When a customer calls your support line, they aren’t just looking for help — they’re expecting speed, clarity, and care, all at once. This is where Average Handle Time (AHT) becomes critical. AHT isn’t just about how fast you can close a ticket; it’s about how efficiently and effectively your support team can resolve customer issues.
Yet, reducing AHT doesn’t mean rushing conversations. It means removing delays, streamlining tools and workflows, and making sure agents are empowered to solve problems with accuracy and speed. In this guide, we’ll break down what AHT is, why it matters, and how to improve it using real-world strategies, tools, and examples — all without sacrificing quality.
What Is Average Handle Time?
Average Handle Time measures the total time spent on a customer interaction, including:
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Talk time (the actual conversation)
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Hold time (when the customer is waiting)
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After-call work (like writing notes or updating CRM)
Formula: AHT = Talk Time + Hold Time + After-Call Work
AHT is one of the most important KPIs used in contact centers to measure efficiency. According to Talkdesk, it plays a major role in evaluating both agent performance and operational health.
Why AHT Is a Key Metric
Reducing AHT offers three main benefits:
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Higher agent productivity — Faster calls mean agents can assist more customers without burnout.
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Improved customer satisfaction — When customers get answers quickly, satisfaction scores typically rise.
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Lower operational costs — Less time per call means reduced staffing and resource costs.
However, as HubSpot rightly points out, speed must never come at the cost of issue resolution. A low AHT means little if customers need to call back.
What Causes High AHT?
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Disjointed systems
If your agents are toggling between multiple tools and tabs to help a single customer, you’re adding seconds — even minutes — to every interaction. -
Limited training
Agents unfamiliar with products or internal systems tend to take longer to answer or escalate unnecessarily. -
Unstructured knowledge base
If agents can’t find answers quickly, AHT shoots up. A McKinsey report notes that poor information access is a hidden drain on productivity. -
Manual after-call work
Repetitive post-call tasks like note-logging or data entry can drag down team efficiency.
How to Improve AHT: 6 Proven Strategies
1. Strengthen Agent Onboarding & Ongoing Training
Agents who are confident and well-informed work faster and more accurately. Invest in onboarding that focuses not just on product knowledge but also on using internal tools effectively. Harvard Business Review emphasizes training agents to solve issues independently — which shortens call duration and boosts resolution rates.
2. Use AI-Enhanced Support Tools
Modern AI tools can guide agents in real time by suggesting solutions, auto-surfacing help articles, and even summarizing call notes. Platforms like Zendesk have shown that AI can reduce AHT by 20–40% in many scenarios, especially by minimizing repetitive lookups and administrative work.
3. Automate After-Call Work (ACW)
Use CRM-integrated software that can auto-log tickets, generate summaries, and trigger follow-ups. When ACW is reduced, agents are freed up to take the next call sooner — improving both AHT and overall response times.
4. Provide Intelligent Call Scripts
Instead of rigid scripts, give agents structured, scenario-based flows. This helps maintain consistency while allowing flexibility. Let the script be a framework, not a rulebook. Freshdesk recommends dynamic scripting that adjusts to customer tone and needs.
5. Enable Self-Service Channels
Add chatbots, interactive FAQs, and automated assistants for simple, repetitive queries. IBM has found that up to 80% of basic customer service questions can be answered via chatbots — giving agents more time to handle complex issues and ultimately reducing AHT across the board.
6. Use Call Data to Coach Agents
Track and analyze long calls. Is it because of hold time? Poor knowledge access? Personalization delays? Use call recordings and dashboard insights to identify bottlenecks and train around them. Top agents usually follow specific patterns that can be replicated across the team.
Real-World AHT Improvements
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Telecom Brand: Deployed AI that provided real-time answers during live calls. Their AHT dropped by 28% within the first month.
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SaaS Company: Simplified call routing so that customers reached the right department immediately. This alone reduced average handle time by nearly 3 minutes per call.
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Retail Giant: Rebuilt its knowledge base into bite-sized, easy-to-search articles. Result? AHT dropped and first-call resolution increased.
These examples prove that AHT isn’t solved with one big change — but a series of small, strategic upgrades.
What’s a Good AHT Benchmark?
Benchmarks vary based on industry:
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eCommerce/Telecom: 3–5 minutes
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Healthcare & Insurance: 6–8 minutes
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IT/Software Support: 10–15 minutes
The key is not just being fast, but resolving issues well within that time.
Final Thoughts
Average Handle Time is more than just a metric—it’s a reflection of how well your tools, training, and systems support your team and serve your customers. Reducing AHT the right way means:
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Empowering agents
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Streamlining systems
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Automating the mundane
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Measuring what matters
Done right, you’ll not only see faster resolutions—you’ll see happier customers, more productive agents, and a leaner support operation.
