Live and offline mode

Modes determine how customers interact with your Chat widget which is important as it sets the expectation for reply times from your team.

Gorgias Chat has 2 modes:

Mode	Behavior	Most suitable for
Live	Customers can send live Chat messages to your team.	When agents are available to answer Chat inquiries in real-time.
Offline	Customers can leave their inquiries for agents to respond to later.	When agents will be answering Chat inquiries async (at a later date).

Gorgias will automatically switch between live and offline mode depending on your Chat settings (can be changed at any time).

There are 3 options to choose from:

Setting	Controlled by	Description
Live when agents are available	Agent availability	Customers can only send live Chat messages when an agent is available in Gorgias. When no agents are available, offline mode will activate automatically.
Always live during business hours	Business hours	Customers can always send live Chat messages during business hours. Outside business hours, offline mode will activate automatically.
Offline	Manual (toggle)	Customers can only send messages using the offline capture. The live mode won't activate until the settings are changed.

Steps

1. Go to Settings -> Channels -> Chat -> Preferences.

2. Under the Live chat section, select the behavior that suits your business needs.