Glossary

AI hallucination

An AI hallucination is a false or fabricated response an AI presents as fact. Learn why it happens, the types, and how to reduce it in customer service.

AI orchestration

AI orchestration coordinates AI models, agents, and tools to work as one system. Learn how it works and what it means for customer service.

Agent utilization

Agent utilization is the share of paid time spent on customer work. Learn the formula, the 70 to 85% range, and how it differs from occupancy.

Agentic AI

Agentic AI is software that pursues goals end-to-end, planning, acting, and adapting across tools. Get the full definition and CX use cases.

Agentic commerce

Agentic commerce is a model where AI agents shop and buy on a customer's behalf, completing the purchase, not just recommending. Definition and examples.

Agentic customer service

Agentic customer service is AI that resolves issues end-to-end by acting across business systems, not just responding. Definition and capabilities.

AI agent

An AI agent is software that perceives, reasons, acts, and learns to finish a goal across tools and systems. Get the definition and CX use cases.

Average handle time (AHT)

Average handle time measures the full working time of one customer contact. Get the formula, what the benchmarks really say, and how AI changes it.

Average speed of answer (ASA)

Average speed of answer (ASA) is the average wait before a customer reaches a person. Learn the formula, benchmarks, and what the average hides.

CRM

A CRM, or customer relationship management, is a system of record for the sales relationship. See how it differs from customer service software.

Chatbot

A chatbot is software that simulates conversation with customers. Learn the types, how chatbots work, and how they're used in customer service.

Call center service level

Call center service level is the share of contacts answered within a threshold. Learn the 80/20 formula, how to set a target, and what it hides.

Call center shrinkage

Call center shrinkage is the share of paid time unavailable for contacts. Learn the formula, typical rates, and how to staff around it.

Conversational AI

Conversational AI enables computers to understand and respond to natural language. Learn how it works and how it's used in customer service.

Conversion rate optimization

Conversion rate optimization increases the share of visitors who convert. Learn the CRO formula, core tactics, and how service quality affects conversion.

Cost per contact

Cost per contact is total support cost divided by contacts handled. Learn the formula, what to include, and what to measure alongside it.

Customer churn

Customer churn is the percentage of customers a business loses over a given period. Learn how it's calculated, what causes it, and how to reduce it.

Customer effort score (CES)

Customer effort score (CES) measures how easy it was for customers to resolve an issue or complete a task, scored on a 1–7 scale.

Customer experience

Customer experience is the sum of every interaction a customer has with a brand. Learn what shapes CX, how to measure it, and why service matters.

Customer journey mapping

Customer journey mapping documents every interaction a customer has with a brand. Learn what it includes, the types of maps, and how service teams use it.

Customer lifetime value (CLV)

Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total revenue expected from a customer over time. Covers the formula, how to calculate it, and what drives CLV.

Customer loyalty

Customer loyalty is a customer's ongoing preference for one brand. Learn the types, how it differs from retention, and what drives it.

Customer retention

Customer retention measures how well a business keeps its customers over time. Learn how to calculate retention rate and what drives long-term loyalty.

Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)

Customer satisfaction score (CSAT) measures how customers felt about a specific experience, scored 0 to 100 from a short survey response.

Customer service automation

Customer service automation uses technology to handle support tasks without agent involvement at every step. Learn how it works and what to watch out for.

Customer service software

Customer service software is the tools a team uses to help and resolve customer questions across every channel. Definition and how it differs from a CRM.

Deflection rate

Deflection rate measures support inquiries resolved without an agent. Learn the formula, benchmarks, and what to measure when customers come first.

First contact resolution (FCR)

First contact resolution (FCR) measures the share of support issues resolved on the first try. Learn the formula, benchmarks, and how to improve it.

Generative AI

Generative AI is software that creates new content from a prompt, producing text, images, code, audio, and video. Get the definition and CX use cases.

Gross merchandise value (GMV)

Gross merchandise value (GMV) is the total value of goods sold before returns or discounts. Formula, examples, and how it differs from revenue.

Grounding in AI

Grounding in AI anchors a model's responses to verified knowledge, not training data. Learn how it works and why it matters for CX accuracy.

Helpdesk

A helpdesk is a centralized support system that routes and resolves requests. Learn the types, features, and where ticket-centric models fall short.

Interactive voice response (IVR)

Interactive voice response (IVR) is an automated phone system that lets callers self-serve or get routed to the right agent without dialing twice.

Knowledge base

A knowledge base is an organized, searchable library of company information used by employees and customers to find answers without help.

LLM (large language model)

A large language model is AI trained on huge text datasets to read, write, summarize, and answer questions. See how LLMs work and where they are used.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures customer loyalty by asking how likely customers are to recommend a brand, scored as a number from -100 to +100.

Natural language processing (NLP)

Natural language processing (NLP) enables computers to understand human language. Learn how it works and how it powers customer service AI.

Omnichannel customer service

Omnichannel customer service connects every channel into one conversation so customers never repeat themselves. Learn how it works and what it requires.

Prompt engineering

Prompt engineering is the practice of designing AI instructions to get accurate, useful, on-task responses. See the techniques and how it works.

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) grounds language models in external knowledge so they answer with current, cited, organization-specific facts.

Service level agreement (SLA)

A service level agreement (SLA) is a contract that defines a service, sets a measurable performance target, and spells out consequences if missed.

Schedule adherence

Schedule adherence measures how closely a team follows its schedule. Learn the formula, the 85 to 95% benchmark, and how to improve it.

Sentiment analysis

Sentiment analysis classifies messages as positive, negative, or neutral. Learn how it works, its uses in routing and QA, and what drives accuracy.

Ticketing system

A ticketing system converts customer requests into tracked records. Learn how ticketing works, its key benefits, limitations, and how AI is changing it.

Voice AI

Voice AI uses speech recognition and LLMs to handle calls naturally, resolving routine issues and passing complex ones to agents with full context.

Voice of the customer (VoC)

Voice of the customer (VoC) is a process for capturing customer feedback to improve CX. Learn collection methods, key metrics, and how to act on insights.