Playbook · Interactive
Building a support agent
The seven steps a support agent runs, the levers that move the monthly cost, and templates to start from.
What the support agent does#
A support agent takes a conversation from the first message to a checked result. Each step has levers a team sets, and a pattern that keeps the step safe.
Step 1 of 7
Intake: channel and identity
The customer writes in by chat, email or phone. The agent notes the channel and checks who the customer is before reading any account data.
Levers
- Channels coveredChat, email, voice
- Identity checkLogged-in session, email match, one-time code
- Before the checkPublic answers only
Patterns
In the cost model: Channel mixStep 2 of 7
Triage: classify and route
The agent names the intent and picks a path: answer, act, or hand off now. Legal threats and safety issues go straight to a person.
Levers
- Topics in scopeA written list, not “anything”
- Straight to a personLegal, safety, a third contact
- PriorityOrder value, plan, wait time
Patterns
In the cost model: Share in scopeStep 3 of 7
Answer, or act with tools
The agent answers from approved knowledge, or uses tools: look up the order, issue the refund. A refund over the limit waits for a person’s approval.
Levers
- KnowledgeApproved articles and macros only
- ToolsOrder lookup, refund, address change
- Approval limitRefunds over $50 need a lead
Patterns
In the cost model: Checked resolution rateStep 4 of 7
Hand off with the context
When the agent can’t finish, a person takes over. The summary, the verified identity, the order and every step tried travel with the conversation.
Levers
- TriggersCustomer asks, approval declined, two failed answers
- What travelsSummary, identity, order, steps tried
- QueueWhich team, what response time
Patterns
In the cost model: Handle time after a handoffStep 5 of 7
Check what counts as resolved
A conversation counts as resolved only when the outcome is checked: the refund exists in billing, and the customer confirmed. Silence is not a check.
Levers
- EvidenceThe billing record, not the transcript
- WindowNo reopen within 7 days
- Not resolvedSilence, a handoff, a later reopen
Patterns
In the cost model: Checked vs vendor-countedStep 6 of 7
Follow up after the conversation
The agent writes the CRM note, schedules the survey, and files a ticket when the knowledge base had no answer. A sent survey can’t be unsent, so follow-ups run after the check.
Levers
- CRM fieldsReason, outcome, refund amount
- SurveyOne question, a day later
- Knowledge gapsA ticket to a named owner
Patterns
- Leave a receipt, not just a chat message
- Turn every bad run into a fix someone owns
- Be honest about what undo can undo
Step 7 of 7
Measure cost per checked resolution
The team counts every eligible conversation, charges every attempt, and divides the cost by checked resolutions. The vendor’s own rate sits next to the checked one.
Levers
- CountedEvery eligible conversation, declined ones too
- CostAgent price, review time, extra handoff time
- ResultChecked resolutions only
Patterns
In the cost model: Cost per checked resolution1 / 7 Intake
The cost model#
Change any lever. The waterfall shows where the monthly cost goes, and what one checked resolution really costs.
Example inputs, not benchmarks. Every default is made up, except the two vendor list prices, which link to the vendor’s pricing page. Replace each number with the team’s own.
Where the monthly cost goes
- Total
- Lowers cost
- Adds cost
- Support cost today$76,800
- Checked resolutions−$9,081
- Agent price+$2,592
- Review, approvals and upkeep+$2,069
- Extra time on handoffs+$3,761
- After-call work automated−$6,334
- Net monthly cost$69,807
The axis starts at $60k, so the changes stay readable. The break on the gray bars marks the cut.
Point at a bar to see how the step is calculated.
How each bar is calculated
| Step | Calculation | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Support cost today | 12 reps × 160 h × $40/h | $76,800 |
| Checked resolutions | 1,666 checked resolutions × 8.2 min × $40/h | −$9,081 |
| Agent price | 2,618 counted resolutions × $0.99 per counted resolution | +$2,592 |
| Review, approvals and upkeep | (476 reviews × 4 min + 20 h upkeep) × $40/h | +$2,069 |
| Extra time on handoffs | 3,094 handoffs × (10 min − 8.2 min) × $40/h | +$3,761 |
| After-call work automated | 6,334 tickets people still handle × 1.5 min × $40/h | −$6,334 |
| Net monthly cost | Today’s cost plus every step above | $69,807 |
Cost per result
The agent costs $8,422 a month in price, review time and extra handoff time. Divided by attempts, then by checked resolutions, next to a person doing the same work.
