# How business hours and after-hours mode work

Source: https://dialmilo.com/hub/how-business-hours-work
Updated: 2026-05-21

Set when you're open. Choose what Milo does outside those hours: take voicemails, politely end calls, or behave normally.

You set a weekly open/close schedule; outside those hours Milo runs one of three after-hours modes — take a voicemail, politely end the call, or behave normally.

Set business hours so Milo behaves correctly outside of them. Configured on the **Receptionist** page → **Business hours** card.

## What you configure

- **Weekly schedule** — open / close times per day. Uncheck a day to mark it closed.
- **Time zone** — defaults to your browser's detected zone; change if your business is elsewhere.
- **After-hours mode** — one of three choices below.
- **After-hours greeting** — what Milo says first when a call lands outside hours.

## The three after-hours modes

- **Take voicemails (recommended).** Milo still answers, but only takes structured voicemails — no bookings, no warm transfers (the human isn't there to take them).
- **Politely end the call.** Milo announces your hours, takes a brief callback message, and ends. Good for businesses that don't want any after-hours commitment.
- **Behave the same as during hours.** Disables after-hours behaviour entirely. Useful for 24/7 trades like locksmiths.

## How it works under the hood

At call.start, Milo checks the current time against your schedule. If you're open, normal behaviour. If you're closed, the greeting swaps to your after-hours greeting and certain tools (book_appointment, transfer_call) are removed from what Milo can do — so even if its judgment slips, it physically can't book over a closed slot.

## Frequently asked

**What happens to calls outside business hours?**

Milo runs your chosen after-hours mode: take a voicemail, politely end the call, or behave exactly as it does during open hours.