> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.izap.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Control the AI's replies

> Turn the assistant on and off, pause the AI in a conversation, set your business hours, and publish instructions so they reach your customers.

You decide when the assistant replies. There are controls for the whole
assistant, for a single conversation, and for your business hours.

## Turn the assistant on or off

In the [dashboard](https://dash.izap.ai), open **AI Assistants**. Each
assistant has an **Active** switch:

* **On:** the assistant answers customers on its WhatsApp number.
* **Off:** the number stops replying completely. It stays connected and your
  conversation history is kept.

<Note>
  The Trainer's test chat keeps replying even when the assistant is off. It's
  there for you to train and test — it never reaches your customers and doesn't
  count toward your plan.
</Note>

### Which number the assistant answers

Each assistant's card shows the **WhatsApp number** it answers on. Each number
has one assistant at a time. If a number has no assistant, pick one under
**Assign an assistant**.

If a number's assistant is switched off, no other assistant takes over: the
number simply has no automatic replies.

## Pause the AI in a conversation

### Automatically, when you reply from your phone

If you or someone on your team replies to a customer from the WhatsApp Business
app on your phone, iZap understands that a person took over the conversation
and pauses the AI in it. The AI starts replying again on its own after the time
set in **AI pause** — 1 hour, unless you changed it.

Automated messages sent identically to several contacts, such as appointment
reminders, are usually recognized and don't pause the AI.

### Manually, from the dashboard

Replying from the dashboard chat does **not** pause the AI. To take over a
conversation from the dashboard, open it in **Live Chat** and choose one of
these options:

* In the contact panel, click **Pause automation** and choose for how long. To
  hand the conversation back to the AI, click **Resume automation**.
* In the menu at the top of the conversation, choose **Unsubscribe the
  Assistant**. The AI stays paused in that conversation until you choose
  **Resubscribe the Assistant** (or for at most 7 days).

<Note>
  Live Chat may not be available on every account. If it doesn't appear in your
  dashboard menu, contact support.
</Note>

## How long the AI stays silent

Open **Settings** → **AI pause** to set how long the AI stays silent after a
person takes over a conversation or outside business hours. The options range
from 15 minutes to 4 hours, plus a custom time of up to 24 hours. The default
is 1 hour.

## Business hours

Open **Settings** → **Business hours** and set the time ranges for each day of
the week. The hours follow your workspace time zone.

* **During business hours:** the assistant replies normally.
* **Outside business hours:** the assistant doesn't chat. If you filled in the
  **Message when the business is closed** in the assistant's settings in the
  Trainer, it sends that message; then it stays silent for the time set in
  **AI pause**.
* **No hours configured:** the assistant replies at any time.

## Make instructions reach your customers: publish

In the [Trainer](https://trainer.izap.ai/trainer), instructions have two
buttons with very different effects:

* **Save** keeps the instruction only in the test chat you're in. It does
  **not** change what the assistant replies on WhatsApp.
* **Publish** applies the instructions to all conversations and to the
  assistant that answers your customers. The Trainer asks you to confirm,
  because this action can't be undone.

You can see what is already live in the **Published Instructions** tab.

<Tip>
  Edited the instructions and the assistant still replies the old way? Most of
  the time, you still need to click **Publish**.
</Tip>

## Reply language

In the assistant's settings — in the Trainer or on the assistant's card in the
dashboard — choose the reply **Language**. Turn on **Automatically detect
customer language** so the assistant replies in the language the customer
wrote in, using the chosen language only when it can't tell.

If nobody chose a language, iZap uses the one from your WhatsApp number's
country.

## Send images in replies

The assistant can send photos of products, menus, or properties:

1. In the dashboard, upload the images under **My Contents** → **Image
   Library**.
2. In the Trainer, create or edit an instruction and add the **Send images in
   the chat** action.
3. Pick up to 5 images for that instruction and save.

## Skills

In the Trainer, the **Skills** page shows what the assistant can do beyond
chatting — for example, **Book appointment**, **View menu**, **Create order**,
**Send documents**, and **Human support**. Turn on only the ones that make sense
for your business.

The **Notifications** skill is available from the Professional plan up or as an
add-on. All the others are included in every plan.