CSAT (customer satisfaction score)
CSAT is the number that stops deflection from being gamed.
Why it matters
Every efficiency metric in support can be improved by making it harder to reach a person. CSAT is what makes that trade visible, which is why it belongs beside any automation number.
- Automation metrics improving with no quality measure alongside
- Falling contact volume assumed to be a success
- No measurement of how automated interactions felt
What it measures
Satisfaction with a specific interaction, usually a single question after it ends. It is interaction-level, which distinguishes it from NPS — a relationship-level measure of willingness to recommend.
Using it with automation
Segment it. CSAT on bot-resolved conversations versus human-resolved ones tells you whether automation is genuinely resolving things or merely ending them. An overall average hides exactly the effect you are looking for.
Common questions
- Is CSAT or NPS better for support?
- CSAT, because it measures the interaction you just automated. NPS measures the relationship and moves too slowly and for too many reasons to attribute to a support change.
- How does an assistant affect CSAT?
- Positively when it resolves quickly and hands over cleanly; negatively when it obstructs access to a person or answers wrongly. Segmenting by resolution type is how you tell which is happening.
Related terms
From the blog
All posts- MeasuringResolution rate vs deflection: stop mixing the twoResolution and deflection answer different questions. Mixing them inflates the result and hides whether customers actually got what they needed.Read
- MeasuringSatisfaction must travel with every automation numberNever report deflection, containment, or answer rate alone. Pair every automation figure with the same satisfaction instrument you used before launch.Read
- MeasuringDeflection rate is the most overstated number in support automationCounting bot conversations as deflected tickets overstates the result. The honest version is a before-and-after on ticket volume, read next to satisfaction.Read
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