Chat app or always-on AI agent: which do you need?
Once you decide to let an AI agent help with customer messages, the first real choice is not which brand to use. It is whether you want an agent you sit down with, or one that keeps working while you do something else. Chat apps such as ChatGPT, Claude and Grok act when you ask them in a chat. Always-on agents such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw and Hermes can run continuously and answer as messages arrive. Both work with Spaces, on the same accounts and inside the same limits. This guide explains how a day looks with each, what each asks of you, and how to choose, including the middle way most small businesses start with.
The difference in one paragraph
A chat app is like a very quick helper who sits with you when you ask. You open a chat, say "what came in?", read its drafts and let it send. When you close the chat, it stops. An always-on agent is more like a member of staff on shift. It runs on a computer that stays on, waits for new messages and answers them by your rules, whether you are looking or not.
A day with a chat app
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 8.30am | You open Claude, ChatGPT or Grok and ask what came in overnight. It summarises and drafts replies. You send the good ones. |
| 12.30pm | A five-minute catch-up between jobs. |
| 5pm | You clear what is left and ask it to schedule tomorrow's reminders. |
| Evening | Nothing, unless a Spaces routine sends your set holding reply to new messages. |
Customers who write between sessions wait a few hours at most, about what they would wait if you were answering by hand between jobs. You see every reply before it goes, because you are there when it is written.
A day with an always-on agent
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Overnight | A customer asks your opening hours at 11pm and gets an answer straight away. A complaint is handed to a person and left for you. |
| 8.30am | You ask the agent what it did overnight and pick up the chats it handed to you. |
| All day | It answers simple questions as they arrive, by the rules in its notes and your business brief. |
| Weekly | You read a sample of its replies on your phone and tighten any rule that needs it. |
Customers get faster answers, but nobody reads each reply as it goes out. The rules you give the agent do the job your eyes do with a chat app.
Side by side
| Chat app | Always-on agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | ChatGPT, Claude, Grok | Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw, Hermes |
| When it acts | When you ask in a chat. | All the time, while its computer is on. |
| Setup | Add Spaces as a custom connector and sign in. | Run a command or edit a settings file, then sign in. |
| What you look after | Nothing beyond your chat app account. | A computer or server that stays on, and the agent's updates. |
| Speed of replies | At your next session. | Within moments, inside Spaces' pacing. |
| Who checks replies | You, as they are written. | Its rules, and you afterwards. |
| Best first step for | Most small businesses. | Busy accounts, after hours, or owners with a tech helper. |
Questions that decide it
- How many customer messages do you get a day? A few dozen fit comfortably into three chat-app sessions. Hundreds are easier with an always-on agent.
- How much do evening and weekend messages matter? If customers book late at night, quick replies after hours are worth more.
- Is there a computer that can stay on? An always-on agent stops when its machine sleeps.
- Who will set it up and look after it? Chat apps need no upkeep. Always-on agents need someone happy with a terminal.
- How much judgement do your messages need? The more replies need judgement, the more you want to see them first.
Which fits your business
| Your situation | A good fit |
|---|---|
| A salon or tradesperson with 20 to 50 messages a day, busy with clients. | A chat app in three sessions, plus a routine for after hours. |
| A holiday let or guest house with guests writing at all hours. | An always-on agent for simple questions, with complaints handed to you. |
| A consultant answering LinkedIn messages. | A chat app. LinkedIn conversations need judgement, and a day's wait is normal. |
| An online shop with lots of "where is my order?" messages. | An always-on agent that answers from your brief and hands over the rest. |
| You want a morning summary but no agent replying alone. | Claude Code on a schedule, holding every reply as a draft. |
| You are not sure yet. | A chat app for a month. You can add an always-on agent later without starting again. |
The middle way most owners start with
You do not have to pick one for good. Many businesses use a chat app for the real replies, a Spaces routine to cover the gaps, and scheduled messages for reminders.
- A routine sends a set reply you wrote in advance when something happens, such as a new message after 6pm. It is not an AI, but it means nobody goes unanswered.
