What happens after you publish

Publishing is not the same as activating

When you publish a reviewed draft, Interlinked makes that configuration the current version for the agent. The agent keeps its existing on/off state. A draft can therefore be published while the agent remains off, and an active agent can receive a new published configuration without being turned off.

If the agent still has launch requirements, the agent page shows them in Ready to activate. Complete those requirements and use Validate and launch only when you are ready for the agent to respond on its assigned channels. See Review agent readiness.

What the published configuration controls

The published version can include the business identity, workflow, model, voice, catalog or service context, connected app choices, abilities, knowledge, and governance rules you reviewed. Customer-facing behavior depends on the final configuration and on the channels assigned to the agent.

Publishing does not create a new customer conversation, send a message by itself, or prove that every channel is ready. A channel must be connected, assigned, and available for the agent before it can receive or send customer messages there.

Monitor the first conversations

After activation, open CRM to review conversations and customer context. Look for:

• answers that match your current catalog, service, or business rules;
• questions the agent should hand to a person;
• booking, order, or payment states that need team follow-up; and
• conversations where you decide to take manual control.

Use Open and manage a conversation for the CRM controls.

Manual control and the 15-minute rule

In CRM, select Take manual control when a person needs to answer a specific conversation. You can also reply manually from the connected Instagram, Facebook Messenger, or WhatsApp channel. A manual reply pauses AI handling for that conversation for 15 minutes after the latest human message.

During that pause, the agent does not send another AI reply to the same conversation. Sending another manual message starts a new 15-minute period. When 15 minutes have passed without another human reply, AI handling can resume according to the agent’s current state and rules.

This conversation-level pause is different from turning the entire agent off. For the two controls side by side, read Switch between AI and manual control.

If a published change needs correction

Open the agent’s pending changes notice when you have a new draft. Review the change list before publishing the correction. If the draft is not wanted, use Discard Changes to return it to the live baseline when the panel allows that action.

For a whole-agent pause, use Pause and resume an AI agent. Pausing preserves the published configuration and does not delete conversation history.