Quiet Hours and Responsible Messaging
Keep defined outbound and scheduled messages inside approved local-time windows while preserving consent, opt-outs and safe operating boundaries.
Quiet hours are a timing safeguard—not a complete compliance program
Quiet hours help keep defined proactive, scheduled and follow-up messages inside an approved contact-local window. Set the permitted window, choose a conservative fallback when timezone is unknown, confirm every connected scheduler follows the policy, and test the boundaries. Maintain consent, purpose, identity, opt-out and suppression controls separately.
Separate outbound timing from other operating controls
Quiet hours commonly affect proactive, scheduled or follow-up sends. They do not necessarily stop an AI Agent from replying after a customer messages during the same period, and they do not necessarily delay internal team alerts.
Defined outbound timing
Controls approved send windows for supported proactive, scheduled and follow-up customer messages.
Defined inbound AI coverage
Controls when an AI Agent may handle its configured conversation path. Set this separately.
Internal team awareness
Alerts help people notice events. Their delivery and response coverage are separate from customer-message timing.
Independent scheduler rules
An external or connected scheduler may have its own timing controls. Test every outbound path.
Approve the messaging boundary before configuring it
Write a short operating policy that a reviewer can test. It should identify the permitted send window, contact-local timezone source, unknown-timezone fallback, covered channels and workflows, deferral rules, expiry, opt-out suppression and accountable owner.
One approved start and end time with documented boundary behavior.
A vague phrase such as “business hours” with no timezone.
The accepted data source and process for correcting a wrong timezone.
Using the sender's timezone for every contact without approval.
A conservative default, hold or human review appropriate to the program.
Skipping the safeguard because contact data is incomplete.
Every supported campaign, reminder, follow-up and connected scheduler.
Assuming a setting covers a path that has never been tested.
A person who approves changes and a review trigger for policy or workflow changes.
Untracked timing edits by multiple administrators.
Use the contact's local window and a conservative fallback
When local-time handling is available, the sending decision can use approved contact or phone information. Keep timezone data accurate and define what should happen when it is missing, ambiguous or conflicts with another source.
- Choose the permitted start and end.Use an approved local-time window appropriate to the message type, channel, audience and program.
- Confirm the timezone source.Document which contact or phone information is used and how staff correct inaccurate data.
- Define unknown-timezone behavior.Use a conservative fallback, hold or review path. Do not omit timezone data to bypass the restriction.
- Map every sending route.Include native scheduling, automated follow-ups, appointment messages and connected workflows.
- Record the owner and approval.Name the person responsible for policy review, configuration and test evidence.
Decide whether a held message should still send later
A message scheduled during a restricted period may be held until the next permitted time. That delay can change its meaning, ordering or value, so define deferral behavior before launch.
Hold
The send request reaches a restricted window.
Recheck
Eligibility, consent, suppression and current relevance are evaluated again.
Expire or send
Stale or misleading content is cancelled; eligible content waits for the next permitted time.
Prevent duplicates
Later workflow steps do not send the same outcome twice.
Would the statement still be accurate at the next permitted time?
Set an expiry or cancel time-sensitive content that could mislead.
Could a later step run before the deferred message?
Gate downstream steps or revalidate the sequence before release.
Can a retry, second scheduler or manual action repeat the message?
Use one owner, a unique send record and duplicate-prevention rules.
Could the contact opt out while the message waits?
Recheck suppression and eligibility immediately before sending.
Apply consent, expectation and suppression controls together
Timing is one part of a responsible messaging program. Channel rules and laws change, and requirements vary by jurisdiction and message type. Obtain appropriate legal advice for your program; this guide does not determine legal compliance.
- Document the source and scope of consent.Record how permission was obtained, which channel and purpose it covers, and who maintains the evidence.
- Use the expected channel and purpose.Keep the message consistent with what the contact reasonably expects.
- Make identity and opt-out instructions clear.Use the approved sender identity and an accessible way to stop further messages where required.
- Honor suppression immediately.Do not send to contacts who opted out, withdrew permission or should otherwise be excluded.
- Control frequency and volume changes.Avoid excessive repetition, rapid increases and overlapping workflows that create an unexpected experience.
