LiveChat (Text) logo LiveChat (Text) automation · runs daily

Answer unassigned LiveChat chats from the offline hours

Overnight, messages from Messenger, WhatsApp or the widget land in the Unassigned chats list, and the first agent in the morning reads and answers them one by one before the day's live queue starts.

Cotlet does it in your own LiveChat (Text) account with list_chats, get_chat, list_canned_responses and send_message, called by your AI agent, an n8n workflow or a script.

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Hosted · nothing to install or maintain

Can LiveChat (Text) do this on its own?

LiveChat lists unassigned chats in the Chats section and leaves the answering to an agent (checked 17 Oct 2026). The official MCP has no tool for live chats and cannot send. The Agent Chat API has list_chats and send_event, which you wire to a token or an OAuth app yourself. The Zapier app has no action to send a message.

How you do it in LiveChat (Text) today

  1. In the Chats section, an agent opens the Unassigned chats list, where messages sent while the team is offline wait.
  2. Those chats come from Messenger, WhatsApp, Twilio, Apple Business Chat, or from a widget whose availability is set to always.
  3. The agent opens a chat, reads the message and types the answer, using # plus a shortcut for a canned response, which needs the Team, Business or Enterprise plan.
  4. The agent repeats this for each customer in the list.

How to answer unassigned LiveChat chats from the offline hours

Prompt

Read the Unassigned chats in LiveChat. For each one, answer with a canned response if one fits, otherwise write a short reply that asks for the missing detail. List anything about billing for me.
  1. 01

    Take the unassigned list

    list_chats runs with list set to unassigned and returns each waiting chat with its channel and the customer's last message.

  2. 02

    Read the whole message

    get_chat returns the full transcript, so a customer who wrote three lines on WhatsApp is answered once, in context.

  3. 03

    Match a canned response

    list_canned_responses returns your shared and private responses with their shortcuts. If one answers the question, the agent uses its text and fills in the customer's name where the response has %customer-name%.

  4. 04

    Send or hold

    send_message sends one reply per chat and waits for your OK by default. Billing, complaints and anything the canned responses do not cover are held back and listed for a human.

  5. 05

    Skip chats someone picked up

    Right before sending, the agent reads the chat again. If an agent already answered it, nothing is sent.

What you get back

Example data

Unassigned chats: 9
Answered 6 (4 with a canned response, 2 asking for an order number)
Held for you 3:
- PJ0MRSHTDG: "charged twice in October" (billing)
- Q4D7XK2M91: "cancel my contract" (needs a decision)
Already picked up by an agent: 0

Other ways to ask

  • At 8:30 every weekday, answer unassigned chats that ask for opening hours or shipping times and leave the rest.
  • Draft replies to the unassigned chats in one list I can edit, and send nothing.
  • Transfer unassigned chats that mention a refund to the Billing group instead of answering them.

What LiveChat (Text) allows, and what to know first

  • LiveChat's Unassigned chats list holds messages sent while the team is offline, from Messenger, WhatsApp, Twilio, Apple Business Chat, or from a widget whose availability is set to always.
  • Canned responses support %customer-name%, %customer-email%, %agent-name% and %agent-email%, so one saved answer can greet each customer by name.
  • A private canned response is visible only to its author, while a group response is available only to agents in that group.
  • Canned responses are part of the Team, Business and Enterprise plans.

send_message asks for your OK by default. To run it daily without you, switch confirmation off for that tool in your dashboard.

Sources: LiveChat Help: Chats section · LiveChat Help: Canned responses · Text Platform: Agent Chat API · Zapier: LiveChat triggers and actions

Call send_message from a script

curl

curl -X POST https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/livechat/chats/PJ0MRSHTDG/messages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"body":"Hi Lena, thanks for writing. Could you send me your order number so I can check the delivery?"}'

Example response

{
  "chat_id": "PJ0MRSHTDG",
  "event_id": "ev_5530",
  "status": "sent",
  "sent_at": "2026-10-17T07:02:00+02:00"
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the call is livechat_write → send_message. Example data.

Schedule it in n8n, Make, Zapier or cron

LiveChat (Text) tools this automation uses

Cotlet LiveChat (Text) tools used to answer unassigned LiveChat chats from the offline hours
Tool Parameters
list_chats list, limit, cursor
get_chat chat_id
list_canned_responses visibility, group
send_message chat_id, body, canned_response
All 12 LiveChat (Text) tools with descriptions

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to connect LiveChat (Text) to Cotlet?

Yes. You sign in to LiveChat (Text) yourself, in your own Cloud Browser in the EU, and we never save your password. Your agents only get LiveChat (Text) once you enable it, every background request is listed, and the browser profile is stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM, the cipher 1Password uses for its vaults. The AI model never sees a login, posts and messages wait for your OK, and Disable for agents cuts access in one click. Independent scanners grade cotlet.dev A+ on Qualys SSL Labs, securityheaders.com and Mozilla Observatory; live results are on https://cotlet.dev/security.

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