What This Update Actually Is
HubSpot shipped two new user properties you can now use as trigger conditions inside workflow builder. They sit under the User information section on the user object.
hs_is_out_of_office fires when an agent has an active Out of Office period set in Users and Teams settings.
hs_is_in_working_hours fires based on whether the current time falls inside the agent's configured working hours window.
Both properties are read-only inside the workflow builder. You can read the state and act on it. You can't write to it from a workflow. To actually set an Out of Office period or adjust working hours, admins still do that in Users and Teams. A tooltip in the workflow UI explains exactly what each property tracks.
Why HubSpot Shipped This
Before this update, HubSpot knew when agents were unavailable. It just couldn't do anything about it automatically. That gap created real operational pain.
We've seen this play out across dozens of Service Hub portals. A ticket lands at 9 PM. The assigned agent is out. Nothing routes it. A customer waits until morning for a first reply that should have gone to the on-call team within minutes.
Ops admins were absorbing that failure manually. They'd redistribute tickets by hand when agents went on leave. They'd build workaround logic using time-of-day branches that had nothing to do with actual agent state. And every time the team structure changed, they'd rebuild it all.
The internal frustration is real: HubSpot is supposed to reduce manual ops work, not add it. This update closes that loop. Availability data now connects directly to the automation platform.
How to Use It Step by Step
- Confirm agent availability is configured. Go to Settings, then Users and Teams. Make sure each agent has working hours set and knows how to activate Out of Office. These properties only fire if agents are actually using those settings.
- Open workflow builder and choose your enrolled object. For ticket routing use cases, start with a ticket-based workflow. For agent-level triggers, you'll reference user properties inside the branch logic.
- Add a trigger or branch condition using user properties. Navigate to User information on the user object. Select hs_is_out_of_office or hs_is_in_working_hours. Set the condition to true or false depending on the scenario you're building.
- Define the action for each state. If out of office is true: reassign the ticket, notify a backup agent, or update a routing property. If working hours is false: shift the conversation to a Breeze Customer Agent, escalate to a coverage queue, or route differently for weekend traffic.
- Test with a real agent availability state. Turn on Out of Office for a test agent, submit a ticket, and confirm the workflow fires correctly. Then turn it off and verify the default path runs.
- Document the logic in the workflow description field. Future admins will thank you. Note which agent settings this workflow depends on and what breaks if working hours aren't configured.
What It Touches in Your HubSpot Strategy
This update isn't just a workflow feature. It changes how you think about your entire service coverage model inside HubSpot.
Service Hub ticket routing. Every ticket-based workflow that touches agent assignment is now a candidate for an availability branch. Review your existing routing workflows and add hs_is_out_of_office checks before any static assignment action.
After-hours automation. hs_is_in_working_hours pairs naturally with Breeze AI agents for after-hours coverage. When working hours is false, route to an AI agent for triage. When it flips back to true, route back to a human. That's a closed loop.
Data Hub users. This is available on Data Hub Pro and Enterprise as well. If you're using HubSpot as an operational data layer and syncing service activity to external systems, availability state is now a signal you can act on inside your HubSpot automations without a third-party trigger.
Reporting. These properties open a new reporting dimension. You can now log when availability-based routing fired and measure response times against those events. Build a custom report to track first reply time by routing path: human assignment vs. after-hours redirect.
If you're already working with Product Usage Tracking in the CS Workspace, availability-based routing adds another layer of intelligence to your customer success workflows. You can route high-risk accounts differently during off-hours instead of letting them sit in a generic queue.
Key Takeaway
Both properties are read-only in the workflow builder. You act on availability state. You don't set it from a workflow. Agents or admins must configure Out of Office and Working Hours in Users and Teams for any of this to fire correctly.
If you want a faster starting point for building these automations, check out HubSpot's new workflow templates in the Marketplace. Pre-built frameworks can cut your setup time and give you a reliable structure to layer availability logic on top of.
Key Takeaway
Availability-based routing only works as well as your team's hygiene around setting working hours and Out of Office. Build an internal process to enforce that hygiene before you build the workflow.
Who Should Care Most
Not every HubSpot team will feel this immediately. Here's who should act on it now.
- Service ops admins managing multi-agent or multi-shift support teams who currently redistribute tickets manually when agents go on leave. This update is built for you.
- RevOps leaders on Service Hub Pro or Enterprise who are responsible for SLA performance. After-hours coverage gaps are one of the most common reasons first-reply SLAs break. This closes that gap without headcount.
- Growing companies with small support teams covering multiple time zones. When you can't afford 24/7 human coverage, smart routing based on real availability state is the next best thing.
- Data Hub Pro/Enterprise admins using HubSpot as a central operational system who want availability state connected to automation without building a custom integration.
If your team is fewer than five support humans and everyone's working the same hours, this update is lower priority. Come back to it when you hire shift two.
George's Take
I've audited a lot of Service Hub portals where the ticket routing logic was genuinely impressive until a human went on vacation. Then the whole system fell apart because availability was invisible to automation. That's not a workflow problem. It's a data connection problem. HubSpot finally wired those two things together, and I think it unlocks something bigger: the idea that your service automation should be self-aware enough to know when a human can't respond and route accordingly, without anyone touching a keyboard. The next logical step is pairing this with Breeze AI agents so that after-hours routing doesn't just redirect, it actually resolves. We're not fully there yet, but this is the foundation.
“Your service automation should know when a human can't respond and route accordingly without anyone touching a keyboard. This update is the foundation that makes that possible.”
If you want to understand where availability-aware routing fits inside HubSpot's broader AI and automation vision, the HubSpot Agentic Platform pillar gives you the full picture, including where Breeze agents and workflow automation are heading together.
If you want help auditing your current ticket routing workflows and building availability-aware automation that actually holds up at scale, let's talk. Book a strategy call with the Sidekick team and we'll map out exactly where the gaps are in your portal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the new user availability properties in HubSpot workflows?
HubSpot added two properties to the workflow builder: hs_is_out_of_office and hs_is_in_working_hours. Both sit under User information on the user object. They let admins trigger automations based on whether an agent has an active Out of Office period or whether the current time falls within their configured working hours.
Which HubSpot plans include user availability status triggers in workflows?
This feature is available on HubSpot Service Hub Professional, Service Hub Enterprise, Data Hub Professional, and Data Hub Enterprise. It's not available on Starter or Free tiers.
Can I set an agent's Out of Office status from a HubSpot workflow?
No. Both hs_is_out_of_office and hs_is_in_working_hours are read-only inside the workflow builder. Workflows can read and react to those states, but they can't write to them. To set Out of Office or update working hours, admins must go to Users and Teams in HubSpot settings.
What can I automate with HubSpot's Out of Office workflow trigger?
When hs_is_out_of_office is true, you can automatically reassign tickets to a backup agent, send a notification to a coverage team, or update a routing property. It removes the need for manual ticket redistribution every time an agent goes on leave.
How does the Working Hours property work in HubSpot workflow automation?
The hs_is_in_working_hours property reflects whether the current time falls inside an agent's configured working hours. When it's false, you can route traffic to an AI agent for after-hours coverage, shift tickets to a different queue, or escalate to a weekend team automatically.
Do agents need to do anything for availability-based workflows to work?
Yes. Agents must have working hours configured in Users and Teams settings, and they need to actively set their Out of Office period when they're away. If those settings aren't in place, the properties won't fire correctly. Enforcing that hygiene across your team is a prerequisite.
