E-commerce · 1-5 people · 10,000 tickets/mo · very fast AHT · full potential

E-commerce support team: 3 agents for 10,000 tickets/month

Order status, returns, shipping and payment questions dominate e-commerce queues, and most of them are answerable without a human.

Verdict: Marginal — probably not

  • Payback is 90 months — defensible only if you expect this volume for years.
  • Headcount spans 5-9 agents across your industry's handle-time range. Measure your real AHT for two weeks before you budget - the band is usually wider than anyone expects.
Agents needed
3
range 5–9
Monthly labour cost
$16,253
$27,088 – $48,759
Heads removable via automation
1
2 agents remain
Net monthly effect
$148
platform cost $5,270/mo
Payback
89.8467121655298 months
at this volume
Year-one cash effect
-$22,481
including setup and severance

Put your own numbers in

These figures come from one assumed volume. Change the ticket count, AHT or cost per hour and the answer moves.

Model v1. Figures are estimates from published benchmarks, not a quote.