What is customer effort score (CES)?
Customer effort score (CES) measures how easy it was for a customer to get an issue resolved or complete a task, usually by asking them to rate a statement like "The company made it easy to handle my issue" on a 1–7 scale. Lower effort is strongly linked to loyalty.
Formula
CES = sum of scores ÷ number of responses (average), or % of customers who agree (5–7).
Example: 120 of 150 respondents choose 5–7 → 80% low-effort.
What causes high effort
| Cause | Fix |
|---|---|
| Repeating information | Shared context across channels |
| Transfers | Better routing |
| Long waits | Self-service and AI |
| Multiple contacts | First-contact resolution |
When to use CES
Right after support interactions, onboarding steps or self-service attempts.
