Why does a machine user snooze cancel the first response time timer?
The first response time SLA timer is cancelled whenever a thread moves to Waiting for customer or Done. It does not matter who changes the status: a human agent, a workflow, or a machine user such as an AI agent. There is no setting to keep the timer running through a machine user status change.
Why this happens
Only a reply from a human team member can mark the first response time SLA as achieved or breached. So when an AI agent replies and then snoozes the thread to Waiting for customer, the reply does not count and the status change cancels the timer. The timer shows as Cancelled rather than Achieved because no human replied before the thread was parked.
Plain treats a thread in Waiting for customer as handled while waiting on the customer. In Paused for later, the customer is still waiting on a response, so the timer keeps running.
Workaround
To track human first response time alongside an AI agent:
- Have the AI agent use Paused for later instead of Waiting for customer. A human can still satisfy the timer.
- Have the AI agent reply without changing the thread status. A human team member then handles triage, sets the status, and their reply completes the first response time.