# Stop missing calls after business hours The AI receptionist answers when you're closed and passes the message on to you. - Role: Manager - Duration: 6 min - On: Web, Mac - Learning Centre: https://callizy.ca/en/apprendre/apres-les-heures - Open this screen in Callizy: https://app.callizy.ca/en/manager?view=ai-agents ## Before you start - Be a manager on the Callizy account. - Your Callizy number, set up: see [Go live with Callizy](https://callizy.ca/en/apprendre/mettre-en-service). - Your cell phone at hand, for the test call. ## Step by step 6 steps, about 6 min. Screenshots show Callizy in French. Button names are given in English. ### 1. Set your business hours (1 min) In **Numbers**, choose your line. Under **Who answers**, on the **Business hours** row, click **Edit for the company**. Choose **Custom hours**, set each day, then **Save**. The details: [Set your business hours](https://callizy.ca/en/apprendre/heures-d-ouverture). Menu: Administration › Numbers › your number › Edit for the company ### 2. Create the evening agent (1 min) In **AI voice agents**, click **Create my first agent**, or **Create agent** if you already have one. Choose **Inbound agent**. Under **Starting point**, click **After hours**: it takes the message and flags what is urgent. Menu: Administration › AI voice agents › Create agent ### 3. Give it your website (1 min) Enter your website address, then **Find the pages**. Keep the checked pages, 5 at most, then **Create the agent**. No website? **Skip** creates the agent right away. When it picks up, it says you are closed and that it can take a message. ### 4. Connect it outside business hours (1 min) Its card says “Not answering any line”. Click **Connect**, then **Outside opening hours**. Under **Who answers during opening hours?**, choose **Everyone**, a group or a person. **Rings for**: 30 seconds to start. Click **Set up**. A flow is already attached? **Replace the flow and set up**. ### 5. Check who gets the messages (1 min) Open the agent, **Actions** tab, then **Alert you**. The **After-hours message** alert is already there. It goes out after the call, with the name, the reason for the call, the urgency and the callback number. It goes to the manager to start: change the **Number that receives the message** if needed, then **Update**, at the top. Menu: Administration › AI voice agents › your agent › Actions › Alert you ### 6. Test it (1 min) On the agent’s card, click **Test**. Under **Test a mission (optional)**, choose **After hours**, then **Call me**. Leave a message like a customer and hang up: the alert arrives. ## Key points - During your hours, your team rings first. If nobody answers, the agent takes the message. - When you are closed, the agent answers right away. - The agent never promises a callback time: it says the team will call back as soon as you open. ## Not working? ### Callizy shows “This number is already used by agent “…”.” 1. Another agent already answers on this number. Choose another number, or disconnect the other agent. ### Callizy shows “This agent is disabled. Enable it first.” 1. Turn the agent back on from its card, then click **Connect** again. ### The agent also answers during the day 1. Check your hours on the number’s page: **Always closed** makes the agent answer all the time. 2. Does the number have its own hours? Look at the **Own hours for this number** switch. 3. During your hours, the agent also takes the call when nobody picks up in time. ### The alert doesn’t arrive 1. Did you click **Update**, at the top of the agent? Without it, nothing is saved. 2. Check the **Number that receives the message** in **Alert you**. ## Frequently asked questions ### I already have an agent: can it answer only in the evening? Yes. On its card, **Connect**, then **Outside opening hours**. The **After hours** template is only offered when you create an agent. ### What about holidays or a vacation? Callizy has no holiday calendar. That day, switch your hours to **Always closed**, then back to **Custom hours** when you return. ### What does the agent say when you are closed? It asks for the first name, last name, callback number and reason for the call. If the caller mentions an emergency, a breakage, an outage or a danger, it asks what is happening and says the person in charge will be notified as soon as the call ends. ### Does it use AI minutes? Yes, every call the agent answers: see [Understand AI minutes and the Receptionist plans](https://callizy.ca/en/apprendre/minutes-ia). Updated October 29, 2026.