Social Intents gives you two ways to control when your live chat widget is available to visitors: a manual online/offline toggle and an automated schedule. Knowing when to use each approach - and how they interact - matters for providing reliable availability to your website visitors. Below we cover both methods, walk through setting up a schedule, managing holidays, and choosing the right strategy for your team.
How Widget Status Works
Every Social Intents chat widget has a status that determines whether visitors can start new conversations. When the widget is online, visitors see the chat button and can initiate a conversation. When the widget is offline, visitors see an offline message, a contact form, or the widget may be hidden entirely depending on your settings.
Widget status is determined by two factors:
- Agent availability - At least one agent must be online for the widget to be active
- Schedule settings - If a schedule is enabled, the widget follows the schedule regardless of individual agent status
The schedule always takes priority. When a schedule is enabled for a widget, the manual status toggle is disabled for that widget. When no schedule is enabled, the widget's online/offline status is controlled entirely by whether at least one agent is available.
Manual Status Toggle
The manual toggle is the simplest way to control your availability. It requires no configuration - agents simply switch between online and offline when they start and finish their work.
Where to Toggle Your Status
There are two places to change your manual status:
- Chat Console - The chat console includes a prominent online/offline toggle at the top of the page. This is the quickest way to switch status during your workday.
- Agent Profile Page - Navigate to Agents, click your name, and change the Agent Online toggle in the Online Status section.
How Manual Status Affects Widgets
When you toggle your status to online, all widgets that do not have a schedule enabled are set to online. When you toggle to offline, the system checks whether any other agents are still online. If you are the last agent to go offline, all non-scheduled widgets switch to offline mode.
This means that as long as at least one agent is online, the chat widgets remain available. The widget only goes offline when every agent on the account is unavailable.
Automatic Offline on Session Expiry
If an agent closes their browser or their session expires due to inactivity, Social Intents automatically sets that agent to offline. The system then checks whether any remaining agents are still online. If no agents remain, all non-scheduled widgets transition to offline status.
This automatic behavior prevents the situation where an agent forgets to toggle offline before leaving, which would otherwise leave the widget in an "online" state with no one available to respond.
Stay Available Override
The Stay Available setting on an agent's profile overrides the automatic offline behavior. When enabled, the agent remains listed as "online" even if their browser session expires. This works well for mobile agents who use push notifications and want to continue receiving chat alerts on their phone.
Horario en línea
The online schedule automates your widget's availability based on your business hours. Instead of relying on agents to manually toggle online and offline each day, the schedule ensures your widget is available exactly when your team is working.
Schedule Availability
The online schedule feature is available on paid plans. Trial users on the Wix integration may see the schedule controls disabled with a note indicating the feature is only available on Premium Plans. All other paid plan users have full access to schedule configuration.
Setting Up a Schedule
- Enable or disable the day - Check the checkbox next to each day to include it in the schedule. Unchecked days mean the widget is offline all day.
- Set open and close times - Use the time range sliders to set your business hours. For example, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The visual slider shows the selected time range clearly.
Example Schedule Configuration
| Day | Enabled | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | ✅ | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Tuesday | ✅ | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Wednesday | ✅ | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Thursday | ✅ | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Friday | ✅ | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM |
| Saturday | ❌ | - |
| Sunday | ❌ | - |
This schedule keeps the chat widget online Monday through Thursday from 9 AM to 5 PM and Friday from 9 AM to 3 PM. The widget automatically goes offline on weekends and outside the configured hours.
Advanced Schedule Options
For more granular control, Social Intents offers advanced schedule options. Click the View Advanced Schedule Options link on the schedule page to access additional configuration. Advanced options may include different schedules for different scenarios or extended configuration beyond the standard daily time ranges.
Managing Holidays
Holiday schedules allow you to override your regular weekly schedule for specific dates. When a holiday is configured, the widget stays offline for the entire holiday period regardless of the regular schedule settings.
Adding a Holiday
Only Admins and Owners can add, edit, or delete holidays. Agents with the Agent role cannot modify holiday schedules.
