First response time (FRT)
Also called FRT, First reply time
First response time (FRT) is the time between a customer contacting support and receiving the first reply from a person or system. It is usually reported as an average or median across conversations. Automated acknowledgements are often excluded so that FRT reflects the first meaningful response to the question.
Example
A customer emails at 9:00 and gets an answer at 13:00, an FRT of four hours; a chatbot answering in five seconds has an FRT of five seconds.
Why it matters for a website chatbot
Visitors comparing businesses often go with whoever answers first. A chatbot brings FRT to seconds at any hour. With ChatBento, the questions it can't answer become handoff emails, so also track how quickly your team replies to those.
See it in practice: After-hours support
Related terms
- Average handle time (AHT)Average handle time (AHT) is the average time a support agent spends on one customer interaction, from start to finish, including talking or chatting, any hold time and the follow-up work afterward. Contact centers use it to plan staffing and to spot interactions that take longer than they should.
- CSAT (customer satisfaction score)CSAT, or customer satisfaction score, measures how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction or service, usually through a one-question survey after a conversation. On a 1-to-5 scale it is commonly reported as the percentage of responses that are 4 or 5, out of all responses received.
- Live chatLive chat is a website or in-app messaging channel where customers chat in real time with human support or sales agents. It needs staff available during opening hours, and is often paired with an AI chatbot that answers first and passes conversations to an agent when a person is needed.
- Self-serviceSelf-service in customer support means giving customers the tools to find answers and solve problems on their own, without contacting staff. Common examples are help centers, FAQ pages, community forums, account portals and chatbots. Many customers prefer it for simple questions because it's available at any hour and needs no waiting.