What is Average Handle Time?

Average Handle Time (AHT) is a contact center metric that measures the average amount of time spent handling a customer interaction from start to finish.

It captures not only the time spent on the phone with the customer, but also the work required to complete the interaction after the call ends. Because it reflects both conversation and operational effort, AHT is often used to understand workload, staffing needs, and process efficiency.

How Average Handle Time is Calculated

There are three main components of the Average Handle Time formula:

• Talk time: The time an agent spends actively speaking with a customer

• Hold time: Any time the customer is placed on hold during the call

• After-call work: Follow-up tasks such as documentation, ticket updates, or system changes

Together, these elements reflect the true cost of handling a call.

What Average Handle Time Actually Measures

AHT is often described as a speed metric, but it more accurately measures operational friction. 

High AHT can indicate:

• Complex underlying customer issues

• Fragmented tools or systems

• Manual steps during or after calls

• Poor information capture during interactions

On the flip side, low AHT is often a sign of:

• Well-designed workflows

• Clear, repetitive request types

• Effective self-service or automation

Taken at face value, AHT doesn’t tell you whether customer outcomes are positive or negative. It tells you how much effort each interaction requires. 

Why Average Handle Time Matters

Average handle time is an important metric because it directly influences three major areas of contact center performance:

Cost and Capacity

Longer handle times reduce the number of interactions each agent can manage, increasing staffing requirements and operating costs. 

Workforce Planning

AHT is a key input in understanding labor capacity. Small changes in handling time can materially impact headcount planning, scheduling, and service levels. 

Customer Experience

Handle time affects wait times, resolution speed, and how rushed or attentive calls feel to customers. Poorly optimized AHT can increase repeat calls and dissatisfaction. 

How Automation Impacts Average Handle Time

Voice AI agents change AHT in two meaningful ways:

Removing calls from the equation

When automation resolves entire calls, those interactions no longer contribute to AHT at all. This reduces AHT by changing the call mix, not by rushing conversations.

Reducing time spent within calls

For calls that still require a human, automation can:

• Capture necessary context before escalation 

• Eliminate hold time caused by system lookups

• Remove or shorten after-call work

Importantly, effective automation allows remaining calls to take longer when needed, because they tend to be higher-complexity and higher-value.

How Thoughtly Helps Reduce Average Handle Time

Thoughtly reduces AHT by addressing the root causes that inflate it, rather than optimizing for speed alone.

Handling Repetitive Calls End-to-End

Thoughtly automates common, repeatable phone interactions that would otherwise consume agent time. By resolving these calls without escalation, Thoughtly removes them from AHT calculations entirely.

Capturing Context Before Escalation

When a call does need to reach a human, Thoughtly gathers structured information upfront. Human agents start conversations with context, reducing hold time and back-and-forth clarification.

Eliminating After-Call Work

Automated actions and integrations allow many interactions to complete without manual follow-up. This reduces or removes after-call work, which is a major driver of high AHT.

Improving System Design, Not Agent Speed

Rather than pushing agents to work faster, Thoughtly reduces the amount of work each interaction requires. This leads to sustainable AHT reductions without harming customer experience.

Summary

Average Handle Time is a foundational contact center metric because it reflects how much effort each customer interaction requires.

While often treated as a speed metric, AHT more accurately measures operational friction across systems, workflows, and call mix.

Automation changes AHT by removing repetitive interactions from agent queues, capturing context earlier in the process, and eliminating manual follow-up work. This reduces total handle time without rushing conversations or degrading customer experience.

Thoughtly helps teams lower AHT by resolving common calls end-to-end, reducing time spent within calls that escalate to agents, and removing after-call work altogether. The result is a more efficient support operation where agents focus on higher-value conversations and customers get faster, more consistent outcomes.