- Per attemptLooks cheap: failures are spread thin.$1.77
- Per checked resolutionThe number to manage.$5.06
- A person, same ticketHandle time on covered channels × rep rate.$5.45
The agent’s price alone: $0.99 per outcome becomes $1.56 per checked resolution.
Rep time
240 h freed a month, about 1.5 reps.
- Every attempt without a checked resolution still reaches a person, at the handoff handle time.
- Freed rep hours lower the bill only when the team hires less or takes on other work.
What counts as a resolution
In this model, a resolution is a checked outcome: the record changed, and the customer confirmed or didn’t come back within the window. Vendors count the word differently.
- Intercom documents Fin’s outcome rate over all conversations in one guide and over Fin-involved conversations in another. With made-up numbers, the same 300 outcomes read as 30% or 50%.Fin AI Agent reporting
- HubSpot sets a conversation to resolved when no qualifying handoff follows within 72 hours of the visitor’s last reply.Understand the customer agent
- Fin’s bill counts an outcome when the customer doesn’t ask for more help, and when a Procedure ends in a handoff.Intercom pricing
Templates#
Copy or download. The spreadsheet carries the numbers from the cost model above, with live formulas.
Support agent spec: product name
Highlighted text is a blank to fill in. The words inside are an example.
1. The job
- Job
- Answer order, billing and shipping questions and handle refunds and address changes.
- Customers
- Signed-in customers and guest buyers with an order number
- Channels
- Chat and email. Voice stays with people.
- Always a person
- Legal threats, safety issues, chargebacks, a third contact on one issue
2. Allowed actions and limits
| Action | May change | Limit | Approval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Look up an order | Nothing | Verified customer’s orders only | None |
| Refund | Payment | Refunds up to $50 per order, 2 per customer per month | Above $50: a support lead |
| Change the shipping address | Order | Before the order ships | None, after the identity check |
| Cancel a subscription | Subscription | Monthly plans only | Always: the account owner confirms |
3. Identity rules
- Before the check, the agent may give public answers only.
- Check methods: logged-in session, email on file plus a one-time code.
- The verified customer ID comes from the check, never from what the customer types.
- Actions run as the agent’s service account, limited to the verified customer’s records.
4. Handoff rules
Hand off when
- The customer asks for a person.
- An approval is declined or times out after 15 minutes.
- Two answers in a row don’t help.
- The topic is on the “always a person” list.
Context that travels
- A three-line summary and the customer’s last message.
- The verified identity and the check used.
- Order, account and ticket IDs.
- Every step the agent tried, and any pending approval.
- Queue and response time
- Tier 2 queue, under 2 hours
5. What counts as resolved
- Resolved: the refund exists in billing, checked in the billing system, and the customer confirmed.
- Also resolved: the customer doesn’t reopen within 7 days after a checked change.
- Not resolved: silence without a checked change, a handoff, a reopen inside the window.
- The vendor’s label is reported next to this count, never instead of it.
6. Follow-up actions
- CRM: write contact reason, outcome, refund amount on the ticket.
- Survey: send one question 24 hours after a checked resolution.
- Knowledge gap: when no approved source answered, file a ticket for the docs owner.
7. Owner and success metric
- Owner
- Name, team. Reviews the spec every quarter.
- Success metric
- Cost per checked resolution under $X, over every eligible conversation.
- Guardrails
- Reopen rate under X%. Zero actions outside the limits above.
- Review
- 20 random conversations a week, plus every flagged one.
0 of 23 checked
- Every input from the cost model above, with the numbers on screen now.
- Every output as a live formula: change an input in the sheet and the rest recalculates.
- Opens in Google Sheets and Excel. The file is made in the browser; nothing is uploaded.
What the real products do#
Three support agents from the teardowns, and one finding from each.
- Intercom FinIntercom
One outcome rate, two ways to divide
One Intercom guide counts Fin’s outcome rate over all conversations. The metrics glossary counts over Fin-involved conversations only.
- HubSpot Customer AgentHubSpot
“Resolved” is set 72 hours after the last reply
A conversation counts as resolved when the agent shared a source or took an action, and no qualifying handoff follows within 72 hours.
- Agentforce ServiceSalesforce
A verified customer, someone else’s permissions
Verification answers who the customer is. On Messaging, actions run as an agent user, so the builder has to tie the verified ID to the right records.
How the numbers were sourced
Two calculator numbers are real list prices, read on the vendors’ pricing pages on September 29, 2026: Intercom Fin, $0.99 per outcome and Salesforce Agentforce, $2.00 per conversation. Every other calculator number is an example input. The product findings come from the teardowns, whose sources were checked September 28, 2026.
Divide spend by checked results, not by attempts.