> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # First-Response SLA Attainment, Intercom > Percentage of conversations whose first reply met your response-time target. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Card class:** [Non-Hero](/nerve-centre/overview#card-classes-explained) • **Category:** [Support](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) > % of conversations whose first admin reply landed within the response-time target, over the window. ## At a glance > **First-Response SLA Attainment** is a Support Performance metric tracked from your Intercom workspace. Where [Median First-Response Time](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/median-first-response-time) tells you the *typical* wait, this gauge tells you how *reliably* you hit your promise: of every conversation in the window, what share got a first reply inside your target? A median can look healthy while a long tail of customers waits far too long — and it is that tail that writes the angry reviews. For Blitz, where the published promise might be "we reply within an hour," this is the card that proves whether you keep it. It renders as a gauge so the band (green/amber/red) is readable at a glance. | | | | --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **What it counts** | The percentage of conversations in the window whose `statistics.time_to_admin_reply` came in at or under your configured first-response target. Numerator = conversations answered within target; denominator = conversations that received a first reply. | | **Sample type** | API-derived from the Intercom Conversations endpoint, comparing each first-reply time against your SLA target. | | **Why it matters** | A median hides the tail. Attainment exposes the share of customers who waited longer than promised — the ones most likely to escalate, churn, or post a poor review. | | **Reading the value** | Higher is better; 100% means everyone was answered in time. Read the gauge band against your target. A falling attainment with a steady median means a growing tail of slow outliers. | | **Currency** | percent | | **Time window** | `7D` | | **Alert trigger** | `<80%` | | **Sentiment key** | `sla_attainment` | | **Roles** | owner, operations | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your Intercom data. For each conversation that received a first admin reply in the trailing 7 days, Vortex IQ compares `statistics.time_to_admin_reply` against your configured first-response target. Attainment is the count answered within target divided by the count that received a first reply, expressed as a percent. Conversations still awaiting a first reply are excluded from the denominator here — they live on the [Unanswered (awaiting first reply)](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/unanswered-awaiting-first-reply) card and, if they breach live, on [SLA Breaches (live)](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/sla-breaches-live). The gauge alerts when attainment drops below 80%. ## Worked example *A representative reading for Blitz with a 60-minute first-response target.* Over the last 7 days, 1,310 conversations received a first reply and 1,022 of them landed within the hour — an attainment of **78%**, just under the `<80%` alert line, so the gauge sits in amber. The [Median First-Response Time](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/median-first-response-time) reads a reassuring 41 minutes, which is exactly the trap: half the conversations are answered fast, but a meaningful tail blows past an hour. Cross-referencing [First-Response Time by Team](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/first-response-time-by-team) and [Conversation Volume by Hour](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/conversation-volume-by-hour), the misses cluster in the evening when one agent covers everything. The fix is evening cover, not a faster average. Use Vortex Mind to list the breaching conversations, and Ask Viq to answer "what share of yesterday's chats were answered within an hour?" ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why merchants reach for it | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | [`ic_first_response`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/median-first-response-time) | The median this gauge pressure-tests for its hidden tail. | | [`ic_first_response_by_team`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/first-response-time-by-team) | Shows which team is dragging attainment down. | | [`ic_sla_breaches`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/sla-breaches-live) | The live view of conversations breaching right now. | | [`ic_unanswered`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/unanswered-awaiting-first-reply) | The conversations not yet in the denominator — your future misses. | | [`ic_busiest_hours`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/conversation-volume-by-hour) | Reveals whether breaches cluster when nobody is staffed. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in Intercom's own dashboard:** If you run Intercom's native SLA rules, open **Reports → SLAs** (or **Settings → SLAs** to confirm the target) and read the "first response time SLA hit rate." Otherwise compare against **Reports → Conversations** with a target-time filter. **Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:** | Reason | Direction | What to do | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | **Target source.** Vortex IQ uses the first-response target configured in the profile; Intercom uses the target on its own SLA rule. If the two differ, attainment differs. | Variable | Align the target value in both tools. | | **Business hours.** Intercom SLAs often pause outside office hours; Vortex IQ measures wall-clock time by default. | Vortex IQ lower | Set Vortex IQ to office-hours mode or note the difference. | | **Denominator.** Vortex IQ excludes still-unanswered conversations from attainment; an Intercom SLA report may count an open-and-breaching conversation as a miss already. | Vendor lower | Decide whether live breaches should count against the rate. | **Cross-connector reconciliation:** read the gauge with [SLA Breaches (live)](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/sla-breaches-live) and [Unanswered](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/intercom/unanswered-awaiting-first-reply) for the complete promise-keeping picture. For divergence investigations, use Vortex Mind. ## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **Q: How often does First-Response SLA Attainment update?** The card refreshes on the standard data refresh (typically every 30-60 minutes for live integrations). For a real-time read, force a manual refresh from the dashboard. **Q: Why does my Intercom report show a different number?** The usual causes are a different SLA target, business-hours pausing (Intercom SLAs commonly pause overnight; Vortex IQ measures wall-clock by default), and how live breaches are counted in the denominator. Match these before assuming a real divergence. **Q: What target does the gauge use?** The first-response target configured in your Vortex IQ profile. Set it to the response time you actually promise customers so attainment reflects your real commitment. **Q: Can I customise the alert threshold?** Yes. The `<80%` trigger is configurable per profile in the Sensitivity tab — separate from the response-time *target* itself, which sets what counts as "within SLA." *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *First-Response SLA Attainment* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Intercom and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.