Glossary
Deflection rate
Deflection rate is the percentage of support contacts that were resolved without a human agent, by a help centre, FAQ or AI assistant, out of all contacts that would otherwise have reached a human.
Formula
Deflection rate = (conversations resolved without a human ÷ total conversations) × 100How to read it
The number is only honest when "resolved" means the visitor got an answer and did not come back. A chatbot that replies and loses the visitor has not deflected anything; it has hidden a ticket. Count a conversation as deflected only when the assistant answered, no handoff was triggered, and the visitor did not open a ticket or email you afterwards.
Typical results depend almost entirely on how much of your support is already written down. Teams with a decent help centre see most website questions handled by an AI assistant; teams whose answers live in people's heads see little until they write the answers down. Measure your own number before and after adding knowledge, rather than trusting vendor averages.
Watch two things next to the rate: thumbs-down feedback on AI answers, and the "could not answer" list. A rising rate with rising thumbs-down means the assistant is guessing.
In SupportLime
Analytics shows "Resolved by AI" (conversations with no handoff), handoffs, thumbs up and down, and the exact questions the assistant could not answer, with an "Add answer" button next to each.
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