# Understanding Average Handle Time in Kustomer > Average Handle Time (AHT) is a performance metric that reflects how long it typically takes your team to work through a conversation or task. Source: https://kustomer.kustomer.help/en_us/aht-in-kustomer-rye0nqkdee Last updated: 2026-06-22T13:27:40.131Z Average Handle Time (AHT) is a conversation-focused performance metric that reflects how long it typically takes your team to work through a conversation or task. It is configuration-driven, so you decide what steps handle time involves. [Reporting on AHT](https://kustomer.kustomer.help/en_us/reporting-on-average-handle-time-SyF3rl1se) helps you understand how efficiently agents are handling work, identify patterns over time, and spot opportunities to improve team workflows or workload distribution. ### Configuring Average Handle Time Configure when AHT is calculated from your **Workplace Settings** page. To configure your org's AHT calculations: 1. From the left navigation panel, click **Settings**. 2. Beneath **Workspace**, click **Reporting Metrics**. 3. Click the **Average Handle Time** tab. By default: * Handle time is tracked only when the conversation tab is in focus. * Handle time resumes after an agent takes an action. * Stop conditions are not enabled. You can adjust these settings to match your operational workflow. See [Understanding Average Handle Time](#understanding) for details on possible configurations. ### Understanding Average Handle Time Average handle time is an org-wide setting that tracks a conversation to quantify how much time on average an agent on your team spends handling a customer concern. #### Start time Handle time begins when an agent opens a conversation. #### Stop conditions Handle time stops when any selected condition is met. Toggle each of these to start or stop AHT tracking: * The conversation is snoozed * The conversation is marked done * The conversation is viewed by an unassigned agent or team lead #### Resume behavior When a conversation is reopened, handle time resumes based on your configuration: * After an agent takes an action (for example, sending a reply or leaving a note) * Immediately when the conversation is reopened and in focus #### Tracking behavior You can control how handle time accumulates when agents work across multiple conversations: * Track time only when the conversation tab is in focus, with one of these additional options available: * Resuming time only after the rep has taken an action (for example, sending a reply or leaving a note). * Resuming time as soon as the conversation is opened (begins counting immediately once the tab comes back into focus). * Track time across all open conversation tabs, even when they are not in focus. Once you click **Save Changes**, all settings apply organization-wide and take effect immediately for new conversations. ### Understanding ownership duration (formerly work item handle time) Ownership duration was formerly known as work item handle time. Ownership duration measures how long a conversation or task is assigned to an agent. * Starts when the conversation or task is assigned. * Ends when it enters wrap-up or is marked done. * Includes time spent in snooze. Ownership duration differs from AHT, which measures active work time rather than total assignment time. ### Tips for analyzing average handle time metrics Keep in mind that each data object has its own measurement logic, which can affect how AHT appears in reports. Here are some tips to help you interpret the data more effectively: * **Snooze time is still counted** When using `work_items` data, AHT includes time a conversation is snoozed, even though the agent isn't actively working on it. This can make some handle times appear longer than expected. * **One handle time per conversation** `work_items` only store handle time for the most recently assigned agent. If multiple agents work on the same conversation or task, previous handle times are overwritten. Only the most recent agent's handle time is saved. ### **Frequently asked questions** ****What does "browser tabs" mean in the AHT setting?**** The setting "Track handle time on all open conversation browser tabs, even when not in focus" refers to conversations that are open and expanded in Kustomer across browser tabs. It does not include every conversation in the inbox or every conversation assigned to the agent — only those actively expanded in a browser tab. ****How is AHT calculated?**** AHT equals the total time an agent spends viewing conversations divided by the number of unique conversations viewed. If an agent views the same conversation multiple times, it counts as one unique conversation with cumulative viewing time. ****Does agent availability status affect AHT tracking?**** No. AHT tracking starts when an agent opens a conversation, regardless of their availability status. ****How does AHT work with multiple agent handoffs?**** Only the most recently assigned agent's handle time is stored on the conversation. Previous agents' handle times are overwritten. To report on handle time per agent, use the ****Handled By**** dimension in Custom Reporting. ****Does snooze time count toward AHT?**** Snooze time is included in AHT calculations within the `work_items` data object, even though the agent is not actively working during a snooze. What is a good first setting for AHT? ### **Recommended AHT configuration** A good baseline average handle time measurement is below, but based on your team flow and metrics, this may not be the best setup for your organization: * ****Remove "Conversation is in a Done status"**** from handle time tracking. Once a conversation is marked Done, the agent is no longer actively working on it. Leaving this enabled inflates AHT with non-active time. * ****Remove "Conversation is viewed by a rep who isn't assigned to it."**** This can inflate AHT when multiple people view the same conversation simultaneously, counting time across each person. * ****Select "Resume handle time as soon as the conversation is opened."**** This provides a fuller picture of total time an agent spends in the conversation, including time reviewing and understanding the issue. Changing these settings always displays correct data.