Your receptionist can use a different greeting at certain times of the week or on specific dates. Use it to tell callers you're closed after hours, out for lunch, or off for a holiday. Your regular greeting plays the rest of the time.
Two kinds of time-based greetings
Different greeting at certain times. Repeats every week. Use it for after hours, weekends, or lunch.
Different greeting on specific dates. One-off dates, like a holiday or an office closure. You can set a date to repeat every year.
Both live in Agents > General, in the Greeting and goodbye section, right under Default greeting message.
How to set up a greeting for certain times
1. Open your agent's General page
Go to Agents in the left-hand menu, select your agent, and open General. Scroll to Greeting and goodbye.
2. Add a rule
Check the box next to Different greeting at certain times if it isn't already checked, then click Add rule.
3. Write the greeting
In Greeting message, type what your receptionist should say when a call comes in during this window. For example: Thanks for calling. We're closed for lunch until 1 PM. I can take a message or answer a quick question.
4. Pick the days and times
Under Days and times, turn on each day this greeting applies and set a start and end time for that day. Click + next to a day to add a second time range on the same day. For an after-hours greeting, set two ranges on each weekday, for example 12:00 AM to 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM to 11:59 PM, and turn on Saturday and Sunday for the full day. Times follow the time zone shown on the card.
5. Save
Click Save greeting. The rule appears under Weekly greetings with a summary of its days and times.
How to set up a greeting for specific dates
1. Add a rule for specific dates
In the same Greeting and goodbye section, check the box next to Different greeting on specific dates if it isn't already checked, then click Add rule.
2. Pick the dates
Click the dates on the calendar. You can pick more than one, so a closure that runs Thursday through Monday is one rule.
3. Choose all day or set hours
All day is on by default, so the greeting plays for the whole date. Turn it off to set a start and end time instead, for example 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM on a day you close early. Outside those hours, your regular greeting applies.
4. Repeat it every year (optional)
Turn on Repeat every year for holidays that fall on the same date each year, like December 25. You set it once and it comes back on its own.
5. Write the greeting
In Greeting message, type what callers should hear on those dates. For example: Thanks for calling. We're closed today for the holiday and reopen tomorrow at 8 AM. I can still take a message.
6. Save
Click Save greeting. The rule appears under Date greetings.
Common uses
Situation | Rule to use | Example greeting |
After hours and weekends | Certain times. Two ranges per weekday (before opening and after closing), plus Saturday and Sunday all day. | Thanks for calling. We're closed right now, but I can take a message or book a time for a callback. |
Lunch break | Certain times. One range per weekday, like 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. | Thanks for calling. The office is closed for lunch until 1 PM. I can take a message or answer a quick question. |
Holiday | Specific dates, with Repeat every year on. | Thanks for calling. We're closed today for the holiday and reopen tomorrow at 8 AM. I can still take a message. |
Office closure or vacation | Specific dates. Pick every date you're away. | Thanks for calling. We're out of the office until Monday the 20th. I can take a message and the team will call you back. |
Early close | Specific dates, with All day off and hours set. | Thanks for calling. We closed early today at 1 PM. I can take a message or help you book a time. |
Things to know
Date greetings override time-based greetings, which overrides your default greeting.
You can add instructions to your greeting like "Greet a caller by their first name, if you have it. Then say "How may I help you?"
Time-based greetings are set per agent. If you run more than one agent, add them to each one.
Times follow your agent's time zone, shown on each card. To change it, click Edit in settings.
A time range can't cross midnight. To cover an evening and the next morning, add two ranges to the same day with +.
Two weekly greetings can't overlap. If you want one greeting for evenings and another for weekends, give each rule its own days and times.
Only the greeting changes. Your receptionist still answers, follows your training, and takes messages or books appointments as usual.
Saved greetings are listed under each card. Open one to edit the text or the schedule, or click Delete greeting to remove it.
You can also add, edit, and delete these greetings from Claude or ChatGPT with the Upfirst connector. See How to connect Upfirst to Claude, ChatGPT, and other AI assistants.