Glossary
Definitions and concepts for AI in customer service. 30 entries, organized by category.
AI CORE
- AI agent An AI agent is a software system that perceives a goal, plans steps toward it, takes actions in tools or APIs, and adapts based on results.
- AI guardrails AI guardrails are policy and verification layers that constrain what an AI system will say or do, reducing hallucinations and unsafe outputs.
- AI hallucination An AI hallucination is when a model produces a confident, fluent, but factually incorrect or fabricated response.
- Agentic AI Agentic AI describes systems that pursue multi-step goals autonomously, taking actions and adapting to results rather than responding turn-by-turn.
- Conversational AI Conversational AI is the category of software that uses natural language to interact with users, voice, chat, or messaging, going beyond scripted responses.
- Generative AI Generative AI is software that produces new content, text, images, code, audio, rather than classifying or scoring existing data.
- LLM (Large Language Model) A large language model is a neural network trained on massive amounts of text that predicts the next token given context.
- Multi-agent system A multi-agent system orchestrates several specialized AI agents that collaborate to solve problems too complex for a single agent.
- RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) RAG is a pattern where an AI model retrieves relevant documents from a knowledge base and uses them as context to generate a response.
AI FOR SUPPORT
- AI agent assist (Copilot) AI agent assist (or Copilot) is a real-time helper that suggests replies, surfaces knowledge, and recommends next-best actions while a human agent works on a ticket.
- AI chatbot An AI chatbot is a conversational interface, usually web or mobile chat, that uses AI to interact with users in natural language.
- AI customer service AI customer service is the use of AI agents, copilots, and automation to resolve customer issues across channels.
- Customer support automation Customer support automation is the use of software (AI agents, workflows, rules) to handle support tasks without human intervention.
- Intent recognition Intent recognition is the process of classifying what a user wants from a natural-language input, the foundation of routing and resolution.
- Natural Language Understanding (NLU) NLU is the field of AI focused on parsing meaning from natural-language input, intents, entities, sentiment, and context.
- Omnichannel support Omnichannel support delivers a unified customer experience across all channels, email, chat, voice, social, in-app, with shared context.
- Prompt engineering Prompt engineering is the practice of designing inputs to LLMs to elicit reliable, useful outputs in production.
- Self-service support Self-service support is when customers resolve their own issues through documentation, chatbots, or community, without contacting an agent.
- Voice AI Voice AI is the application of AI to spoken-language interfaces, voice agents, contact-center automation, and IVR replacement.
SUPPORT METRICS
- Average Handle Time (AHT) AHT is the average minutes a support agent spends handling a ticket from open to close, the operational cost-per-contact metric.
- CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) CSAT is the score customers give after an interaction, usually a 1-5 scale rating overall satisfaction with the support experience.
- Deflection rate Deflection rate is the percentage of customer issues resolved without human agent involvement. The most-quoted metric in AI-for-support sales.
- First Contact Resolution (FCR) FCR is the share of tickets resolved in the customer’s first interaction, without follow-ups, re-opens, or repeat contacts.
- First Response Time (FRT) FRT is the time from when a customer submits a ticket to when they receive the first meaningful response. The customer-facing speed metric.
- Ticket deflection Ticket deflection is the share of customer issues resolved without human agent involvement, through AI, self-service, or automation.
SUPPORT OPERATIONS
- Helpdesk software Helpdesk software is the platform support teams use to receive, track, and resolve customer tickets across channels.
- ITSM (IT Service Management) ITSM is the discipline and software category for running IT operations as a service to the business, incidents, changes, problems, assets.
- Knowledge base A knowledge base is the repository of articles, FAQs, and documentation that supports self-service and AI-driven resolution.
- Knowledge management system A knowledge management system is the platform plus operating loop that keeps a knowledge base current, accurate, and useful.
- Service desk A service desk is the internal IT support function, and the software platform that runs it, handling employee tickets and IT operations.