CX & Support Metrics

Average Resolution Time

Definition

Average Resolution Time is the average length of time it takes to fully resolve a support ticket, measured from when it's created to when it's marked solved.

Also known as: ARTtime to resolutionmean time to resolutionMTTR

How to calculate it

Average Resolution Time = sum of (resolution time − creation time) across resolved tickets ÷ number of resolved tickets. Many teams measure it against business hours and may exclude time spent "pending" on the customer so the metric reflects agent-controllable time.

Example: four tickets resolve in 2, 4, 6, and 8 hours. Average Resolution Time = (2 + 4 + 6 + 8) ÷ 4 = 5 hours. Because outliers skew the mean, some teams also track the median resolution time.

Why it matters

Resolution time captures the full customer wait, end to end — not just the first reply. It's a headline indicator of support throughput and directly shapes satisfaction. AI agents shorten it most on repetitive requests they can resolve instantly, leaving humans the complex tickets where longer times are expected.

Frequently asked

What is the difference between resolution time and handle time?

Resolution time is the whole calendar (or business-hours) span until a ticket is solved, including waiting and back-and-forth. Handle time is only the active time an agent spends working the interaction.

Should I use the average or the median resolution time?

The average is intuitive but sensitive to a few very slow tickets. The median is a more robust view of the typical customer experience, so many teams report both.

Related terms

Average Handle Time (AHT)

Average Handle Time (AHT) is the average total time an agent spends handling a single customer interaction, including talk or chat time, hold time, and after-contact work..

First Response Time (FRT)

First Response Time (FRT) is the average time between when a customer submits a support request and when they receive the first human or meaningful reply..

First Contact Resolution (FCR)

First Contact Resolution (FCR) is the percentage of customer issues fully resolved in a single interaction, without any follow-up, callback, or reopened ticket..

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..

Ticket Aging

Ticket aging is a measure of how long open support tickets have been unresolved, usually grouped into buckets (for example 0–1 days, 1–3 days, 3–7 days, 7+ days) to show where tickets are getting stuck..

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