Conversation and response metrics
What to measure on the chat side, and why unreplied is the number that matters most.
Chat metrics are easier to gather than call metrics and easier to misread. The biggest trap is averaging across channels: WhatsApp expectations are measured in minutes and email expectations in hours, so a single average response time across both is a number that describes nothing.
The one to watch daily is unreplied, and it is a first-class filter rather than a report you have to build.
Reference
Unreplied conversations
The single most useful chat number. Available as a filter and as a count in the Inbox header, so checking it is a two-minute habit rather than a project.
Time to first response, split by channel
Never average across channels. Split by channel or the number is meaningless.
Bot-handled versus assigned
Assignee None against everything else. That is your deflection rate, honestly measured — and it is the same thing the bot-versus-agent card on Home shows.
Failed sends
From the Sent filter. Messages that never reached anyone look like messages nobody replied to, until you check. This is the most overlooked metric in the Inbox.
Volume by channel
Useful for deciding where to put people, and for noticing when a channel goes quiet because it silently disconnected.
Reopened conversations
A conversation the customer had to restart is one somebody closed too early — a direct measure of whether your auto-close settings are too aggressive.
Put it to use
Check unreplied and failed sends together. If failed sends is not zero, some of what looks like poor responsiveness is a delivery problem, and no amount of staffing will fix it.
The parts people get wrong
- Auto-close settings distort every one of these numbers. Know which channels have it on before you compare them.
- Agents cannot see unassigned conversations, so these checks have to be done by a manager or admin.