How to Configure Timers for Chats?

Configuring timers allows you to set control over operator response time and chat processing. The system tracks timer compliance and provides performance reports.

When You'll Need This

You need to set control over operator response time to client requests.
You need to configure automatic closure of inactive chats after a certain time.
You need to configure timers for group chats separately.
You want Fastline AI dialogs where the client went silent to close on their own instead of piling up in the Fastline tab.
You want the "N min" in the dialog list to count from the last message, whoever wrote it, or to show minutes for longer than an hour.

What's Important to Know

Chat timer — time in minutes after which an inactive chat can be automatically closed or transferred to another operator.
Operator timer — time during which an operator must respond to a client message.
Perpetual connection for group chats — option that allows group chats not to close automatically.
Closing Fastline dialogs without an operator — a timer for dialogs where only AI answers the client (the Fastline tab) and no operator is connected. Off by default.
Timer in the dialog list — the "N min" in the top-right corner of a dialog row. The setting changes only this number; the row colour stays as it was. One setting for all operators.

Before You Start

You are logged in with administrator or supervisor rights.
You have permission to save operator panel settings.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open Timer Settings

Go to the Settings module through the menu.
In the side menu, find the "Settings" section (operator panel subsection) and expand it.
Click on "Timers".

2. Enable Timer

Enable the "Use timer to disable dialogue" checkbox.
After enabling, fields for configuring the timer become available.

3. Configure Timer Time

In Dialog timeout in minutes, enter the timer value (minimum 1 minute).
If the timer is enabled but the value is below 1 or empty, an error appears under the field and Save stays blocked until you enter a valid value.
This is the time after which an inactive chat can be automatically closed or transferred to another operator.

4. Configure Additional Options

"Perpetual connection for group chats" — enable if you need group chats not to close automatically through the timer.
"Close the dialog without operator response" — when enabled, the timer counts from the last message by any participant, so the dialog also closes when the operator did not reply. When off, only operator messages count.

5. Close Fastline AI Dialogs Without an Operator

Fastline AI answers the client on its own, without an operator. If the client got an answer and wrote nothing more, such a dialog used to stay open in the Fastline tab forever. This option closes it by timer, the same way as an ordinary inactive dialog.

Note. If many dialogs without an operator have already piled up in the Fastline tab, all of them close after you save — in portions of up to 50 roughly every 30 seconds. Every client in them gets the closing text. A thousand old dialogs close in about 10–20 minutes.

Make sure "Use timer to disable dialogue" is enabled — the new fields appear only then.
Check "Close Fastline dialogs without an operator".
Optionally fill in "Close a Fastline dialog after, minutes":
- empty — the dialog closes after the same time as ordinary dialogs ("Dialog timeout in minutes");
- a number — a separate time for Fastline, at least 5 minutes. If you enter less, "At least 5 minutes" appears under the field and the settings cannot be saved.

Only dialogs currently in the Fastline tab with no live operator connected are closed. The time counts from the last client or AI message. Dialogs Fastline has already handed over to the queue or an operator (they follow the ordinary timer rules) and dialogs an operator joined on their own are not closed.

6. Timer in the Dialog List

A dialog row in the list shows in its top-right corner how many minutes have passed, for example "10 min". These fields are always visible, even when the dialog disconnect timer is off.

In "Where the minutes in the dialog row count from" choose:
- "As before: while the client waits — from their first message". The client wrote at 16:00 and 16:20, no operator reply yet — at 16:30 the row shows "30 min".
- "Always from the last message (client or operator)". In the same example at 16:30 the row shows "10 min".
After an operator reply both options count from that reply: the operator replied at 16:25 — at 16:30 the row shows "5 min". They differ only when the client sent several messages in a row and is waiting.
Optionally fill in "Show minutes for up to, min" — from 1 to 1440:
- empty — 60 min, as before;
- up to this limit the row shows minutes, even past an hour (for example, "95 min"); after it, the date and time of the last message;
- a number out of range is corrected when you leave the field: 0 becomes 1, 2000 becomes 1440.

Note. Whatever you choose, the row colour is still counted from the first unanswered client message. So in the "Always from the last message" mode a row can show "10 min" and already be red: the client has been waiting longer. Internal notes and service messages do not move the count. Operators see the change after they reload the panel.

7. Save Settings

Verify all changes made.
Click the "Save" button at the top of the page.
Wait for a message about successful saving.

What Happens Next

Timers are applied to all chats in the system:

The system tracks operator response time.
Inactive chats can be automatically closed or transferred to another operator after the set time.
Group chats do not close automatically (if option is enabled).
The "N min" in the dialog list rows counts as chosen and is shown up to the set limit (after the operator reloads the panel).
Fastline dialogs without an operator close after the set time (if the option is enabled):
- the client gets the same as with an ordinary close by timer: the closing text and the scenario continuation configured in the bot for a timeout close;
- the dialog disappears from the Fastline tab; in the "Dialogs" list its "Status" column shows the service code fastline_idle (it has no human-readable label yet) and "Closed by timeout" shows "Yes";
- the close system message in the dialog history contains "(fastline_idle)" instead of "(timeout)";
- in native statistics these closes increase the numbers of closed dialogs, inactivity closes and CSAT ratings; the "Status" filter gets the value "Closed by Fastline idle timer", but the appeals list itself does not show these dialogs yet;
- the "Closed by Fastline without operator" card does not count them: it counts only dialogs closed by the scenario itself.
If you have webhooks or triggers on closing a dialog by timeout, they fire for these closes too: the event is the same as for an ordinary timeout, and the dialog status in its data is fastline_idle. If a trigger checks the status itself, add this value to its condition.
The system provides reports on timer compliance.

How to Verify Everything Worked

Check that the timer starts when a new chat is created.
Check that the system tracks operator response time.
Check performance reports to see timer compliance statistics.
If you chose "Always from the last message…": reload the panel — in a dialog where the client wrote twice the minutes count from the second message, and the row colour is the same as before the change.
If you enabled closing Fastline dialogs: after the set time the Fastline tab has no dialogs without an operator older than that time, and "Dialogs" filtered by "Closed by timeout: Yes" contains dialogs with the fastline_idle status.