Skip to content

Glossary drawing · Support & operations

First Response Time(FRT)

Also called: Time to first response · First reply time · Initial response time

Note 1 —The time between a customer's first WhatsApp message and the first meaningful reply from the business, a key measure of support speed.

Term
First Response Time
Abbreviation
FRT
Category
Support & operations
Level
Foundation
Reviewed
Sheet no.
GLO-SUP-131
Drawn by
InfiQ Glossary

Drawing 1 · Interactive

Where do the seconds before the first reply go?

8 / 8
Whole trace

314 s end to end · 7 spans

Bottleneck: Waiting unassigned in queue takes 176 s, 56% of the trace. Speeding it up shortens the whole request the most; trimming a span that runs in parallel with it may save nothing.

An illustrative trace of one WhatsApp chat from arrival to the first meaningful reply. Step through the spans to see that queue wait, not typing, is usually the biggest slice of FRT.

Whole trace: 314 s across 7 spans. Bottleneck: Waiting unassigned in queue, 176 s (56% of the trace).

What is first response time (FRT)?

First response time (FRT) is the time that passes between a customer's first message in a new WhatsApp conversation and the first meaningful reply from the business. On the WhatsApp Business API it is measured from the moment the inbound message reaches your platform (the timestamp on the messages webhook) to the moment your first human or genuinely helpful automated reply is sent.

The word "meaningful" carries most of the definition. An instant "Thanks, we'll get back to you" auto-reply is useful for the customer, but it answers nothing, so most teams exclude it and stop the clock only at the first reply that asks a relevant question, gives information or takes an action. Write that rule down before you report the number, because two teams measuring FRT differently cannot compare results.

FRT is not the same as resolution time. FRT answers "how long did the customer wait to hear from someone?", while resolution time answers "how long until the problem was solved?". A team can post a two-minute FRT and still leave issues open for days. Most SLA (Service Level Agreement) targets are written against FRT first, because it is the delay customers notice most.

Key takeaways

  • First response time (FRT) is the gap between a customer's first message and the first meaningful reply from the business.
  • The clock starts when the inbound message reaches your platform, not when an agent opens the chat.
  • An automatic acknowledgement should not stop the FRT clock; only a reply that moves the issue forward should.
  • Report FRT as a median and a 90th percentile, split by business hours, because a few overnight chats wreck an average.
  • FRT measures speed to the first reply only; resolution time measures how long until the issue is actually closed.

Specifications

First response time (FRT): key facts and limits

Clock starts
Inbound message received (webhook timestamp)
Clock stops
First meaningful reply sent
Best summary
Median plus 90th percentile
Window at stake
24-hour service window from the customer's last message
India service rate
₹0.145 per delivered reply since 1 Oct 2026

Operating sequence

How does first response time (FRT) work?

  1. Start the clock on arrival

    Use the inbound message timestamp from the webhook (or your platform's received-at time) for the first customer message of a new conversation — not the time a chat is assigned or opened by an agent.

  2. Decide what stops the clock

    Stop it at the first outbound message from an agent, or from a bot that actually handles the request. Exclude away messages, greetings and "we got your message" acknowledgements.

  3. Handle business hours

    Report two figures: calendar FRT (what the customer experienced) and business-hours FRT (what the staffed team controlled). A message at 23:40 answered at 09:05 is 9 h 25 m calendar but about 5 minutes in business hours.

  4. Report median and P90, not just the mean

    The median shows the typical wait; the 90th percentile shows the long tail that generates complaints. Averages are dragged up by a handful of chats left overnight.

  5. Break it down

    Slice by queue, language, hour of day and channel. Most FRT problems are a specific shift or skill queue, not the whole team.

