Support Deflection Performance Review
Run a support deflection performance review to measure self-service effectiveness, surface gaps, and drive Product Brain improvements.
MB
Max Beech
Head of Content
TL;DR
- Companies with disciplined deflection reviews cut ticket volume by 18% (Zendesk, 2024) (Zendesk, 2024).
- Product Brain links deflection KPIs to the knowledge base freshness tracker and AI customer onboarding playbook.
- AI analyses bot chats, article usage, and support transcripts to prioritise improvements.
Key takeaways
- Review deflection metrics monthly with AI-generated insights and human judgement.
- Prioritise content, bot, and workflow fixes with Product Brain routing.
- Track customer satisfaction and cost savings to justify investments.
- Why run a support deflection performance review
- Deflection review workflow
- Mini case: Deflection review results
- Risks, counterpoints, and next steps
- FAQ
Support Deflection Performance Review
Self-service is only as good as the process that maintains it. The support deflection performance review brings together support, success, product, and documentation teams to analyse what deflects, what fails, and why.
Why run a support deflection performance review
keep pace with product changes
Feature launches break legacy articles and bots. Reviews ensure self-service evolves alongside the product.
tie deflection to experience
Combine deflection metrics with CSAT/ESAT to avoid frustrating customers. Feed insights into the customer health forecast hub.
| Metric | Traditional approach | Review benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Article views | Raw counts | Context + satisfaction |
| Bot success | Basic completion | Intent-level analysis |
| Ticket routing | Manual triage | AI recommendations |
Deflection review workflow
- Collect signals – extract search logs, bot transcripts, tickets, and knowledge base analytics.
- Cluster insights – AI groups drivers of deflection failures (missing content, confusing journeys, product gaps).
- Prioritise actions – Product Brain ranks fixes by impact and effort, allocating to content or product owners.
- Implement & test – update articles, bot flows, or product tooltips. Run A/B tests where feasible.
- Measure outcomes – track deflection rate, CSAT, and cost savings in the AI executive dashboard automation.
| Metric | Definition | Target | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deflection rate | % users resolving via self-service | ≥ 65% | Support ops |
| CSAT (self-service) | Satisfaction post-self-help | ≥ 4.3/5 | Customer success |
| Ticket avoidance | Tickets prevented | Growing monthly | Operations |
| Update SLA | Time to implement fixes | ≤ 7 days | Knowledge ops |
Mini case: Deflection review results
Workflow SaaS “Ticketless” instituted monthly deflection reviews. Ticket volume dropped 20%, CSAT rose 0.3 points, and insights fuelled the knowledge base freshness tracker to keep documentation current.
Risks, counterpoints, and next steps
Don’t optimise for deflection alone
Balance deflection with customer effort and satisfaction. Escalate high-value accounts to humans promptly.
Protect privacy
Anonymise logs and follow data handling policies outlined in the AI governance training bootcamp.
Keep teams engaged
Rotate reviewers and share wins, like improved metrics or customer quotes.
Summary + next steps
The support deflection performance review ensures self-service evolves with your product and customers. Analyse, prioritise, implement, and measure. Run reviews monthly, share decisions weekly, and refresh playbooks quarterly.
- Now: Gather self-service analytics and identify high-friction journeys.
- Next 2 weeks: Run your first AI-assisted review and publish a remediation backlog.
- Quarterly: Compare deflection rate against targets and adjust investments.
CTA for support and knowledge leaders: Activate your Product Brain workspace to keep deflection on target.
FAQ
Who attends the review?
Support ops, knowledge managers, product, marketing, and success leadership.
How long does a review take?
Plan 90 minutes: 30 for analytics, 30 for prioritisation, 30 for assignments.
Can we automate updates?
Yes -use AI to draft article revisions, bot scripts, or product hints and route for human approval.
Author
Max Beech, Head of Content
Last updated: 13 June 2025 • Expert review: [PLACEHOLDER], Director of Support Operations