Hold time is the duration callers spend waiting before their call is answered or while on hold during a call. It is a critical customer experience metric that directly impacts satisfaction and abandonment rates.
How is hold time measured?
Initial hold time measures the wait before a call is first answered. In-call hold time tracks pauses when callers are placed on hold mid-conversation. Both metrics matter, though initial hold time typically has greater impact on caller perception and abandonment.
Why does hold time matter?
Long hold times frustrate callers and increase abandonment. AI voice agents cut hold time by answering immediately and handling multiple calls simultaneously.
Hold time in practice
Before deploying an AI voice agent, a company’s callers waited on hold for minutes during peak hours. After deployment, the AI answers every call as it comes in. Human agents, now handling only escalations, have more capacity to pick up transferred calls quickly.