Cost inputs
Monthly figures, all channels you want to model.
$223,214 per month across all contacts.
Agent cost plus AI cost, spread over every contact, contained or not.
| Deflection | Cost per contact | Monthly saving |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $4.15 | $15,589 |
| 20% | $3.80 | $33,179 |
| 30% | $3.45 | $50,768 |
| 40% | $3.10 | $68,357 |
| 50% | $2.75 | $85,946 |
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Results are estimates for planning purposes only and should not replace professional workforce management judgment.
The calculator prices the same workload twice: once with agents only, and once with AI containing a share of contacts. Both sides use fully loaded hours, so occupancy and shrinkage are priced in, and the AI side includes per-contact fees, the platform fee and the contacts that bounce back to a human.
Step by step
- Workload hours = contacts × AHT ÷ 60. The raw handling time in the month.
- Paid hours = workload ÷ occupancy ÷ (1 - shrinkage). Agents are not on contacts 100 percent of the time, and not all paid time is available, so you buy more hours than the workload alone suggests.
- Current cost per contact = paid hours × hourly cost ÷ contacts.
- After deflection: contained contacts leave the queue, repeat contacts come back, and the AI bill (per contact plus platform fee) is added on top.
- Payback = setup cost ÷ monthly saving. FTE released assumes 160 paid hours per FTE per month.
Using it well
- Use a fully loaded hourly cost, not just base wage, or the saving will be understated.
- Measure the repeat rate from real containment data; a high repeat rate can erase the business case.
- Check the sensitivity table before committing: the case often hinges on a few points of deflection.
- Translate the FTE release into a roster with the Erlang C Calculator and the Capacity Planning Calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is cost per contact?
The fully loaded cost of handling one contact: the paid agent hours the workload requires, divided by the number of contacts. It includes the hours lost to occupancy limits and shrinkage, not just talk time.
Why is deflected volume not the same as headcount saved?
Because contacts arrive in peaks. AI may take 20 percent of volume, but the peak hour still needs almost as many agents, so the roster shrinks by less than 20 percent. Treat the FTE figure here as the theoretical release, not a scheduling promise.
What is the repeat contact rate?
The share of contained contacts that come back to a human anyway, because the bot did not fully resolve the issue. Those contacts still cost agent time, so they eat into the saving.
How is payback calculated?
One time setup cost divided by the monthly saving. If the AI stack costs more than it saves each month, payback never happens and the calculator says so.
Related reading: why AI deflection breaks your staffing model and how AI callers are hitting your IVR.
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