# Operator's work

An operator is you or your team member who replies to people manually from the "Messages" section. There is no separate "take the conversation" button: it is enough to write to the person, and the bot hands the conversation over on its own.

## The pause after an operator's reply

When you send a message from the "Messages" section, the bot is turned off for this contact for 15 minutes. Each next message of yours postpones the turning on: the bot comes back 15 minutes after the operator's last reply.

While the bot is turned off:

- the bot does not reply to the person's messages and does not guide them through the scenario — the messages are only saved in the conversation;
- a banner hangs above the conversation: "The bot is off for this contact and will turn back on…" with the time it turns on;
- the contact has a pause icon in the list of conversations.

![The dialogue list: a pause icon for one contact, a red stop icon for another](https://support.watbot.org/_media/en/01-chatbots/06-messages/_images/dialog-statuses.webp?v=1791781230)

When the pause ends, the bot starts replying again — to the messages the person writes after that. The bot does not reply to messages that arrived during the pause.

## Changing the pause time

On the banner above the conversation, click "Change time" and choose:

- a period from the current moment — 5, 15 or 30 minutes, 1, 3, 6, 12 or 24 hours;
- "Another time" — the "Set when the bot turns back on" window opens. Set "Date and time" and click "Set timer". The window has quick choices: "Week", "Month", "3 months", "Half a year", "Year";
- "Enable bot" — remove the pause right away;
- "Disable forever" — turn the bot off for the contact with no end date.

![Pause notice above the conversation: the bot is off for the contact, with a link to change the time](https://support.watbot.org/_media/en/01-chatbots/06-messages/_images/pause.webp?v=1791781230)

![The "Set time" menu: from 5 minutes to 24 hours, "Other time", "Enable bot", "Disable forever"](https://support.watbot.org/_media/en/01-chatbots/06-messages/_images/pause-menu.webp?v=1791781230)

![The "Bot activation timer" window with the "Date and time" field](https://support.watbot.org/_media/en/01-chatbots/06-messages/_images/pause-timer.webp?v=1791781230)

## Disabling the bot for a contact

The bot can be turned off for one person with no end date — for example, if only a manager works with the customer.

- From the "⋯" menu in the conversation's header: the "Disable bot" item. The menu is visible to the owner and to team members with the "Download contacts" or "Editing scenarios" permission.
- From the pause banner: "Change time" → "Disable forever". This way is available to everyone who can reply in the conversation: write to the person, and the banner appears.

![The "⋯" menu in the conversation header: download dialogue, delete contact, disable bot](https://support.watbot.org/_media/en/01-chatbots/06-messages/_images/chat-menu.webp?v=1791781230)

The "The bot has been disabled **forever** for this user" banner appears above the conversation, and a red stop icon appears in the list of conversations. The bot replies to the other contacts as usual.

![The "Bot is disabled forever for this user" bar above the conversation](https://support.watbot.org/_media/en/01-chatbots/06-messages/_images/disabled-forever.webp?v=1791781230)

To bring the bot back, click "Change time" → "Enable bot" on the banner or choose a period after which it turns on by itself.

## What happens to mailings and waits

| | Temporary pause | Bot disabled forever |
|---|---|---|
| The bot's replies to the person's messages | None until the pause ends | None until the bot is turned on |
| ["Delay" and "Timer"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/time) blocks the person is waiting at | Fire when the pause ends | Postponed until the bot is turned on |
| [Mailings](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/mailings) | The contact stays among the recipients | The contact is not included in the recipients, including when sending from the previous block |

> [!WARNING]
> The platform keeps a postponed wait for no longer than a week after its due time. If the bot is turned off for the contact for longer, the block after the wait may not run.

## A bot for correspondence only

If you do not need a scenario and only humans should reply for the bot, turn the bot off entirely: in the bot settings, on the "Advanced" tab, turn on "Turn the bot off and use the service only for messaging with customers". The bot settings are covered in the [Settings](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/settings) section.

![The "Advanced" tab of the bot settings: messaging-only mode is on](https://support.watbot.org/_media/en/01-chatbots/06-messages/_images/messages-only.webp?v=1791781230)

In this mode:

- the bot replies to none of the contacts, all messages arrive in the "Messages" section;
- no pause is set after an operator's reply — it is not needed;
- waits in the scenario are postponed the same way as when the bot is disabled for a contact;
- in the project's list of bots, the bot opens right at the "Messages" section.

## Several operators

Several team members can work with one bot at the same time. For everyone who has the section open, the following update on their own:

- new messages — from people, the bot and other team members;
- unread counters: when one team member opens a conversation, the counter is reset for everyone;
- drafts: an unfinished reply is visible to colleagues in the list of conversations;
- the pause and the disabling of the bot for a contact.

Under a reply in the feed is the name of the team member who sent it. A conversation cannot be assigned to a team member — anyone with access to the section can reply.

## Team members' access

The bot's owner sees the section and can do everything. A team member needs permissions in their role:

| What you can do | Permission in the role |
|---|---|
| Open the section, read conversations, reply, set and remove the bot's pause, work with reply templates | "Messaging with customers" |
| Send photos, videos and files | "Messaging with customers" and "Sending files to customers" |
| The "Download conversation" item in the conversation menu | "Download contacts" |
| The "Delete contact" item in the conversation menu | "Editing scenarios" |

Without the "Sending files to customers" permission, there is no paperclip at the input field.

How to invite a team member and set up a role is in the [Settings](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/settings) section.

> [!TIP]
> A team member does not need their own Pro subscription to work in your bot. It is enough for them to turn on "Operator mode" in their account menu.

## Limits

- No more than 1000 messages per hour can be sent manually from one bot — the messages of all team members are counted.
- You can write only to someone who is already among the bot's contacts.
- You cannot write to a person who has blocked the bot or unsubscribed from mailings: there is no input field in their conversation.

## If something does not work

- **There is no "Messages" section in the bot's menu.** The team member's role does not have the "Messaging with customers" permission.
- **The Pro checkout window opens instead of the section.** The bot's owner has no subscription. If you are a team member, turn on "Operator mode" in the account menu.
- **"Access limited." when sending.** You do not have the permission for this action: for example, you are sending a file without the "Sending files to customers" permission.
- **"Message limit reached…".** The operator's hourly message limit is used up. Wait and send again.
- **"The size of uploaded files per day should not exceed 2 GB".** The daily file upload limit is used up.
- **The bot does not reply to a person.** See whether there is a "The bot is disabled…" banner above the conversation: the bot is paused after an operator's reply or disabled for the contact. Click "Change time" → "Enable bot". Also check whether the "correspondence only" mode is turned on in the bot settings.
- **There is no input field.** The person has blocked the bot or unsubscribed from mailings.
- **There is no sound.** Check the "Sound for new messages" switch in the section settings. The browser allows sound only after the first click or key press on the page.