# What Is First Response Time (FRT)? Formula

Source: https://insertchat.com/glossary/first-response-time

> First response time measures how long a customer waits for the first reply. Learn the formula, what counts as a response, and how to shorten it.

First response time, or FRT, is how long a customer waits between contacting a business and receiving the first real reply, whether by chat, email, text, or a returned call. It is usually reported as an average or median over a period. Auto-acknowledgments like “we got your message” generally don’t count as a response.

## How to measure first response time

For each conversation, subtract the time the customer’s first message arrived from the time of the first reply that addresses it. Then take the median, which is less distorted by a few very slow replies than the average. Decide whether you measure around the clock or only during business hours, and report it the same way every time.

First response time matters most where customers compare businesses quickly: quote requests, bookings, and urgent problems. It is different from [average response time](https://insertchat.com/glossary/average-response-time), which covers every reply in the conversation, and from resolution time, which ends when the issue is solved.

## Example: a pest control company’s web inquiries

A pest control company finds that website inquiries sent after 5 p.m. wait until the next morning for a reply, so their median first response time is over 12 hours, while daytime inquiries get answers within the hour. An AI assistant answering on the website and phone brings the evening first reply down to the moment the customer writes. This scenario is illustrative.

## First response with InsertChat

InsertChat answers calls, website chat, texts, and WhatsApp the moment they arrive, from your own knowledge, so the first reply is a real answer rather than an acknowledgment. Email can reply automatically too, after a delay you set of up to 10 minutes, or draft replies for your team to approve.

The Today view on every plan shows daily activity and what the assistant handled; conversation analytics are included on Scale and Enterprise. See [website chat](https://insertchat.com/product/website) and the [pest control setup](https://insertchat.com/industries/pest-control).

## Does an automatic “we received your message” reply count?

Usually not. Most teams measure the first reply that actually addresses the request, because an acknowledgment doesn’t help the customer.

## Should first response time include nights and weekends?

Measure both if you can. Business-hours FRT shows team performance; around-the-clock FRT shows what customers actually experience.

## Related terms

- [Average response time](https://insertchat.com/glossary/average-response-time): Average response time is the average time a customer waits for each reply from a business across a conversation, not just the first one.
- [Speed to lead](https://insertchat.com/glossary/speed-to-lead): Speed to lead is the time between a new prospect reaching out, by calling, chatting, filling in a form, or texting, and the business’s first meaningful response.
- [First call resolution](https://insertchat.com/glossary/first-call-resolution): First call resolution, or FCR, is the percentage of customer calls or contacts fully resolved during the first interaction, without a callback, transfer, or repeat contact.
- [Website chatbot](https://insertchat.com/glossary/website-chatbot): A website chatbot is a chat window on a business’s website where an automated assistant answers visitors’ questions in real time.

## Related InsertChat pages

- [AI chatbot for your website](https://insertchat.com/product/website)
- [Customer conversation reports](https://insertchat.com/product/reports)
- [AI receptionist for pest control](https://insertchat.com/industries/pest-control)