What is Containment rate?
Containment rate is the share of customer conversations a bot or voice agent resolves from start to finish without handing off to a human agent.
In more detail
A contained session should count only if the customer's problem was actually solved, which is where definitions diverge. Some vendors count any chat that did not reach an agent, including those where the customer gave up. A better measure adds a follow-up signal: no repeat contact on the same issue within a few days, or a satisfaction response. Report containment by intent. Password resets can run at a high rate, while billing disputes should be low by design because they need a person. Pushing the overall rate up by hiding the handoff button damages CSAT. Read containment alongside CSAT and first contact resolution.
Example
In a made-up month, a support bot handles 4,000 chats. 1,800 end without an agent, but 500 of those customers contact again within 48 hours about the same issue. True containment is 1,300 of 4,000, or 32.5 percent.