Support Metrics
Containment Rate
Definition
Containment rate is the percentage of conversations that a chatbot or self-service channel resolves on its own, without transferring the customer to a human agent.
In depth
Containment rate measures how often an automated channel, usually a chatbot, resolves a conversation entirely on its own. A conversation is "contained" when the customer gets what they need and leaves without being transferred to a human agent.
The calculation compares two numbers: the conversations resolved inside the channel, divided by every conversation that channel handled. If a chatbot has 1,000 conversations in a week and fully resolves 620 of them, the containment rate is 62%. The remaining 380 escalate to an agent and fall outside containment.
Containment is closely related to deflection rate, but the two are not the same. Deflection asks whether a question reached an agent at all, across any self-service route. Containment is narrower and channel-specific: it asks whether this chatbot, this session, finished the job without handing off. A conversation can be contained in the chatbot and also count towards deflection; the distinction matters when you are diagnosing which channel is doing the work.
What counts as a contained conversation?
Definitions vary, so it is worth deciding yours before you measure. Most teams count a conversation as contained only when it ends without an agent transfer and without the customer immediately re-opening the same issue somewhere else. Abandoned chats are the grey area: if someone leaves mid-conversation, were they helped or did they give up? Track unresolved abandons separately so they do not quietly inflate the figure.
What's a good containment rate?
There is no universal target. A good containment rate depends on the complexity of your questions, the languages you support, and how well your knowledge base is maintained. A bot answering broad, well-documented questions will contain far more than one facing complex, account-specific requests.
Because of that, your own trend is the most useful benchmark. Watch containment climb as you add missing answers and refine the ones customers use most. And always pair it with a satisfaction measure: a contained conversation should mean a resolved customer, not an abandoned one.
Containment Rate = (Contained Conversations / Total Conversations) x 100
Why it matters
Example
A retailer's support chatbot handles 1,000 conversations in a week. It fully resolves 620 of them, from order tracking to returns, while 380 are handed to an agent. That works out to a containment rate of 62%.
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Related terms
Frequently asked questions
How is containment rate calculated?
Divide the number of conversations resolved within the channel by the total number of conversations that channel handled, then multiply by 100. Most teams measure it per channel and per topic so they can see exactly where automation is holding up.
What is a good containment rate?
It depends heavily on the mix of questions and how complete your knowledge base is. Rather than chase a headline figure, track your own rate over time and watch it rise as you close content gaps, and always read it alongside customer satisfaction.
What is the difference between containment rate and deflection rate?
Containment rate measures whether a conversation is resolved within a single channel, such as a chatbot session, without transferring out. Deflection rate is broader: it counts any query answered by self-service before it ever reaches an agent, across every channel.
Can a containment rate be too high?
It can, if conversations are being closed without genuinely helping the customer. A healthy containment rate goes hand in hand with steady satisfaction scores and a clear route to a human whenever someone asks for one.