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Customer Experience, Guide
Customer Experience, GuideThe compact guide on Customer Effort Score (CES)
What CES is, how to calculate it, when to measure it and how to reduce friction to increase customer loyalty.
CES (Customer Effort Score) is a customer experience metric that measures the effort a customer must make to resolve an interaction, complete a purchase or use a service: the lower the effort, the higher the loyalty. In 2026, its impact is amplified by AI and automation, which enable the identification and reduction of obstacles in real time. To improve it, companies must eliminate repeated contacts, simplify processes, strengthen self-service and apply closed-loop feedback systems, turning every measurement into concrete improvement actions.
Riccardo Begelle, 2025 
16 min 
What is the Customer Effort Score (CES)?
The Customer Effort Score (CES) is the metric that measures the degree of effort a customer makes to complete a purchase, resolve a problem or interact with a company or product. Customer service teams use surveys to evaluate that effort on a scale ranging from 'very difficult' to 'very easy'.
We are in an era where customers expect all problems to be solved with a single click, without hassle or delays. They seek a frictionless experience. When they do not find it, they switch providers: in 2025, 60% of customers abandon a brand after frustrating resolution experiences.
" 94% of customers with low-effort experiences repurchase, compared to just 4% of those who experience high effort. (Gartner, 2025)
The Science Behind CES
CES was born from research by CEB (now Gartner) published in 2010 in the Harvard Business Review. Its finding was counterintuitive: reducing customer effort is a much more powerful predictor of loyalty than trying to delight or exceed expectations.
Customer effort and disloyalty
"96% of customers with a high-effort service interaction become more disloyal, compared to only 9% who have a low-effort experience."
— The Effortless Experience — Dixon, Toman & DeLisi (CEB/Gartner)
" 37% lower operational cost is achieved in low-effort interactions compared to high-effort ones. CES is not just a CX metric: it has a direct impact on the bottom line.
CES 1.0 vs CES 2.0: The Evolution of the Question
| CES 1.0 (2010) | CES 2.0 — Current standard | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Direct question | Statement |
| Wording | "How much personal effort did you have to put in to resolve your request?" | "[Company] made it easy for me to resolve my issue." |
| Scale | 1 to 5 (high effort → low effort) | 1 to 7 (strongly disagree → strongly agree) |
| Advantage | Simple and direct | Generates more honest, less biased responses |
| Current use | Declining | Recommended industry standard |
The statement format of CES 2.0 generates more honest responses because it asks the customer to confirm or refute a hypothesis, rather than self-assessing their own effort. This reduces social desirability bias.
When to Measure the Customer Effort Score?
Measuring CES at the right moment is as important as the question itself. The survey must be sent immediately after the interaction, when the customer's recollection is accurate. These are the key moments in the customer journey where CES delivers the most value:
| Moment | Concrete example | What you measure |
|---|---|---|
| Post-support | Ticket closure, chat or customer service call | Effort to resolve a problem |
| Post-purchase | Immediately after completing a transaction | Ease of the purchasing process |
| Post-onboarding | At the end of service setup or activation | Friction in the first experience |
| Post-self-service | After using the knowledge base, FAQs or chatbot | Effectiveness of support without human intervention |
| Payments & forms | After completing an online payment or registration | Obstacles in transactional processes |
⚠ CES is a transactional metric, not a periodic one
CES should not be used as a general periodic survey (that is the role of relational NPS). It is a transactional metric: its value lies in the immediacy and context of a specific interaction.
How to Calculate CES?
CES is collected with a single question on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is 'strongly disagree' and 7 is 'strongly agree' with the statement that the company made resolution easy. There are two calculation methods, each with a distinct use:
Method 1: Average
All individual scores are summed and divided by the total number of responses. It offers a granular view that reflects nuances in the distribution of responses.
Average CES = Sum of all scores / Total number of responses
Average CES = Sum of all scores / Total number of responses
Example: 5 customers respond with 6, 7, 5, 6 and 7 → Average = 31 / 5 = 6.2 out of 7
When to use the Average: for internal trends over time, comparison between agents or channels, and identification of small improvements that the % method might not capture.
Method 2: Percentage of Easy (the most reported)
Only responses of 5, 6 and 7 are counted (those indicating an easy experience) and divided by the total. It is the preferred method for communicating results to stakeholders because it produces a clear and intuitive number.
CES% = (Responses 5+6+7) / Total responses × 100
CES% = (Responses 5+6+7) / Total responses × 100
| Response | Score | Counted in CES%? |
|---|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 7 | ✔ Yes |
| Agree | 6 | ✔ Yes |
| Somewhat agree | 5 | ✔ Yes |
| Neutral | 4 | ✗ No |
| Somewhat disagree | 3 | ✗ No |
| Disagree | 2 | ✗ No |
| Strongly disagree | 1 | ✗ No |
Example: 88 out of 100 customers respond 5, 6 or 7 → CES% = 88%
What is a Good CES Score?
