AI Support & Agents

Deflection vs Resolution

Définition

Deflection vs resolution is the distinction between preventing a ticket from reaching a human (deflection) and actually solving the customer's problem (resolution) — two outcomes that are easy to confuse but measure very different things.

Aussi connu sous : deflection versus resolutiondeflection and resolution

How they differ

Deflection counts interactions that never reach a human — the customer got an answer from a help center or bot, or simply didn't open a ticket. Resolution counts problems that were genuinely solved, whether by AI, self-service, or a person. A ticket can be deflected without being resolved: if a frustrated customer gives up, that's a deflection but not a resolution.

Good automation aims for both — but resolution is the honest measure of whether the customer's need was actually met.

Why it matters for support

Deflection is easy to inflate and easy to misread as success, because it only measures avoidance. Pairing it with resolution rate and CSAT keeps you honest: you want tickets solved, not just kept away from your team. This is also why outcome-based pricing gets contentious — vendors define "resolution" differently, so what counts as a billable win varies.

Deflection: ticket never reached a human
Resolution: the customer's problem was actually solved
A deflected ticket isn't necessarily a resolved one

Questions fréquentes

Is deflection the same as resolution?

No. Deflection means a ticket didn't reach a human; resolution means the problem was solved. A customer who gives up is deflected but not resolved, which is why the two should be measured together.

Which metric should I optimize?

Resolution rate and CSAT are the truer measures of success. Use deflection as a workload indicator, but don't treat it as proof that customers were actually helped.

How Macha automates resolution

Termes liés

Ticket Deflection

Ticket deflection is the share of customer questions resolved through self-service or automation before they ever become a human-handled support ticket..

AI Resolution

AI resolution is when a Macha agent actually resolves a request — reading data, taking an action through its tools, and closing the loop — rather than just answering a question.

Resolution Rate

Resolution rate is the percentage of support tickets or conversations that are successfully resolved out of the total received in a given period..

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a metric that measures how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction or experience, usually from a short post-contact survey..

AI Ticket Automation

AI ticket automation is the use of AI to handle support tickets automatically — classifying, tagging, routing, drafting replies, or fully resolving them — reducing the manual work agents do on each ticket..

Passez à l'action

Macha est une couche d'agents IA qui se pose sur le help desk que vous utilisez déjà, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Front, Intercom ou Gorgias.

Démarrer l'essai