**What it is for:** business hours show when your team is reachable. Outside those hours, your customers see an away message on your website chat widget. They know what to expect, even when no one is online.

## Set your hours

1. Go to **Settings → Inboxes**.
2. Click the inbox concerned (for example your website chat).
3. Open the **Business Hours** tab.
4. Turn on availability during business hours.
5. Choose your **time zone**.
6. For **each day** of the week, enable or disable availability and set the start and end time (or "All day").
7. Write the **unavailable message** shown to visitors outside hours (e.g. "We are closed. Leave us a message and we'll reply when we reopen.").
8. Save the settings.

> Double-check the time zone: it determines when your hours actually apply.

## The away message

Outside your opening hours, the chat widget shows your away message and invites the visitor to leave their contact details. You then find their request in your inbox and reply as soon as you are back.

## Link with your AI agent

Your business hours are not just for the away message: they also inform your **Madyis AI agent**. The AI knows whether you are open or closed at the moment a customer writes, and can adapt its reply accordingly. Setting accurate hours therefore makes both your widget and your AI more consistent with how your business actually runs.