Implementation

First response time (FRT) in code

-- Median and P90 first response time per day, in minutes.
-- messages: one row per message, direction 'in' | 'out', is_auto = true for acknowledgements.
WITH firsts AS (
  SELECT c.id,
         c.opened_at,
         MIN(m.sent_at) FILTER (
           WHERE m.direction = 'out' AND NOT m.is_auto
         ) AS first_reply_at
  FROM conversations c
  JOIN messages m ON m.conversation_id = c.id
  GROUP BY c.id, c.opened_at
)
SELECT date_trunc('day', opened_at) AS day,
       percentile_cont(0.5) WITHIN GROUP (
         ORDER BY EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM first_reply_at - opened_at) / 60) AS median_frt_min,
       percentile_cont(0.9) WITHIN GROUP (
         ORDER BY EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM first_reply_at - opened_at) / 60) AS p90_frt_min,
       COUNT(*) FILTER (WHERE first_reply_at IS NULL) AS still_unanswered
FROM firsts
GROUP BY 1
ORDER BY 1;

Unanswered conversations are counted separately so they do not silently disappear from the percentiles.

Design intent

Why does first response time (FRT) matter?

On WhatsApp, customers expect chat speed, not email speed, and a slow first reply is the main reason people message again, call, or give up. FRT also has a cost angle: the 24-hour service window opens with the customer's message, and a reply that slips past it can only go out as a paid template. Since 1 October 2026, service replies in India are charged at ₹0.145 per delivered message, so a fast first reply keeps the conversation simple and in-window rather than restarting it with a template.

Example: A Jaipur travel desk fixes its evening gap

A Jaipur tour operator answers WhatsApp enquiries with six agents. Its average FRT is 41 minutes, which looks poor, but the median is 4 minutes. Splitting by hour shows the problem: chats arriving between 19:00 and 22:00, when only one agent is on shift, have a P90 of 3 hours. The team moves one agent's shift later and adds a bot reply that collects the travel dates first. Evening P90 drops to 25 minutes, and fewer evening chats run past the 24-hour window and need a template to restart.

Failure modes

Common mistakes with first response time (FRT)

  • Letting the auto-reply stop the clock

    If an automatic greeting counts as the first response, FRT looks like a few seconds while customers wait an hour for a person. Flag automated acknowledgements (is_auto) and exclude them.

  • Starting the clock at assignment

    Chats can sit unassigned for a long time. Measuring from assignment hides that queue wait; measure from arrival and track assignment delay as its own number.

  • Reporting only the average

    Five overnight chats can double the mean. Report the median and the P90, and show the count of conversations still unanswered.

  • Optimising FRT at the cost of resolution

    Agents told to hit a two-minute FRT may send empty holding replies. Review FRT together with resolution time and CSAT so speed does not replace substance.

Recommended practice

Best practices for first response time (FRT)

  • Show the oldest unanswered chat on the agent screen; it is the number that moves FRT most.
  • Use auto-assignment so chats never wait in a pool nobody owns.
  • Write separate FRT targets for business hours and after hours instead of one target nobody can meet at night.
  • Use canned responses for the first reply to common questions, then personalise.

FRT FAQs

What is a good first response time on WhatsApp?+
There is no universal benchmark; base the target on your own median. Many teams aim for a first human reply within minutes during staffed hours, and publish a slower after-hours promise rather than missing an unrealistic one.
Does an automated reply count as a first response?+
Usually not. An acknowledgement tells the customer you received the message but does not help with the issue, so most teams only stop the FRT clock at the first reply that moves the request forward. A bot that actually answers can count.
What is the difference between first response time and resolution time?+
First response time measures the wait for the first reply; resolution time measures the wait until the issue is solved. A conversation can have a very short FRT and a long resolution time, so track both.
Should first response time include nights and weekends?+
Report both versions. Calendar FRT shows what the customer experienced; business-hours FRT shows what the staffed team controlled. Using only one hides either the customer pain or the team's real performance.

See InfiQ pricing

* Per-message rates for India, ex-GST: marketing, utility and authentication effective 1 July 2026; service messages ₹0.145 since 1 October 2026 (they were ₹0 until 30 September 2026). Volume commitments earn discounts — final rate is confirmed on your account; applicable GST extra. Rates for other countries differ (see the international rate table on /pricing).

Put FRT to work

InfiQ is an official Meta Business Partner. Start a 7-day free trial — no card needed — and see this running on your own number.

Start free trialBrowse all 550 terms