B
Ben Fewtrell
I'd like to see a dedicated Business Hours configuration within Voice AI agents that allows us to control how the agent behaves during and outside normal operating hours.
The Problem
Currently, we're relying on prompt instructions to tell the AI agent when a business is open or closed and what actions it should take.
We've spent considerable time testing and refining prompts to prevent agents from transferring calls outside business hours. Despite very explicit instructions, the AI will occasionally trigger a call transfer simply because the caller's request matches the transfer action.
This creates a reliability issue, particularly when an agent has different responsibilities during and after business hours.
Proposed Solution
Introduce a Business Hours configuration within the Voice AI agent settings.
1. Business Hours Configuration
Allow users to configure:
  • Opening and closing times for each day of the week.
  • Business timezone.
  • Public holidays and special closures.
  • Temporary changes to operating hours.
2. Separate Prompts for Business Hours and After Hours
Allow us to configure two independent prompts within the same AI agent:
  • Business Hours Prompt:
    Controls the agent's behaviour when the business is open, including live call transfers, bookings, enquiries and other actions.
  • After-Hours Prompt:
    Controls the agent's behaviour when the business is closed, such as taking messages, collecting customer information, sending notifications and handling emergencies.
The system would automatically activate the appropriate prompt based on the configured business hours.
This would eliminate the need to include complex business-hours logic throughout the agent's main prompt.
3. Action-Level Restrictions
This is particularly important.
Each action, especially Call Transfer actions, should have an availability setting:
  • Business Hours Only
  • After Hours Only
  • Always Available
These restrictions should be enforced by the platform itself, not interpreted by the AI model.
For example, if a Call Transfer action is configured as Business Hours Only, the system should physically prevent that action from executing outside those hours, regardless of what the AI decides.
4. Automatic Switching
The agent should automatically switch between the appropriate prompts and available actions as business hours change, without requiring separate agents, phone numbers or workflows.
Expected Outcome
This would make Voice AI agents significantly more reliable and easier to configure.
Instead of relying on increasingly complicated prompts to control time-sensitive behaviour, the platform would manage business hours and action availability, leaving the AI to focus on handling the conversation.
For businesses using Voice AI as a receptionist, this is a fundamental requirement rather than simply a convenience feature.