat Operating Hours page and see the current schedule, but all controls are read-only. Agents cannot enable, disable, or modify any operating hours settings. To request a change, ask the workspace Owner or an Admin.

Common Issues & Solutions

My chat is going offline at the wrong time

This is almost always a timezone mismatch. LenoChat evaluates operating hours against your company's configured timezone, not the visitor's local timezone. Navigate to your company profile settings and verify the correct timezone is selected. For example, if your team is in London and the timezone is set to UTC+0 during British Summer Time (UTC+1), your chat will go offline one hour earlier than expected until the timezone is corrected.

Changes to operating hours are not taking effect

Check whether you clicked Save after making changes. When any setting is edited on the Chat Operating Hours page, an 'Unsaved Changes' banner appears with a Save button. If you navigated away from the page without clicking Save, your changes were automatically reverted. Return to the page, make your changes again, and click Save before leaving.

The operating hours settings are greyed out and uneditable

Only Owner and Admin accounts can edit Chat Operating Hours settings. If you are logged in as an Agent, all controls on the page are read-only by design. Ask the workspace Owner or an Admin to make the changes on your behalf, or request that your account role be upgraded to Admin if appropriate.

The offline form is not appearing outside business hours

The offline form is configured separately from Chat Operating Hours. Navigate to Settings → Widget Customisation → Offline tab, and confirm that 'Show Offline Form' is selected and saved as the active offline behaviour. Also verify that the master toggle in Chat Operating Hours is set to ON — if it is OFF, your workspace is treated as 24/7 available and no offline behaviour will trigger.

Leno AI is not sending the outside-hours message

The Leno AI outside-hours message is configured in Leno AI Settings, not on the Chat Operating Hours page. Navigate to Settings → Leno AI and locate the 'AI Message — Outside Business Hours' field. Ensure it contains a message and that Leno AI is active for your workspace. Also confirm the master operating hours toggle is ON — if it is off, no outside-hours signal is sent to Leno AI.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set different operating hours for different days of the week?

Yes. Each day of the week — Monday through Sunday — has its own independent toggle and time range controls. You can set Monday to 9AM–5PM, configure Wednesday to 10AM–6PM, and leave Sunday fully closed, all within the same configuration page. There is no restriction on how many days you enable or what hours you assign to each.

What happens to visitors who are already in a chat when business hours end?

Active conversations are not interrupted when business hours end. If a visitor is mid-conversation when the closing time is reached, that session continues unaffected. The offline behaviour — form, message, or hidden widget — only applies to visitors who attempt to initiate a new chat after the closing time has passed.

Can I set operating hours that span midnight, for example 10PM to 2AM?

Yes. LenoChat's business hours logic correctly handles time ranges that cross midnight. If you set a day's opening time to 10PM and closing time to 2AM, the system identifies the current time as within operating hours during those overnight hours. The calculation correctly accounts for ranges that cross the midnight boundary.

Do operating hours apply to all channels, or only the website chat widget?

Chat Operating Hours in LenoChat governs the website chat widget and the Leno AI agent's outside-hours behaviour for widget conversations. It does not apply to social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp, which operate independently through their respective platform integrations.

If I disable operating hours, does my previous schedule get deleted?

No. Toggling the master switch to OFF simply deactivates the schedule — your day-by-day configuration is preserved exactly as you set it. When you re-enable the toggle and click Save, the same schedule becomes active again immediately without needing to re-enter your hours.

Can agents see which visitors arrived outside business hours?

Agents can view the Chat Operating Hours page to see the current schedule. Offline form submissions from visitors who arrived outside business hours appear in the conversations inbox when an agent next logs in. However, agents cannot edit the operating hours schedule — that permission is restricted to Owner and Admin accounts.

How do operating hours interact with Leno AI?

When operating hours are active and the current time falls outside the configured schedule, Leno AI switches to outside-hours mode. In this mode, it delivers a configurable outside-hours message and may present a quick action for visitors to leave a message. The AI will not attempt a live handoff to a human agent during offline hours unless the handoff configuration is explicitly set to allow it.