Over the last decade, customer service leaders have repeatedly asked: Will digital channels particularly chat bots replace voice? With the explosion of chatbots, messaging apps, and self-service portals, it was a fair question. But the recent 2025 KPI Benchmarking Report makes it abundantly clear: voice remains the benchmark channel for complex, high-stakes, and emotionally charged interactions.
In 2024 alone, U.S. contact centers processed:
-
1.58 billion inbound voice calls
-
1.16 billion outbound calls
-
Compared to just 980 million fully automated digital interactions
That’s a staggering gap — proving that when clarity, empathy, and trust are non-negotiable, customers still reach for the phone.
Why Voice Matters in 2025
-
High-stakes moments need humans: Billing disputes, medical emergencies, travel disruptions — these are times when people want to hear another human voice.
-
AI makes voice faster and smarter: Generative AI is no longer just for text. AI-driven call routing, agent copilots, and virtual assistants are transforming how calls are handled.
-
Customer preference remains steady: McKinsey research cited in the report shows 57% of CX leaders expect call volumes to rise by 20% in the next 1–2 years.
Breaking Down the Key Voice KPIs
After analyzing 712 million calls across 3,000 brands in four industries (Healthcare & Life Sciences, Retail, Financial Services & Insurance, Travel & Hospitality). Let’s look at the benchmarks that define best-in-class voice performance.
1. Average Speed of Answer (ASA): 8 seconds
-
Definition: Time it takes for an agent to pick up after the customer exits the queue and their phone begins to ring.
-
Performance: Improved from 13.1s (2022) → 8.7s (2023) → 8s (2024). That’s a 39% faster response in two years.
-
Why it matters: Customers hate waiting. Fast ASA correlates directly with higher CSAT.
-
How leaders achieve it:
-
AI-driven intent-based routing
-
Real-time staffing adjustments
-
Reducing attrition (avg. agent turnover is ~15% in the industry)
2. Average Waiting Time: 2 minutes 35 seconds
-
Definition: Time a customer spends in queue before reaching an agent, including ringing.
-
Performance: From 3m12s (2022) → 3m21s (2023) → 2m35s (2024), a 23% YoY decrease.
-
Why it matters: Every extra second erodes trust and increases abandon rates.
-
How leaders achieve it:
-
Smarter workforce forecasting and scheduling
-
AI autopilots resolving routine queries (billing, orders, scheduling)
3. Average Hold Time: 13 seconds
-
Definition: Time a caller is placed on hold after connecting to an agent.
-
Performance: From 16.9s (2023) → 13s (2024), a 23% reduction.
-
Why it matters: Long holds frustrate customers and signal knowledge gaps.
-
How leaders achieve it:
-
Real-time AI copilots surfacing answers instantly
-
Unified agent desktops (reducing “system hopping”)
4. Service Level (SLA): 75.3%
-
Definition: Percentage of calls answered within a predefined threshold (e.g., 20 seconds).
-
Performance: Steady at ~75% for three years.
-
Industry Standouts:
-
Retail: 80%
-
Travel & Hospitality: 78.3%
-
Financial Services & Insurance: 76.9%
-
Why it matters: SLA compliance is the #1 metric managers use to assess agent and team performance.
5. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): 4.5/5
-
Definition: Post-interaction survey score (1–5 scale).
-
Performance: Stable at 4.0 (2022–2023) → 4.5 (2024), a 12.5% jump.
-
Why it matters: It is the most direct measure of how customers perceive service.
-
AI’s Impact: Deloitte research shows AI drives a 54% uplift in CSAT by enabling faster, more personalized resolutions.
Final Insight
The numbers speak for themselves: voice isn’t dying, it’s evolving. Faster ASA, shorter waits, reduced holds, strong SLAs, and rising CSAT all point to one truth: voice is still the gold standard of customer service.
The secret? AI + Human Empathy. Use AI to deflect, route, and support; keep humans for connection, empathy, and complex problem-solving.
Reference
