How Is First Response Time Calculated for Chat Conversations in BoldDesk?
In BoldDesk, every time a customer opens a live chat—whether through the customer portal, website widget, or by clicking an email link—the system treats it as a new chat session.
How First Response Time (FRT) Is Calculated
First Response Time (FRT) measures the time taken for a human agent to send the first reply to a customer in a live chat context. This metric excludes automated responses to ensure accurate SLA tracking.
Start Point:
The FRT timer begins under the following conditions:
- When the customer sends their first message in the chat and the response is from a human agent and not an AI agent.
- If the customer was initially interacting with an AI agent, the timer will start when:
- The customer requests to speak with a human agent in the chat conversation (asks to talk to a person).
- A human agent assigns the chat to themselves by manually taking over from the chat from the AI Agent.
End Point: The timer stops when the first human agent reply is sent in the chat.
Automated Responses: Any bot or AI agent replies are excluded from FRT calculation.
This approach ensures that FRT reflects the actual time taken by an agent to respond in the live chat context, even if the conversation originated from an email.
Factors Affecting First Response Time
- Business Hours: If SLA policies include business hours, the timer pauses outside working hours.
- Holidays: Configured holidays also pause SLA timers.
- Chat Status: SLA tracking applies only when the ticket is in statuses that count toward SLA (for example, Open, Hold).
Use Case
Tracking First Response Time helps:
- Ensure SLA compliance for chat.
- Improve customer satisfaction by reducing wait times.
- Identify bottlenecks and optimize agent workflows.
- Provide actionable insights through SLA reports and dashboards.
BoldDesk’s Insights tab provides detailed metrics, including reply times, assignment durations, and status changes, allowing teams to monitor and improve their performance effectively.
FAQ
Q1: Does the time spent reading the chat affect live chat FRT?
A1: Yes. FRT starts when the customer sends their first message in the chat asking to talk to the agent, to the time the agent responds.
Q2: Are bot replies or auto-replies counted in FRT?
A2: No. Only the first human agent response is considered.
Q3: What happens if the chat starts outside business hours?
A3: If SLA policies include business hours, the customers will be redirected to creating a ticket based on your configuration for
away Experience configuration.
Q4: Does BoldDesk merge chat sessions from the same user?
A4: No. Each new chat initiation is treated as a separate session, regardless of the source.
Q5: Can I customize how chat sessions are tracked?
A5: Currently, chat session tracking is standardized to support consistent analytics and SLA reporting.