Schedule vs. Manual: When to Use Each
Choosing between manual status and a schedule depends on your team's workflow and consistency needs. Here is a comparison to help you decide:
| Factor | Manual Toggle | Automated Schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small teams, flexible hours, solo operators | Teams with set business hours, multi-agent operations |
| Configuration | None required - just toggle | One-time setup per widget |
| Consistency | Depends on agents remembering to toggle | Automatic and consistent every day |
| Flexibility | High - change status instantly at any time | Less flexible - must edit schedule for one-off changes |
| Risk of forgetting | Medium - agents may forget to go offline | Very low - fully automated |
| Holiday support | Agents must remember to go offline | Holiday schedule automates it |
| Multiple widgets | Controls all non-scheduled widgets at once | Each widget has its own schedule |
Recommended Approach
For most businesses, the automated schedule is the better choice. It eliminates the risk of forgetting to go online in the morning or forgetting to go offline at the end of the day. Visitors get a consistent, predictable experience, and you can set up holidays in advance to handle time off automatically.
The manual toggle is ideal for solo operators, agencies, or businesses with highly variable hours. If your team does not follow a fixed schedule, the manual approach gives you instant, flexible control over your availability.
You can also combine both approaches: use a schedule for your core business hours and use the Stay Available feature for agents who handle after-hours chats via mobile notifications. This gives you structured availability during business hours with the flexibility to extend coverage when needed.
How Schedule and Manual Status Interact
Understanding the interaction between schedules and manual status prevents confusion:
- Schedule enabled - The manual toggle in the chat console is disabled and shows "(Using Schedule)." The widget follows the schedule exclusively. Agents cannot override the schedule with the manual toggle.
- Schedule disabled - The manual toggle is active. The widget's status depends entirely on whether at least one agent is online.
- Multiple widgets - Each widget can have its own schedule setting. One widget may use a schedule while another relies on manual status. They operate independently.
- Schedule + AI chatbot - If you have an AI chatbot configured, it can continue handling conversations 24/7 even when the schedule puts the widget in offline mode for human agents. This provides around-the-clock coverage with AI handling off-hours inquiries.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Widget shows offline even though agents are online
Check if the widget has a schedule enabled. If yes, the widget status follows the schedule, not the agent's manual toggle. Verify that the current time falls within the scheduled hours and that the timezone is set correctly.
Manual toggle is grayed out
This means a schedule is active for the widget. The toggle is intentionally disabled when a schedule is in use. To regain manual control, disable the schedule in the widget's Schedule settings.
Widget stays online after hours
Verify that your schedule timezone matches your actual business timezone. If the timezone is incorrect, the schedule times will be offset. Also check that no agents have the Stay Available feature enabled, which keeps them listed as online even after logging out.
Agents keep getting set to offline unexpectedly
This typically happens due to session expiry. If agents close their browser or are inactive for too long, their session expires and the system automatically sets them to offline. Consider enabling the Stay Available feature for agents who need persistent availability, or switch to a schedule-based approach for more reliable control.
Preguntas frecuentes
Can I have different schedules for different widgets?
Yes. Each widget has its own independent schedule. You can configure one widget for standard business hours and another for extended hours, or disable the schedule on some widgets while enabling it on others.
Does the schedule affect all agents?
The schedule controls the widget's availability, not individual agent status. When the scheduled hours begin, the widget goes online. When scheduled hours end, the widget goes offline. Individual agents can still be online or offline independently, but the widget's availability is what visitors see.
Can I set different hours for each day of the week?
Yes. Each day of the week has its own enable/disable toggle and time range slider. You can set Monday through Thursday to 9 AM – 5 PM, Friday to 9 AM – 3 PM, and disable Saturday and Sunday, for example.
What timezone should I set for the schedule?
Set the timezone to your business's primary timezone. All schedule times are based on this single timezone setting. If your team spans multiple time zones, choose the timezone that represents when you want the widget to be available to visitors.
Can visitors still reach me when the widget is offline?
Yes, depending on your offline settings. You can configure an offline contact form, enable an AI chatbot for 24/7 coverage, or hide the widget entirely. See the What Happens When Everyone Is Offline guide for all available options.
How do I override the schedule for a one-time event?
Add a holiday entry for the specific date or date range. Holidays override the regular weekly schedule for those dates, keeping the widget offline. After the holiday period passes, the regular schedule resumes automatically.