Glossary
First response time (FRT)
The elapsed time between a customer's first message and the first reply, whether from AI or a human agent.
First response time measures the elapsed time between a customer's initial message and the first reply, whether from AI or a human agent. It is one of the most-watched support metrics because customers consistently rate it as the strongest driver of perceived service quality. Industry benchmarks vary by channel: chat under one minute, email under one hour during business hours. AI Copilot reduces FRT for human-handled tickets by drafting replies in seconds. AI Agent autonomous resolution drops FRT to near-zero for the categories it covers. Track FRT separately for AI versus human responses to keep the comparison fair.
Related terms
- AI Agent: An autonomous software agent that can resolve customer support tickets without a human in the loop.
- AI Copilot: An AI surface that assists human agents by drafting replies, summarizing threads, and suggesting next steps.
- Service level agreement (SLA): A defined commitment to respond or resolve within a target time, often by channel and priority.
- Average handle time (AHT): The average time an agent spends actively working on a single ticket, including reply and lookup time.