Temporary closures

Handle same-day schedule changes like closing early, holidays, or emergency closures. Choose the approach that matches your agent’s current setup.

Quick reference

I need to…	Best approach	Time estimate
Play a closure message (no routing change)	Managed Topic	5 min
Toggle after-hours mode on/off	Configuration Builder	2 min
Redirect calls to a different number	Call handoff	10 min

Option 1: Managed Topic

Best for: Playing a closure message without changing call routing. No developer setup required.

Create or update a topic

Go to Knowledge > FAQs. Create a new topic or find an existing one related to hours or closures.

Name: Temporary closure
Sample questions: “Are you open?”, “What are your hours?”, “Can I speak to someone?”
Content: “We’re currently closed and will reopen at our normal time tomorrow. Please call back then.”
Actions: Leave empty (info only) or add a handoff if you want to transfer the caller.

Activate the topic

Make sure the topic is active in your Branch. If you have an existing opening hours topic, consider deactivating it temporarily so the closure topic takes priority.

Test in Sandbox

Use Agent Chat in Sandbox to confirm the agent responds with your closure message.

Publish

Publish your changes to Live.

Revert when done

Deactivate the closure topic and reactivate your normal hours topic. Publish again.

This approach changes what the agent says, but does not change call routing. The agent will still answer calls and have a conversation. If you need to hang up or transfer after the message, use one of the other options below.

Option 2: Configuration Builder

Best for: Toggling after-hours mode on and off instantly. Requires a developer to set up the schema first (one-time setup).

If your agent already has after-hours fields in the Configuration Builder, skip to step 2.

One-time setup (developer required)

A developer needs to add an after-hours toggle to the Configuration Builder schema and wire it into the agent’s code. See Configuration Builder for the full guide. Example schema fields:

{
  "after_hours_enabled": {
    "type": "boolean",
    "title": "After hours mode",
    "description": "Enable to play the after-hours message and skip normal conversation"
  },
  "after_hours_message": {
    "type": "string",
    "title": "After hours message",
    "description": "Message to play when after-hours mode is on"
  }
}

Example function code:

config = conv.real_time_config
if config.get("after_hours_enabled"):
    message = config.get("after_hours_message", "We're currently closed.")
    conv.call_handoff(
        destination="after_hours",
        utterance=message
    )
    return

Flip the toggle

Open Configuration Builder

Go to Real-time config > Data tab.

Select the Live environment

Switch to the Live tab. Changes here take effect immediately. No publish is needed.

Enable after-hours mode

Toggle After hours mode on and enter your closure message (e.g., “We’re closing early today. Please call back tomorrow.”).

Save

Click Save. The change is live immediately.

Revert when done

Toggle After hours mode off and save. Normal behavior resumes instantly.

Configuration Builder changes in Live affect all active calls instantly. Double-check your values before saving.

Option 3: Update call handoff routing

Best for: Redirecting all calls to a different number or voicemail during the closure.

Open Call handoffs

Go to Voice > Handoffs.

Edit the after-hours destination

Find the handoff destination used for after-hours or the default handoff. Update the Route to point to the closure number or voicemail.

Test in Sandbox

Make an in-app call in Sandbox and trigger a transfer to check it routes correctly. To test from a real phone, move your Branch to Staging (Branches and Sub-branches modes only) and call the Staging number.

Publish

Publish to Live.

Revert when done

Change the route back to the original number. Publish again.

For detailed steps, see Routing and handoffs.

Which option should I use?

Situation	Recommended option
Quick same-day closure, no developer available	Managed Topic
Recurring closures (holidays, early Fridays)	Configuration Builder
Need to redirect calls to another team	Call handoff
Need the agent to hang up after the message	Configuration Builder (with `conv.call_handoff()` in code)

FAQs - Create and manage agent knowledge
Configuration Builder - Real-time configuration without publishing
Routing and handoffs - Update handoff destinations
Environments - Publish changes

PolyAcademy

Recipes

Maintain

Glossary

FAQs

Quick reference

Option 1: Managed Topic

Option 2: Configuration Builder

One-time setup (developer required)

Flip the toggle

Option 3: Update call handoff routing

Which option should I use?

​Quick reference

​Option 1: Managed Topic

​Option 2: Configuration Builder

​One-time setup (developer required)

​Flip the toggle

​Option 3: Update call handoff routing

​Which option should I use?

​Related pages

Quick reference

Option 1: Managed Topic

Option 2: Configuration Builder

One-time setup (developer required)

Flip the toggle

Option 3: Update call handoff routing

Which option should I use?

Related pages