Holidays and closures: what your AI agent should do while you are away

Three kinds of closure

Each one is a change to your business brief, the note in Spaces your agent reads before it replies. The more notice you have, the more detail you can give.

Short closures: bank holidays

Put the dates in your hours, with the year, as soon as you know them. Names and details are examples.

Holiday hours
- Closed Friday 25 and Saturday 26 December 2026.
- Open 10am to 2pm on Sunday 27 December 2026.
- Back to normal hours on Tuesday 29 December 2026.
- If someone asks to book on a closed day, offer the next open day.
- Remove these lines after 29 December 2026.

Writing full dates with the year stops the agent applying old holiday hours next year. Our guide on giving your agent your prices and opening hours has more on writing hours an agent cannot misread.

Longer closures: your own holiday

A longer closure needs more than dates. Decide what still works while you are away and what waits.

1. What still works: can people still book for after you return, order online, or buy gift vouchers?
2. What waits: quotes, custom orders, refunds and complaints.
3. Who covers: a teammate, a trusted friend in the trade, or nobody.
4. What to say about replies: "a person will reply when we reopen on Monday 17 August" is honest. "Someone will be in touch shortly" is not, if nobody is working.
5. Urgent contacts: if your trade has emergencies, give the number or service to point people to.

CLOSED FOR SUMMER: Saturday 1 August to Sunday 16 August 2026.
- We reopen on Monday 17 August 2026.
- You can still book appointments from 17 August onwards.
- Gift vouchers can still be bought online: [link]
- Quotes, refunds and complaints: say "Thanks, I've noted this for Ana,
  who will reply when we reopen on 17 August." Hand the chat to Ana.
- Do not promise anything that needs a person before 17 August.
- From Monday 17 August 2026, this section no longer applies.

A worked example

Here is a beauty salon's agent on WhatsApp during the owner's summer break. Names and details are examples.

The customer got a booking and an honest answer about the complaint. Nobody promised a fix that could not happen while the salon was shut. Booking like this depends on your agent being able to reach your booking system through its own tools, because Spaces does not connect to booking systems itself.

Unplanned closures

When something goes wrong at short notice, keep the update short and the promises small. Ask your agent to update one part of the brief, in plain words, such as "we are closed today because of a burst pipe. Tell anyone booked today we will call them to rebook, and hand their chat to me."

• Say what has happened in one line, without drama.
• Say what happens to people affected, such as today's bookings.
• Avoid giving a reopening date until you are sure. "We'll update you here tomorrow" is safer.
• If you cannot face any messages going out at all, pause all sending in Settings with Pause everything. Reading keeps working, so nothing is lost.

Who covers hand-overs

While you are away, hand-overs either go to someone else or wait. Both are fine, as long as the agent tells customers the truth.

When a chat is handed to a person, Spaces keeps the agent out of it until it is handed back, so a chat waiting for you stays waiting. Customers who write again in that chat will not get a reply from the agent, so the first message it sends before handing over needs to set the right expectation.

Chat apps, always-on agents and closures

Chat apps such as ChatGPT, Claude and Grok act when you ask them in a chat. They do not watch your inbox on their own, so if you are on a beach and not asking, nothing is answered. Always-on agents such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw and Hermes can keep running, as long as the computer or server they run on stays on.

If you rely on a chat app, decide before you go whether you will check in once a day, or whether you are happy for messages to wait until you are back. Either is fine. Just make sure the brief says what customers will be told when you do reply.

Scheduled messages and routines

Working hours in Spaces apply to scheduled messages and routines, not to live replies. For live replies, the brief is where you tell the agent when to answer and what to say. Before you close:

• Ask your agent to list scheduled messages, and cancel or move any that would go out while you are closed, such as appointment reminders for days you will not be open.
• Ask it to list routines, and pause any that would send something unhelpful, such as a "see you tomorrow" reply.
• Consider a routine that emails you a daily summary of unread messages, so you can glance at it without opening every chat.

Coming back: clearing the backlog

1. Remove the closure section from the brief first, so the agent stops telling people you are closed.
2. Ask your agent for every chat handed to a person while you were away, oldest first.
3. Reply to each one yourself, starting with complaints and anything that mentions a date.
4. Hand each chat back to the agent once it is dealt with.
5. Resume any routines you paused and check scheduled messages are correct.

Common mistakes

• Adding holiday dates without the year, so they apply again next year.
• Promising "someone will reply shortly" when nobody is working.
• Forgetting to remove the closure section when you reopen.
• Leaving reminders scheduled for days you are closed.
• Relying on a chat app while you are away and never asking it to check.

Summing up

Put every closure in the brief with full dates, an honest line about when a person will reply and an end date. Decide who covers hand-overs, sort out scheduled messages and routines, and remember that a chat app only answers when you ask it. When you are back, remove the closure lines first, then work through the hand-overs oldest first.

Pricing

Plans from $19 a month

Can I set working hours so the agent does not reply while I am closed?

Working hours in Spaces apply to scheduled messages and routines. For live replies, tell the agent in your business brief when to answer and what to say, or pause all sending in Settings while you are closed.

Will the agent keep answering while I am on holiday?

An always-on agent can, as long as the machine it runs on stays on. A chat app such as ChatGPT or Claude only acts when you ask it in a chat, so messages wait until you do.

What should the agent tell customers while I am away?

That you are closed, the date you reopen, what they can still do, such as book for later, and when a person will reply. Avoid any promise that needs someone working before you return.

What happens to chats handed to me while I am away?

They wait for you. Spaces keeps the agent out of a handed-over chat until it is handed back, so make sure the agent's hand-over message gives an honest reply date.

Should I pause everything while I am on holiday?

Only if you do not want any replies at all. Most owners prefer the agent to keep answering routine questions and taking bookings for after their return, with hand-overs waiting.

What about appointment reminders while I am closed?

Ask your agent to list scheduled messages before you go, and cancel or move any that fall on closed days. Pause routines that would send something unhelpful.

How do I stop holiday hours being used next year?

Write every date with the year, add a line saying when the section stops applying, and remove it when you reopen.