The AI Assistant settings in Scale define your assistant's personality and how it replies to customers on WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger: whether it replies automatically, under which name, in which style and dialect, what it does when it is not sure, and when it hands a conversation to a human. You find them in Settings → AI Assistant, together with an Advanced settings page for booking, follow-up, Never sell and the custom prompt.
These settings are managed by the account owner only. What the assistant knows about your business is written on the Training screen, covered in How to train your AI employee.
What the Auto-reply switch does
The Auto-reply switch at the top of the page is the master switch for the assistant across the whole workspace. When it is on, the AI replies to every new chat and you can take over any conversation manually at any time. When it is off, the AI replies in no conversation: every incoming message is stored and shown in the Inbox, and you or your team reply by hand.
The switch is saved the moment you click it, without the Save button, and it is the same control as the chip in the top bar of the dashboard that reads AI ON or AI OFF. Two finer levels sit below it:
| Level | Where it is | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Whole workspace | The Auto-reply switch in Settings → AI Assistant, or the chip in the top bar. | Turns AI replies on or off for every conversation. |
| One conversation | The Take over button inside a conversation in the Inbox, which then becomes Resume AI. | Automatic replies stop for that conversation only and its badge reads Manual. The conversation timeline records who took over. Resume AI gives it back to the assistant. |
| One team member's leads | The AI replies to their leads switch next to the member in Team. | When it is off, the AI does not reply in conversations assigned to that member, who replies personally. |
How to set the assistant identity
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Assistant name | The name the assistant introduces itself with, up to 120 characters. If you leave it empty the name Sara is saved. |
| Business name | Your business name as the assistant uses it, up to 255 characters. This field is required and nothing is saved without it. |
| Business description | A short description the AI uses to understand your business, up to 800 characters. |
How to choose the way your AI talks
| Style | Sample reply shown under it |
|---|---|
| Friendly | Sure! We've got that in stock — want me to reserve one? |
| Casual | Yep, we have it — want me to grab you one? |
| Professional | Yes, that item is available. Shall I reserve it for you? |
| Premium | Of course. It's available, and I'd be glad to set one aside for you. |
How to set the reply dialect and emojis
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Auto — match the customer | The assistant replies in the language and dialect the customer writes in. |
| Egyptian, Gulf, Levantine and Jordanian | The assistant replies in Arabic in that dialect. |
| Formal | The assistant replies in Modern Standard Arabic. |
| English | The assistant replies in English. |
| Use emojis | When on, the AI adds a fitting emoji where it suits the reply. When off, it replies with no emojis at all. |
| Live preview in your current style | A sample reply shown at the bottom of the Language card that changes as you change a choice, so you see the result before saving. |
| Default reply language | A related option in Settings → Preferences: the language of the first reply to a new customer before their language is known. Its values are Auto, Arabic, EN and Mixed. |
What your AI does when it is not sure
| Choice on the When your AI isn't sure card | What happens |
|---|---|
| Ask the customer for the missing detail | It continues the conversation with one focused question. This is the default choice. |
| Say it doesn't know | It says plainly that it does not have that detail and offers what it does have, without promising that someone will contact the customer. |
| Pass the conversation to my team | It stops and hands the conversation to your team when nothing you provided covers the customer's question. |
Below these choices sits the Always on card. It is not a set of switches you can turn off: these rules apply whatever you choose on this page:
- Never invents information or prices.
- Never answers outside your business.
- Passes to your team when it can't help.
- Remembers the whole conversation.
How handoff to a human works
A handoff means the assistant leaves the conversation to a human on your team. The assistant hands a conversation over in the cases below, and then the steps that follow take place:
- The customer asked to speak to a person. This case is always handed over, whatever your settings.
- The sender is not a customer of the business, such as a job seeker or a supplier offering their own services, so the conversation is left for your team.
- The customer asked for an action the assistant cannot carry out in your workspace, such as cancelling or changing an order or issuing a document.
- Nothing you provided covers the question, and your choice under When your AI isn't sure is Pass the conversation to my team.