- Keep local-time safeguards current.Review the permitted window, timezone source and unknown-timezone fallback when programs or audiences change.
- Test every scheduler and connected workflow.Prove the actual send time and deferral behavior for each route.
- Retain approval and test evidence.Preserve the settings, owner, review date and results when policy requires it.
Test just before, at and after every boundary
Use synthetic contacts in known timezones. Record the requested time, timezone used, actual send time, deferral result, eligibility recheck and behavior of every connected workflow.
Schedule just before the permitted window and confirm the message is held or stopped as designed.
Confirm the exact inclusive or exclusive behavior documented in the policy.
Confirm a message sends only when consent, suppression and workflow eligibility also pass.
Confirm the exact cutoff and prevent jobs queued at the boundary from leaking past it.
Confirm hold, expiry or cancellation follows the defined deferred-message rule.
Confirm the conservative default works without inventing or bypassing contact-local time.
Repeat with a second known timezone and verify each contact receives the correct local decision.
Prove its native timing control or route the send through an approved safeguard.
Confirm a deferred message is suppressed before the next permitted window.
Review the policy whenever the message path changes
Review quiet hours at least monthly and after changes to the audience, channel, workflow, appointment type, scheduler, timezone source, consent model, opt-out process or responsible owner.
Confirm the operating baseline
Recheck the approved window, unknown-timezone fallback, active workflows, suppression health and recent send exceptions.
Retest before expanding
Any new scheduler, channel, follow-up sequence or audience needs boundary and eligibility testing before release.
Investigate real timestamps
Compare the contact timezone, requested time, actual time, workflow and deferral record without exposing unnecessary customer data.
Keep one accountable reviewer
Record who approved the policy, who changed the setting, what was tested and when the next review is due.
Trace timezone, window, workflow and send record in order
Contact timezone, configured window, actual send timestamp and the workflow that issued the send.
Pause the affected workflow, preserve safe test details and test the same path with a synthetic contact.
Contact or phone data, timezone source, conflicting fields and recent imports.
Correct the approved source, review affected records and retest two known timezones.
Expiry, eligibility, opt-out, suppression, workflow state and the next permitted window.
Do not force-send until relevance and permission are confirmed.
Retries, overlapping schedulers, downstream steps and manual intervention.
Pause duplicates, identify the authoritative send path and add duplicate prevention before resuming.
The AI Agent's active hours and assigned entry point—not the outbound quiet-hours setting.
Review Set AI Agent Active Hours and test the inbound route separately.
Its own scheduler, timezone, retry and timing configuration.
Pause that path and establish an approved native or centralized timing safeguard before relaunch.
If a message sends outside the configured window, pause the affected workflow and contact hello@convorev.com with the ConvoRev account, synthetic contact timezone, requested time, actual timestamp, workflow name, expected result and safe checks completed.
Quiet-hours FAQs
Do quiet hours stop an AI Agent from replying to inbound messages?
Not necessarily. Quiet hours commonly govern defined outbound or scheduled messaging. Configure and test the Agent's active hours separately for inbound AI coverage.
Which timezone should the window use?
Use the approved contact-local timezone source for the program, and define a conservative fallback when that timezone cannot be determined. Document how staff correct inaccurate data.
What happens to a message scheduled during quiet hours?
Depending on the supported path, it may be held until the next permitted time. Define expiry, relevance, eligibility recheck, sequence and duplicate-prevention behavior before launch.
Do quiet hours make an outreach program legally compliant?
No. Quiet hours are an operational timing safeguard. Consent, purpose, sender identity, opt-outs, suppression, frequency, channel rules and applicable law require separate review.
Can I use one setting for every connected scheduler?
Do not assume so. Inventory and test each outbound path. A connected workflow may use its own timezone and timing controls.
What should I send ConvoRev support?
Include the account, synthetic contact timezone, requested time, actual timestamp, workflow, expected result, observed result and checks completed. Remove credentials and unnecessary private customer information.
Send the timezone, workflow and safe timestamps
Include the ConvoRev account, synthetic contact timezone, requested time, actual timestamp, workflow name, expected result and completed checks. Do not send passwords, access tokens or unnecessary customer data.