Turn Astra on or off

You turn Astra on or off with the Live / Off badge next to the "AI agent" title on the AI agent screen — the change applies to the very next call, no republish needed.

Before you start

• Astra must be published and connected to a number before "on" means it actually answers. A draft agent, or one with no connected number, never receives calls.
• You need admin access in the workspace to change agent settings.

Step-by-step

1. Click the AI agent icon in the left sidebar.

2. Next to the "AI agent" title, click the status badge — it reads Live when the agent is on and Off when it isn't.

3. A toast confirms "Agent turned on" or "Agent turned off". The subtitle under the title reflects the state (for example, "Published · answering 24/7" or "Published · turned off").

The same enable/disable control is available in the iOS app's AI agent screen.

Turning Astra off for one number only

1. Go to Settings → Numbers.
2. Find the number and disconnect the AI agent from it. Calls to that number then ring your team in the app, with voicemail as the fallback.
3. Reconnect it anytime — routing changes always apply from the next call.

Troubleshooting

• Astra is "Live" but doesn't answer — check three things: the agent is published (not "Draft"), a number is connected in Settings → Numbers, and the call is arriving within the hours you set in the Schedule tab.
• You turned Astra off but want after-hours coverage — instead of turning it off entirely, set business hours and let the schedule flip between your team and the AI automatically. See When Astra answers vs. your team.

Related articles

• When Astra answers vs. your team
• Test Astra with a test call
• Meet Astra, your AI receptionist