What is ticket deflection?
Ticket deflection is when a customer gets their answer through self-service, such as an AI agent or a help article, so no support ticket reaches your team. The deflection rate is the share of questions answered this way.
Also called: deflection rate, case deflection, self-service deflection.
By Santhul Joseph, AI EngineerUpdated
How to calculate it
Deflection rate is the number of questions answered without a ticket, divided by all questions asked, times 100.
Example: a webshop's chat receives 800 questions in a month, and 120 of them turn into tickets or emails for the team. That leaves 680 answered without one, so the deflection rate is 680 divided by 800, or 85%.
Why it matters, and the catch
Every deflected question is time your team gets back for the conversations that need a person.
The catch: a question can look deflected when the customer simply gave up. A visitor who closes the chat without an answer didn't create a ticket either. Pair deflection with a look at unanswered questions, so you count real answers and not silence.
Deflection in SimplyBoost
The agent answers from your website and documents, and hands over to your team when it should: when the customer asks for a person, for complaints, refunds or billing disputes, or when it couldn't answer twice in a row.
Performance shows conversations, how many were resolved and how many are with your team, and Missing answers lists the questions the agent couldn't answer. That way you know the deflected questions were really answered.
Questions people ask
Is ticket deflection the same as containment?
They are close. Deflection asks whether a ticket was avoided; containment asks whether the conversation stayed with the bot from start to finish. Both can count a customer who gave up, so look at unanswered questions too.
Is a high deflection rate always good?
Not if it comes from making people hard to reach. Customers who need a person should get one easily. Good deflection comes from better answers, not from hiding the contact option.
How do I raise my deflection rate?
Add the answers to the questions the agent couldn't handle. In SimplyBoost those questions are collected under Missing answers, and the agent uses each new answer from then on.