Glossary
First response time
First response time (FRT) is the elapsed time between a customer's first message and the first reply from a human agent. Automated acknowledgements do not count.
Formula
Average FRT = sum of (first human reply time − first message time) ÷ number of conversations with a human replyHow to read it
Chat and email have different expectations. On live chat, minutes matter; on email, the same day is fine for most businesses. Report the median as well as the average, because one weekend thread will wreck the average.
An AI assistant changes the shape of the metric: the visitor gets an instant answer to the easy questions, and FRT applies only to the conversations that were handed off. That is the number to watch, and the one to set a target for.
The simplest way to shorten FRT is to make sure the right person hears about the thread: email on handoff, a notification when the visitor writes back, and a visible queue sorted by waiting time.
In SupportLime
The Scale plan sets a first-response target on every handoff; overdue threads float to the top of the inbox with a timer, and the daily digest counts them. All plans email the team on handoff and the assignee when a visitor writes back.
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