Venue & Settings
AI Settings and Safety
Last updated 8 July 2026
AI Settings and Safety
TL;DR
- AI & automation shows every major AI control for the venue in one settings page.
- Owners and Managers can open the page on web from Settings.
- Pause client-facing AI can pause SMS auto-respond, Instagram smart replies, AI booking actions, Smart reconnect, and waitlist recovery.
- Staff-only helpers such as service writing, portfolio captions, package suggestions, forms risk scoring, client suggestions, and Assistant are not paused by this control.
AI Settings is the web page for reviewing what OpenChair AI can say, spend, recommend, or do for a venue. Use it to check status, Spark and wallet health, setup warnings, recent audit activity, and links back to the source settings for each AI feature. The page is called AI & automation in OpenChair.
Where to find it - Web: Settings -> AI & automation. Mobile: There is no dedicated mobile AI Settings page.
What AI & automation shows
AI & automation shows AI systems grouped by the type of control they affect. Each row includes Status, Audience, Spend, Source, and a button that opens the source setting.
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Voice & guardrails | Brand Voice and Business Memory, used by AI writing surfaces. |
| Client replies | SMS auto-respond and Instagram smart replies. |
| Booking actions | Booking enquiry AI and AI booking actions. |
| Growth automations | Smart reconnect and Waitlist recovery. |
| Customer-facing AI | Style Match and Style Preview consent. |
Status labels can include Active, Off, Draft only, Review before send, Auto-send, Auto-act, Test, Live, Paused, Needs setup, and Locked.
Usage and setup warnings
Usage & limits shows Spark and wallet state for AI features, with billing kept as the source of truth. The card shows wallet balance, low-balance threshold, auto top-up state, included Sparks remaining, and trial credit where those values exist.
AI Settings can also show setup warnings when a related control needs attention:
| Warning | What to do |
|---|---|
| AI disclosure is not set | Open Brand Voice and add an AI disclosure if customer-facing auto-send is active. |
| Wallet or Spark balance may stop AI | Open Billing and review wallet balance, included Sparks, and auto top-up. |
| Instagram is disconnected | Open Instagram settings and reconnect the account. |
| Style Match escalation is not ready | Open Style Match and finish the escalation setup. |
How to pause customer-facing AI
Use Pause client-facing AI when you need to stop systems that can send messages or take customer-facing action. This is a web-only action on AI & automation.
- Open Settings.
- Open AI & automation.
- Click Pause client-facing AI.
- Select the systems you want to pause.
- Click Pause selected systems.
- Review the result for each selected system.
The pause sheet can include these systems:
| System | What pause changes |
|---|---|
| SMS auto-respond | Moves SMS auto-send modes to draft, or confirms SMS is already draft-only or off. |
| Instagram smart replies | Moves Instagram auto-send modes to draft, or confirms Instagram is already draft-only or off. |
| AI booking actions | Turns on the AI booking action kill switch, or confirms actions are already draft-only or off. |
| Smart reconnect | Turns off Smart reconnect automation, or confirms it was already off. |
| Waitlist recovery | Changes waitlist auto-offer mode to manual, or confirms it was already manual. |
Warning
Pausing customer-facing AI changes live automation settings. Review each result before assuming every selected system changed state.
What pause does not stop
Pause client-facing AI does not stop staff-only helpers because those tools do not auto-send or auto-act. The pause sheet warns that service writing, portfolio captions, package suggestions, forms risk scoring, client suggestions, and Assistant remain available.
| Helper | Why it is not paused |
|---|---|
| Service writing | Staff helper only. It does not send to clients by itself. |
| Portfolio captions | Staff helper only. It inherits Brand Voice when used. |
| Package price suggestions | Recommendation helper only. The owner still publishes prices. |
| Forms risk scoring | Staff review helper. It does not contact clients. |
| Client suggestions | Staff drafting helper. It has no auto-send authority. |
| Assistant | Staff-only operational assistant inside OpenChair. |
Audit and safety review
Audit & safety shows recent AI audit activity and a link to the audit log. If there has been no relevant activity, the page says No AI audit activity in the last 30 days.
Click Open AI audit log to review the broader settings and safety trail. When customer-facing AI is paused, OpenChair records an AI audit event with the summary Client-facing AI pause was requested.
Who can use this
AI Settings is available on web to venue roles that manage settings. The page exists on all plans, but some individual AI systems shown on the page can still be locked by plan or setup state.
| Role | Access |
|---|---|
| Owner | Can open AI & automation, review AI status, open source settings, and pause customer-facing AI systems. |
| Manager | Can open AI & automation, review AI status, open source settings, and pause customer-facing AI systems. |
| Team | Redirected away from the AI Settings page. |
Common mistakes
Assuming pause disables every AI tool. Pause only targets customer-facing systems that can send messages or take action. Staff-only drafting helpers remain available.
Ignoring system-level results. A paused result, an already-paused result, and a manual result mean different things. Read the result shown for each selected system.
Using AI Settings as the billing source of truth. The Usage & limits card summarises Spark and wallet health, but Billing remains the source of truth for top-ups, invoices, and wallet actions.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| I cannot see AI & automation | Check your venue role. Team members are redirected away from the page. |
| Pause client-facing AI is disabled | There are no pauseable customer-facing systems in the current AI overview. Open the relevant source settings to review each AI feature. |
| A system says it was already paused or manual | No further change was needed for that system. Review its source setting if you expected it to be active. |
| AI still writes drafts after pausing | This is expected for staff-only helpers. Pause does not stop drafting tools that do not auto-send or auto-act. |
| The page shows AI settings could not be loaded | Reload the page. The existing settings have not changed when this error appears. |
FAQ
What is AI Settings in OpenChair?
AI Settings is the AI & automation page that shows each AI system, its status, audience, spend, source, and setup link. It also shows usage health, setup warnings, and recent AI audit activity.
How do I pause customer-facing AI?
Go to Settings -> AI & automation, click Pause client-facing AI, choose the systems to pause, then click Pause selected systems. The sheet reports whether each selected system was paused, was already paused, stayed manual, or failed.
Who can use AI Settings?
Owners and Managers can open AI & automation on web. Team members are redirected away from the page.
Does pausing customer-facing AI stop staff drafting tools?
No. Pause client-facing AI affects systems that can send messages or take customer-facing action. Staff-only helpers such as Assistant, service writing, and portfolio captions remain available.