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How to stop a bot in a chat: five ways — from one conversation to the whole bot

November 5, 2026 · Command CHBT · Flows, Conversations

To make the bot go silent in one conversation, put Action → Go silent in this chat into the flow: the bot stops replying in that chat until the customer sends /start. If the customer needs a person, hand the conversation to an operator instead with the Operator block or simply reply from Conversations — the bot goes silent until the conversation is returned with the Return to bot button. To stop a topic in all chats, click Turn off flow, and to stop sending broadcasts, remove the consent tag from the customer.

Five ways in brief

Way	When	Where the bot is silent	How to bring it back
Go silent in this chat	the customer asked for silence; the bot is unwelcome in a group	in one conversation	the customer sends /start
Handover to an operator	the customer needs a person; a manager is handling a deal	in one conversation, while a person handles it	Return to bot
A customer stop word	the customer wants to turn the bot off themselves	in the conversation of whoever wrote the word	/start
Turn off flow	the topic is no longer relevant	in all chats, but only for this flow	Enable flow
Unsubscribing from broadcasts	the customer does not want promotions	the bot replies, but broadcasts do not arrive	consent again

The general rule: stop as narrowly as possible. One conversation is no reason to turn off a flow, and one flow is no reason to turn off the bot.

Way 1. Go silent in this chat

This is an action in the Action block. When the flow reaches it, the bot stops replying in this conversation: to text, to button presses, to the continuation of a Pause. It lasts until the customer sends the /start command — then the bot starts replying again from the greeting.

The action concerns only one conversation: other customers, and even the same person in another channel, keep getting replies as usual. An operator has no separate “turn the bot back on” button — only the customer can bring replies back with the /start command, so use Go silent where the customer really asked for silence.

When it is useful:

the customer wrote that they do not want to talk to a bot;
the bot was added to a group chat and should reply only to commands, not to every remark;
after a material has been delivered, the conversation is over, and the bot should not react to “thanks”.

Messages from the customer in a private chat are not lost: the conversation gets the Bot didn’t reply mark, and operators see it. In a group chat there is no such mark — there it would be every remark of the participants.

Way 2. A customer stop word

Give the customer a way to turn the bot off themselves. For this — a separate short flow:

A Keywords trigger with the variants stop bot, enough, stop writing and the Contains a word match.
A Message: “Got it, I will not write any more. If you need me — send /start”.
Action → Go silent in this chat.

It matters that the message comes before Go silent: after this action the bot will not send anything. Choose the words carefully: “stop” on its own can appear in an ordinary phrase — “is there a stop near you?”. Two-word combinations or an Exact match are more reliable.

Way 3. Hand the conversation to an operator

If the customer needs a person, it is better not to silence the bot but to hand over the conversation. The Operator block in the flow or a “Call a manager” menu button moves the conversation to Conversations: while an operator handles it, the bot is silent in it.

When the question is resolved, the operator has two options:

Return to bot — the bot replies again, and the flow continues from where it stopped;
Close conversation — the conversation is over.

Why this is better than Go silent: the customer is not left in silence, and the operator sees the conversation in their list and gets a notification. How the handover and distribution between operators work — in the article on handing a conversation to an operator.

If an operator steps in on their own

Sometimes a manager sees a conversation with the bot and wants to reply themselves without waiting for the Operator block. That is possible: write to the customer right from Conversations. An operator’s reply moves the conversation to people — the bot goes silent in it, as after a normal handover, and will not interrupt with its own messages.

When the conversation is over, return it with the Return to bot button. If you do not, the bot will stay silent in this conversation, and the customer’s next messages will wait for an operator’s reply. A good habit for the team is to finish every conversation with one of two actions: Return to bot or Close conversation.

Replies through the CHBT API from an external system, for example a helpdesk, behave the same way: an employee’s reply takes the conversation away from the bot.

Way 4. Turn off a flow

Sometimes you need to stop not one conversation but a whole topic: a promotion ended, prices changed, the holidays came. Open the flow and click Turn off flow — it will stop starting in all chats at once. In the list it will be marked Flow off.

The other flows keep working. If you turn off all of them, the account warns: “No flow is turned on right now — the bot will stay silent”. Do this only deliberately, for example while rebuilding the bot: customers who write will get no reply, although their messages will remain in Conversations.

Instead of turning everything off for the holidays, another option is often better — a Condition branch on Day of the week or a temporary announcement flow with opening hours.

Way 5. Stop broadcasts, but not the bot

Go silent in this chat affects the bot’s replies but not broadcasts: a broadcast is sent by tags and does not exclude those who went silent. If a customer asks “do not send promotions”, they need an unsubscribe, not silence in the chat.

The right setup is to broadcast only to those with a consent tag and remove that tag on a stop word: a Keywords trigger → Action → Remove a tag for consent → the message “You have unsubscribed from broadcasts”. The bot keeps answering questions. In detail, with the “Broadcast consent” template — in the article on a lawful broadcast base.

A bot in a group chat

In a group the bot behaves more reservedly than in a private chat: the Any message trigger does not fire there, otherwise the bot would reply to every remark. Only commands, keywords and buttons get replies.

If the bot still gets in the way — for example, a keyword is too common — you have two options:

make the word more precise: a command like /prices or an Exact match;
put Go silent in this chat into the group flow — then the bot goes silent in that group until the /start command.

What the customer sees

Silence without explanation looks like a breakdown. So before any way of stopping, the bot should say what is happening and how to resume the conversation:

before Go silent — “I will not write any more. To talk to the bot again, send /start”;
before handing over to an operator — “Passing you to a manager, they will reply during business hours”;
on unsubscribing — “Broadcasts will no longer arrive. I will answer questions as before”.

The customer can also stop the bot themselves with the messenger’s tools: in Telegram that is “Stop and block”. Then the bot cannot write to them at all, not even an operator from Conversations: the messenger will not accept the message, and the history will show a failed delivery mark.

Common mistakes

Go silent before the last message. After the action the bot will not send anything — put the explanation earlier.
Silenced instead of handing over. The customer needs a person, but the bot just went quiet — the message sits with the Bot didn’t reply mark until someone notices it.
A stop word made of one common word. “Stop” and “enough” appear in ordinary phrases — use combinations or an exact match.
Expecting Go silent to unsubscribe from broadcasts. It will not: for that you need a consent tag and Remove a tag.
Turned off all flows and forgot. The bot is silent for everyone, and customers think you have closed.

Bot or operator A lawful broadcast base Flow start triggers Conversations