What this dataset covers
Thirty industries × three ticket-complexity bands (simple, medium, complex) = 90 benchmark cells. Each cell is a deflection rate between 0 and 1, sourced from at least two of the five public reports listed below.
Use the numbers as a starting point, not a target. Your steady-state deflection depends on channel mix, knowledge-base coverage, and the maturity of your training data.
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Benchmark numbers (sortable)
Per-industry headline rates, alphabetised. Sources for each industry are inline in the methodology page; the full citation list is at the bottom of this page.
- Agriculture — Simple 55% · Medium 25% · Complex 5%
- Airlines — Simple 70% · Medium 35% · Complex 5%
- Automotive — Simple 65% · Medium 32% · Complex 5%
- B2B Services — Simple 60% · Medium 28% · Complex 5%
- Banking — Simple 70% · Medium 35% · Complex 5%
- Consumer Electronics — Simple 78% · Medium 45% · Complex 8%
- Cybersecurity — Simple 55% · Medium 25% · Complex 5%
- E-commerce — Simple 85% · Medium 55% · Complex 10%
- Education — Simple 65% · Medium 30% · Complex 5%
- Energy — Simple 65% · Medium 30% · Complex 5%
- FinTech — Simple 78% · Medium 45% · Complex 8%
- Financial Services — Simple 68% · Medium 32% · Complex 5%
- Gaming — Simple 82% · Medium 50% · Complex 8%
- Government & Public Sector — Simple 50% · Medium 20% · Complex 3%
- Healthcare — Simple 55% · Medium 25% · Complex 3%
- Insurance — Simple 65% · Medium 30% · Complex 5%
- Legal — Simple 40% · Medium 15% · Complex 2%
- Logistics — Simple 75% · Medium 40% · Complex 8%
- Manufacturing — Simple 55% · Medium 25% · Complex 5%
- Marketplaces — Simple 80% · Medium 48% · Complex 8%
- Media & Entertainment — Simple 78% · Medium 45% · Complex 8%
- Nonprofit — Simple 60% · Medium 28% · Complex 5%
- Professional Services — Simple 55% · Medium 25% · Complex 5%
- Real Estate — Simple 60% · Medium 30% · Complex 5%
- Restaurants — Simple 85% · Medium 50% · Complex 5%
- Retail — Simple 75% · Medium 45% · Complex 8%
- SaaS — Simple 80% · Medium 50% · Complex 10%
- Telecom — Simple 78% · Medium 45% · Complex 8%
- Travel & Hospitality — Simple 72% · Medium 40% · Complex 8%
- Utilities — Simple 70% · Medium 35% · Complex 5%
How the bands are defined
- Simple — FAQ, account lookups, status updates, password resets, hours, basic policy questions.
- Medium — bookable steps such as cancellations, refunds, address changes, scheduling, plan switches.
- Complex — multi-system, judgement calls, regulated decisions, escalations that require human discretion.
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How to use the benchmarks
Pick your industry on the calculator and the deflection benchmarks are pre-applied. Override the channel mix and complexity mix if your numbers differ from the industry norm — the model recomputes live in the browser.
Citations
- Salesforce State of Service 2025-2026
- Gartner: AI in customer service 2025
- McKinsey: Next frontier of customer engagement 2026
- Crescendo CX Benchmarks 2025-2026
- Zendesk CX Trends 2026
How to cite
buzzi.ai. (2026-04-27). AI Customer Support Deflection Rate Benchmarks (v1.0-2026-04). CC BY 4.0.
Retrieved from https://www.buzzi.ai/tools/en/ai-customer-support-savings-calculator/ai-deflection-rate-benchmarks
Try it on your numbers
Plug in your real volumes and see the projection.
The calculator runs the same methodology described above — channel modifiers, hidden costs, and the build-vs-buy verdict. Free preview without an email.
Run the calculatorFrequently asked
What licence is the dataset under?
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0. Cite buzzi.ai and the version number; otherwise free to redistribute or build on.
How are the numbers compiled?
Aggregated from public deflection ranges in the five cited reports, then normalised into per-industry × complexity buckets. We apply a 0.85 residual haircut downstream in the calculator (not baked into the table here).
Why is the complex band so low?
Multi-system, judgement, and regulated tickets remain the human-judgement frontier. AI assists triage and summarisation but completes resolution rarely without a human in the loop.
How often does the dataset refresh?
Quarterly. Each refresh re-runs the SaaS≥40% distribution gate and bumps the version. Change log lives on the methodology page.