- A routine can also send a holding reply when a chat has had no reply after a few hours.
- Scheduled messages go out at the time you chose, in your time zone, even when your chat app is closed.
- Your chat app then writes the real answers in your next session.
Routines run on Spaces itself, so this works with any chat app and needs no computer left on.
Setting up each kind
For a chat app, the setup is a few clicks. In Claude, for example:
- Open Customize, then Connectors, then Add custom connector.
- Name it Spaces and paste https://api.spacesos.com/mcp as the URL.
- Choose Sign in, then sign in to Spaces and approve access.
- On a Team or Enterprise plan, an owner adds it once under Organization settings, then Connectors.
For an always-on agent, it is a command or a settings file. For Claude Code, for example:
claude mcp add --transport http spaces https://api.spacesos.com/mcpEvery client's full steps are on our agent setup pages. In both cases you sign in to Spaces in the browser, so the agent never sees your WhatsApp, Instagram or other logins.
Safety: what changes and what does not
Spaces' safe limits belong to each account, so they are the same for both kinds of agent. On WhatsApp, for example, messages go out at least 10 seconds apart, with up to 400 a day once the number has warmed up, and new accounts only reply to people who wrote in for their first 2 days. Pause everything, hand-overs and holding replies as drafts work for both.
What changes is who is watching. With a chat app, you are. With an always-on agent, its rules are, so write them carefully: what it may answer alone, what it must hand to you, and what it must never do. Start an always-on agent on drafts, and let it send on its own only once you have read a few days of good replies. An always-on agent should also wait for new messages with Spaces' wait_for_events tool rather than checking the inbox over and over, which looks like a bot to the platforms.
Moving from one to the other later
Your connected accounts, business brief, routines, tags and hand-overs all live in Spaces, not in the agent. Adding an always-on agent later, or going back to a chat app, does not mean reconnecting accounts or rewriting your notes. You add the new agent, check it reads the brief, and decide what the old one should still do.
Common mistakes
- Expecting ChatGPT or Claude in the browser to answer customers overnight. They act only when you ask.
- Running an always-on agent on a laptop that sleeps.
- Giving an always-on agent the same loose rules you used with a chat app.
- Skipping the routine, so evening customers hear nothing until morning.
- Choosing an always-on agent because it sounds more advanced, when three short sessions a day would do.
Summing up
A chat app such as ChatGPT, Claude or Grok answers when you sit down with it, needs no upkeep and lets you see every reply. An always-on agent such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw or Hermes answers as messages arrive, but needs a computer that stays on and clear rules. Most small businesses start with a chat app and a routine for after hours, and add an always-on agent later if the volume or the evenings call for it.
Pricing
FAQ
Can ChatGPT answer my customers while I sleep?
No. ChatGPT, Claude and Grok act when you ask them in a chat and do not watch your inbox. A Spaces routine can send a set holding reply overnight, or you can use an always-on agent.
Which always-on agent is easiest?
That depends on what you already use. OpenClaw suits people who want to talk to their agent through chat apps; Claude Code and Codex suit people who already use them in a terminal; Hermes suits those happy with a settings file.
Is an always-on agent riskier?
It needs more care, because nobody reads each reply as it goes. The account limits are the same, and you can ask it to hold replies as drafts until you trust it.
Do I need a server for an always-on agent?
You need a computer that stays on and online. A small computer left on is enough for most small businesses; a server is more reliable.
Can I use both kinds at once?
Yes. Each agent has its own permissions, accounts and daily share in Spaces. A common pair is a chat app for you in the day and an always-on agent for evenings.
What is a routine, and is it an AI?
A routine sends a reply you wrote in advance when something happens, such as a new message or a keyword. It is not an AI, and it runs on Spaces even when your agent is off.
Will I have to reconnect my accounts if I change my mind?
No. Accounts, the business brief and routines live in Spaces. You add or remove agents without touching them.
Which is cheaper?
Spaces costs the same whichever agent you use. The agents themselves have their own plans and costs, so check those with each maker.