# Agent profile: Operator Chat > Turn on the live chat so a teammate can join the agent's conversations, and decide when the customer can ask to talk to a person. Page: https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/operator-chat/ · Section: Chat agent · Updated on 30 October 2026 Open Chat agent › Agent profile › Operator Chat. Here you turn on the **live chat**: a teammate can take over a conversation from the agent and then hand it back. **The customer asks for an operator** — From the menu of the website chat. → **The team gets the alert** — In Conversations, with a sound and, if you want, by email. → **A teammate takes the chat** — And hands it back to the agent at the end. To get an email as well, turn on Operator Request in [General › Email Notifications](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/general.md#email-notifications). How to take the chat and hand it back to the agent: [Stepping in as an operator](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/conversations/take-over.md). ![Officina Rossi's website chat with the menu open on the Request an operator item and the box “Would you prefer to talk to one of our human operators?” with the Talk to an operator button.](https://supportfast.ai/_astro/02-chat-operatore.BGPGNaNA.webp) _From the chat menu the customer chooses Request an operator and confirms with Talk to an operator._ > **Plan** > > Available in plans that include the live chat: see [Plans, quotas and usage](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/account/plans-and-usage.md). > **Before you start** > > - If you want operators to be available only at certain times, first set the [workspace opening hours](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/workspace/settings.md#opening-hours-and-closing-days). ## Live Chat and Operator Takeover Three switches, one inside the other: each one works only if the one above it is on. - **Enable Live Chat (Yes / No)**: Lets teammates take over one of the agent's conversations with Take control, in Conversations. When it's off, that button is missing and from the console you can only write internal notes. The exception is the time slots when the agent stays silent because of its reply hours: see [Agent Reply Hours](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/interface.md#agent-reply-hours). (Default: off) - **Show the "Request Operator" Button in the Widget Header (Yes / No)**: Despite the name, it doesn't add a button: it adds the Request an operator item to the menu at the top of the website chat, that is, in the widget, the link and the iframe. On WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger this item doesn't exist. (Default: off) - **Mandatory Contact Form before the handover (Yes / No)**: When the customer chooses Request an operator, they first fill in a form with the fields you choose below. If the chat already knows those details, the form doesn't appear. (Default: off) Below is the Contact form fields panel, which applies only when the form is on: see [Contact form fields](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/contacts.md#contact-form-fields). ### The Playground's Live chat node To hand the chat to a teammate at a specific moment, for example after a complaint, you can also use the Live chat node in the [Playground](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/playground.md#live-chat). There the request starts when the agent decides, on all channels, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. Compared with the switches in this tab: - it uses the hours and the unavailability message below; - it doesn't show the form before the handover, which applies only to the Request an operator item; - it doesn't depend on the menu item, but Enable Live Chat must stay on: otherwise the request arrives in Conversations, but no teammate can take the chat. ## Operator Availability Hours - **The operator is available (Always · Only during opening hours · Only outside opening hours)**: When the customer can ask for a person. It follows the workspace's opening hours, time zone and closing days. Outside the chosen hours, whoever asks for an operator reads the unavailability message and can keep writing to the agent. (Default: Always) - **Unavailability Message (Text · per language · max 200 characters)**: The text shown to anyone who asks for an operator outside the hours. If the operator follows the hours, write it in every language. (Default: “The operator will be available again on {{next_livechat_day}} at {{next_livechat_hour}}. In the meantime, our AI assistant is at your disposal.”) If the workspace has no opening hours, “The workspace has no opening hours: the operator is always available.” appears. Set up the hours takes you to the [Workspace settings](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/workspace/settings.md). ### The message variables The message can use two variables, which in the chat become the next available time. You find them above the field, in Available dynamic tags: one click inserts them where you are typing. | Variable | Becomes | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | `{{next_livechat_day}}` | The day, in the customer's language | Monday | | `{{next_livechat_hour}}` | The time | 09:00 | **Not like this:** “An operator will reply to you as soon as possible.” Outside the hours the customer waits without knowing until when. **Like this:** “We're closed: a colleague will reply to you on {{next_livechat_day}} at {{next_livechat_hour}}. In the meantime, you can write to our assistant.” ## How to save and check Press Save changes in the bar at the bottom: “Operator chat saved” appears. To test, open the link from the [Share](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/share.md) tab and choose Request an operator: in Chat agent › Conversations the chat appears among those Waiting for operator. ## Frequently asked questions **The customer doesn't see “Request an operator”.** Turn on Enable Live Chat and Show the "Request Operator" Button in the Widget Header, then save. **The customer reads that the operator will be back, but we're in the office.** Availability follows the workspace hours. In the [Workspace settings](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/workspace/settings.md), check the time zone, the opening time slots and the closing days. ## See also - [Stepping in as an operator](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/conversations/take-over.md): Taking the chat, replying and handing it back. - [Agent profile: General](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/general.md): The emails for operator requests. - [Workspace settings](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/workspace/settings.md): Time zone, opening hours, closing days. - [Agent profile: Contacts](https://supportfast.ai/en/guide/chat-agent/contacts.md): The form fields, explained one by one.