First Response Time, or FRT, is how long it takes from a customer submitting a request to receiving the first reply from a person or a bot, not the time to fully resolve the issue.

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‍Why it matters

FRT and resolution time measure different things, and conflating them causes real problems. A quick acknowledgment, we've received your request and are looking into it, can noticeably improve how a customer feels while waiting, even if the actual fix takes just as long as it would have anyway. That's why many teams treat FRT as a distinct target from resolution time rather than assuming a faster first response means faster overall resolution.

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‍How targets are usually set

FRT targets typically vary by channel, since customers expect a much faster first response on live chat than on email, and treating every channel the same either sets an unrealistic bar for slower channels or over-staffs faster ones. Automated acknowledgment messages are a common way to hit FRT targets on high-volume channels without needing an agent to type the first reply personally.