Schedules

Table of Contents

  • Introducing schedules
  • Recurring schedules
    • Create a recurring schedule​
    • Recurring schedule scenarios​​
  • Fixed date schedules
    • Create a fixed date schedule
    • Fixed date schedule scenarios
  • Combining schedules

Introducing schedules

Helpfruit has two different types of schedule available to apply to your engagements, to specify when your bot will perform a particular action, like offer live chat to your customers or display a certain message.

Recurring schedules allow you to specify the times and days - e.g. Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

Fixed date schedules allow you to specify a specific start/end date/time - e.g. display from 4pm on 24 December 2025 to 9 am on 3 January 2026.

​For both schedule types, the day/time are fixed to the time zone of your bot (eg NZ Standard Time)

Recurring schedules

Use recurring schedules to specify the times and days your bot will perform a particular action.

For example, you may wish to schedule a different welcome engagement on weekdays vs the weekend. Or set specific hours when you are available for live chat.

​Schedules include options for days of the week and optionally time during each day selected.

One or more schedules can be added to an engagement, allowing for flexible activation and deactivation. This removes the need to turn engagements on/off at set times (although this is also still possible).

Create a recurring schedule​

Step 1 - create new schedule

Schedules can be found in the Actions menu in the portal.

Step 2 - give the schedule a name and specify the day(s) and, optionally, hours the schedule will apply

Step 3 - apply schedule(s) to engagement(s)

Find the relevant engagement in your engagements list (or create a new engagement), and add the schedule you created to your engagement. Learn more about engagements.


Recurring schedule scenarios​​

I want to offer live chat only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

  • Create a Mon/Wed/Fri live chat schedule, and apply that to your live chat engagement.

I want to promote an offer regularly on a Monday 

  • Create a Monday schedule, and apply it to an engagement featuring that offer - maybe a welcome (conversation start) engagement?
  • Then, if it's a Monday, your customers will see that specific welcome when they open your bot.

Fixed date schedules

Use fixed date schedules to set up an engagement ahead of time, or to end at a specific time - e.g. a holiday or fixed-time promotional message. 

Create a fixed date schedule

Unlike recurring schedules, which can be applied to multiple engagements, a fixed date schedule is specified on the engagement itself. Each engagement can only have one start and/or end date specified.

To create a fixed date schedule:

  1. Create or edit an engagement
  2. Set the start/end date/time to specify when the engagement will be active

Fixed date schedule scenarios

I want to set up a message that appears on my chatbot during the holiday period

  • Create a welcome engagement with a holiday message
  • Add the relevant start and end dates

From next week, we have a new process for handling questions the chatbot can't answer

  • set up a new no answer engagement with the desired handling
  • add the relevant start date to that engagement

 

Combining schedules

You can combine recurring and fixed date schedules. 

For example, for the month of June, you have limited staff availability and only plan to offer live chat in the mornings.

  • Create a new "morning" recurring schedule
  • Create a new June live chat engagement
  • Apply the "morning" schedule to that engagement
  • Apply start and end dates - i.e. 1 June to 30 June

 


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