How to stop your AI agent replying to certain people
Not every chat on a business account is a customer the AI agent should answer. Your mum might message the shop WhatsApp. A supplier might chase an invoice on Instagram. Your biggest client might expect to hear from you and only you. This guide covers the ways to keep your AI agent out of those conversations with Spaces, from switches that the agent cannot get round to simple rules it follows, and how to check they are working. It applies to chat apps such as ChatGPT and Claude, and to always-on agents such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw and Hermes.
Who owners usually want left alone
- Family and friends who use the business number because it is the one they have.
- Suppliers, landlords, accountants and anyone else you do business with rather than sell to.
- Your most important clients, who expect a personal reply.
- Staff and colleagues who message the business account.
- Someone in a dispute, a complaint or a refund, where every word matters.
- Anyone who has asked not to be messaged again.
Each of these needs a slightly different tool. Some you want out of the agent's reach for good; others only for the length of one conversation.
Hard switches and soft rules
There are two kinds of control. A hard switch is enforced by Spaces, so the agent cannot reply even if it tries. A soft rule is an instruction the agent follows, which works well but depends on the agent reading and obeying it. Use hard switches for anything that really matters.
| Control | Kind | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand the chat to a person | Hard | No replies, scheduled messages or routines from any agent in that chat until it is handed back. | VIP clients, disputes, anyone you want to answer yourself. |
| Keep the account away from the agent | Hard | The agent cannot use that account at all, set under Accounts it can use. | A personal number you have connected for another reason. |
| Block the person | Hard | They can no longer message or follow the account. | Abuse and spam only. It is not a way to answer someone yourself. |
| WhatsApp stop words | Hard | Someone who writes stop or unsubscribe is never messaged again from that number. | People who ask to be left alone. |
| A rule in the business brief | Soft | The agent hands these chats to you instead of answering. | Types of message, such as complaints or supplier invoices. |
| A tag with a rule | Soft | The agent leaves any chat with that tag. | Groups of people, such as family or suppliers. |
Hand the chat to a person
This is the main tool, and the one most owners should start with. Ask your AI agent to hand a chat to a person, in plain words, such as "hand my chat with Daniel Hughes to me". From then on, Spaces keeps every agent out of that conversation. No replies go out there, and no scheduled messages or routines run in it, until someone hands it back.
A hand-over stays in place until you undo it, so it works for people you always want to answer yourself. For your top clients, hand each chat over once and leave it. For a one-off, such as a complaint, hand it back when it is settled with "hand Daniel's chat back to the agent".
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| You, to your AI agent | Hand these chats to me and keep out of them: Daniel Hughes, Mum, and Brightside Supplies. |
| AI agent | Done. All three chats on the business WhatsApp are handed to a person. I will not reply in them, and no scheduled messages or routines will run there. |
| You | If any of them messages, tell me in our next catch-up. |
| AI agent | I will list new messages in handed-over chats separately at the start of each catch-up. |
Names and details are examples.
Write the rule into your business brief
Your business brief in Spaces has a place for when to hand a chat to you. Every agent reads it before replying, so a rule there covers people you have not met yet, such as the next supplier who gets in touch. Ask your agent to update just that part of the brief. Here is an example:
Hand the chat to me, and do not reply, when:
- the person is a supplier, landlord, accountant or anyone sending us an invoice or bill
- the person says they are family, a friend or a member of staff
- the message is a complaint, a refund request or mentions a solicitor
- the person is tagged "personal", "supplier" or "VIP"
- the person asks for me by name
When you hand a chat over, do not send a holding message unless the brief says to.The last line matters. Some owners want the agent to say "thanks, I have passed this to the owner" before stepping back; others want no reply at all from the agent for these people. Decide which you prefer, and write it down.
Keep personal chats off the account
The cleanest answer for family and friends is not to have them on the business account at all. If you run the business from your personal WhatsApp, every chat on it can be read once it is connected, even if the agent never replies there. A separate business number keeps customers on one number and family on another.
If you have connected a personal account to Spaces for another reason, open the agent under Your agent in the dashboard and untick that account under Accounts it can use. The agent then cannot read or send on it at all.
People who ask not to be messaged
On WhatsApp, Spaces enforces this for you: Anyone who says stop, unsubscribe or similar, in English, French or Spanish, is never messaged again from that number.
On other channels, add a rule to your brief: "If anyone asks us to stop messaging them, reply once to confirm, then never message them again." Keep a short note of who asked, and hand those chats to a person so no agent or routine writes to them again.
When blocking is the right tool
Blocking stops a person messaging or following your account at all. That makes it the right tool for abuse, harassment and persistent spam, and the wrong tool for a client you simply want to answer yourself, because they can no longer reach you. Your AI agent can block someone when you ask it to; it is worth telling it in the brief never to block anyone without asking you first.
Check it is working
- Ask your agent to list the chats it is keeping out of, such as "which chats are handed to a person?".
- Ask a friend or family member on the list to send a test message to the business account.
- Check on your phone that no reply came from the agent.
- Ask the agent what it would do with a message from a supplier, and check its answer matches the brief.
- Look through a week of chats on your phone and add anyone you missed.
Common mistakes
- Relying on a tag alone for someone where a reply would be a real problem. Hand the chat over as well.
- Writing "do not reply to my family" without saying who they are. The agent cannot guess.
- Blocking a client to keep the agent away from them.
- Forgetting that routines send set replies too. A hand-over stops those; a rule in the brief does not.
- Keeping the list in a chat with the agent rather than in the brief, so a chat app forgets it next time.
Summing up
To keep your AI agent out of certain conversations, hand those chats to a person, which Spaces enforces for every agent, routine and scheduled message. Back it up with a rule in the business brief for whole groups, such as suppliers and family, and tags to mark them. Keep personal accounts away from the agent with Accounts it can use, leave blocking for abuse, and test it with a friendly message before you trust it.
Pricing
FAQ
Can the agent still read a chat I handed to a person?
It can still see the chat so it can tell you about new messages, but it cannot reply, and no scheduled messages or routines run there until the chat is handed back.
Will the person know the agent has been told to leave them alone?
No. Nothing is sent when you hand over a chat or tag it. They simply get replies from you instead.
Can I keep the agent off a whole channel?
Yes. Under Your agent in the dashboard, untick that account under Accounts it can use. The agent then cannot read or send on it.
What if a new supplier messages?
A rule in your business brief covers people you have not met yet, such as "hand the chat to me if the person is a supplier". Once you know who they are, hand the chat over too.
Does this work with ChatGPT, Claude and Grok?
Yes. Hand-overs and account access are enforced by Spaces, so they apply to every AI agent you connect. The brief is read by all of them too.
Should I block people I do not want the agent to answer?
Only if you do not want them to reach you at all, such as spam or abuse. Blocked people can no longer message the account, so it is not a way to answer someone yourself.
What happens when someone says stop on WhatsApp?
Spaces never messages them again from that number, whatever an agent or routine tries. On other channels, give your agent a rule and hand the chat to a person.
Can I hand a chat back later?
Yes. Ask your agent to hand it back, and it can reply there again. Hand-overs stay in place until you undo them.