- Your store is connected and the assistant could not find the order the customer asks about, or could not confirm that the order belongs to them.
The customer receives the handoff message
The assistant sends one last reply telling the customer that a member of the team will follow up, and sends no automatic reply after it in that conversation.
The conversation switches to manual
Automatic replies stop for the conversation, any reply that was about to be sent is cancelled, and no automatic follow-up is sent to it. The conversation timeline records that the AI handed it to the team, with the reason. The timeline is internal and the customer never sees it.
The conversation gets an owner
If no team member owns the conversation, it is assigned to an available member by the same rules that distribute new leads. If a member already owns it, it stays with them, and if nobody is available it stays with the account owner and the timeline says so.
A notification is sent
The account owner and the team member who owns the conversation receive a notification that the customer needs a human reply, with an Open conversation button.
You reply and then give it back
Reply to the customer from the Inbox, and when you are done click Resume AI so the assistant answers in that conversation again.
Advanced settings for booking follow-up and Never sell
The Advanced settings card at the bottom of the AI Assistant page opens a page with four settings. What you save there applies to every new conversation immediately after saving.
The same booking setting also appears in Settings → Integrations under Appointment booking, and the two places hold one choice. Confirmed appointments are added to Google Calendar automatically once it is connected, as described in connecting Google Sheets and Google Calendar.
| Setting | Choice | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Booking | Never book | The assistant never suggests or books appointments, and if the customer asks for one it tells them your team will get in touch. |
| Booking | Book only when asked | It books only if the customer asks. |
| Booking | Suggest booking naturally | It suggests an appointment when the customer shows interest. |
| Booking | Always try to book | It pushes for a booking in every conversation. |
| Follow-up | Disabled | No automatic follow-up is sent. |
| Follow-up | After 1 hour | The follow-up is sent about an hour after the customer's last message if they went quiet. |
| Follow-up | After 24 hours, After 3 days or Weekly | The follow-up is sent late in the same 24-hour window, not days later. See the warning under the table. |
| Never sell | The Answer questions only — never promote or recommend switch | For businesses not permitted to promote, such as pharmacies, clinics and legal practices. The assistant still gives prices, availability and bookings, and stops recommending and pushing toward a purchase. |
| Custom prompt | A free text box | Free instructions layered on top of every setting above, in Arabic or English, up to 8,000 characters. The page warns that it overrides other settings on conflict, so keep it short and specific. |
How to save or discard changes
Click Save at the bottom of the AI Assistant page, or Save advanced settings on the Advanced page. Either button saves both pages together in one go, and a message confirms that the assistant settings were saved. Discard changes puts the fields back to what was last saved and changes nothing.
The Auto-reply switch is the only control saved the moment you click it. For manual follow-ups and reminders see Follow-ups, and for the AI switch of each member see Team.
Common questions about AI Assistant settings
Can I turn the AI off for one conversation only?
Yes. Open the conversation in the Inbox and click Take over: automatic replies stop for that conversation alone and continue everywhere else. Resume AI turns them back on.
Why did the AI stop replying in a conversation?
The causes are: the conversation is in manual mode after a takeover, a handoff or a reply from the phone; the Auto-reply switch is off; the AI switch is off for the team member who owns it; or the plan is inactive or out of messages.
Can I set working hours for the AI assistant?
There is no schedule setting. While Auto-reply is on, the assistant replies to messages as they arrive. Write your opening hours in the Working Hours section of the Training screen so it can tell customers.
Does the assistant follow up with a customer days later?
No. An automatic follow-up is sent within 24 hours of the customer's last message, and the longer choices are sent late in that same window.
Does Never sell stop the assistant from giving prices?
No. The assistant still gives prices and availability and still books appointments. What stops is recommending and pushing toward a purchase.
Can team members change the AI Assistant settings?
No. AI settings are managed by the account owner, and a team member sees only My account and Preferences in Settings.
What does the customer see when a conversation is handed to a human?
The customer receives a message from the assistant saying a member of the team will follow up, and automatic replies then stop. The handoff and assignment notes are internal and never reach the customer.