Unlike NPS and CSAT, CES does not have industry benchmarks that are as consolidated or easily comparable. The reason: many companies do not publish their CES data. This makes the internal benchmark (comparing quarter to quarter) more valuable than the external one. That said, these are the most commonly used reference ranges:
| Zone | Score (scale 1–7) | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | < 4.5 | High friction. Customers at high risk of churn. |
| Needs improvement | 4.5 – 5.0 | Below average. Prioritise obstacle removal. |
| Acceptable | 5.0 – 5.5 | Functional experience. Relevant room for improvement. |
| Good | 5.5 – 6.0 | Most interactions are perceived as easy. |
| Excellent | > 6.0 | Smooth experience. Benchmark in ease of interaction. |
CES by Sector: Guidance to Contextualise Your Score
| Sector | Typical CES (1–7) | Key effort factors |
|---|---|---|
| E-commerce / Digital retail | ≥ 6.0 | Checkout, returns, tracking. Highly optimised among leaders. |
| Software / SaaS (B2C) | 5.5 – 6.0 | Onboarding, feature activation, technical support. |
| Banking & financial services | 5.0 – 5.8 | Account opening, issue resolution, verification. |
| Healthcare | 4.5 – 5.5 | Appointments, results, insurance management. High inherent complexity. |
| Software / SaaS (B2B) | 4.8 – 5.5 | Implementation, integrations, complex technical support. |
| Telecommunications | 4.0 – 5.0 | Number portability, network issues, billing. Historically highest-friction sector. |
| Insurance | 4.0 – 5.0 | Claims and policy management. Complex processes. |
Sources: Gartner, Fullview CES Benchmark 2025.
CES also varies by geography: customers in Asia Pacific tend to give higher scores than Europeans for equivalent experiences. If you operate in multiple markets, use internal benchmarks by region rather than a single global threshold.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Customer Effort Score
CES is the transactional metric most directly linked to friction reduction and operational loyalty. Like any metric, it has specific strengths and blind spots that are important to understand:
| ✔ Advantages | ⚠ Limitations |
|---|---|
| Strong predictor of loyalty — 1.8x more effective than CSAT at anticipating retention | Does not measure overall satisfaction or brand loyalty |
| Extremely actionable — identifies exactly where friction exists | Only covers one touchpoint: partial view of the journey |
| Reduces operational costs — 37% lower cost in low-effort interactions | Does not explain why there is friction without a complementary open-ended question |
| Improves word of mouth — low-effort customers are 81% less likely to speak negatively | Less externally benchmarkable than NPS or CSAT |
| Direct and easy to answer — high response rate | Does not consider factors such as price, competition or product quality |
| Applicable to all channels and touchpoints | Sensitive to the scale used: do not compare CES on a 5-point scale with CES on a 7-point scale |
How to Improve Your CES Score?
Improving CES means eliminating friction at every touchpoint. These are the highest-impact strategies according to Gartner research and the most recent CX studies:
- Eliminate repeated contacts: Callbacks and follow-ups are the primary driver of high effort. Resolving the issue at first contact (FCR) is the lever with the greatest impact on CES. Each additional contact doubles the perceived effort.
- Strengthen intelligent self-service: 52% of Generation Z customers abandon a brand if self-service does not resolve their problem. A well-structured knowledge base with effective search and frequent updates reduces effort before the customer reaches human support.
- Implement AI for immediate resolution: Support AI reduces effort by providing instant, accurate responses. 90% of customers consider immediacy (<10 minutes) as critical. Well-trained AI agents reduce effort in routine interactions without sacrificing quality.
- Simplify transactional processes: Checkout, registration, payments, forms: every unnecessary field or additional step increases effort. Auditing flows with CES data per step allows the identification of specific bottlenecks.
- Empower human agents: A unified customer view (single customer view) enables agents to resolve issues without asking the customer to repeat their context. Every time the customer has to repeat themselves, perceived effort increases significantly.
- Close the loop with high-effort customers: Low CES responses (1–3) must have an assigned owner and a clear contact deadline (ideally <24h). Proactively reaching out to these customers before they decide not to return is the most effective retention strategy.
"40% – 50% – 54% reduction in callbacks, escalations and channel switching respectively when customer effort is systematically reduced. (CEB-Gartner, 2024–2025)
CES in Digital Environments and with AI
- Real-time predictive CES: Advanced platforms estimate the likely CES score during the active interaction, based on signals such as resolution time, number of transfers and channel switches, without waiting for the survey.
- Effort analysis through digital biometrics: Behavioural analytics tools detect friction signals in digital environments: repeated clicks, erratic scrolling, inactivity time, abandoned form fields. These signals complement declarative CES.
- Generative AI for effort reduction: 80% of organisations have implemented or plan to implement generative AI for CX improvements in 2025. Conversational agents resolve 85% of routine queries without human intervention, reducing effort in low/medium-value interactions.
- CES + CRM integration: Connecting CES data with the customer's history in the CRM allows the identification of high-effort patterns by segment, product or channel and the prioritisation of improvements with the greatest impact on retention.
How to Implement Your CES Programme with RateNow
RateNow is the Voice of the Customer (VoC) platform that turns your customer feedback into business decisions. It has years of experience operationalising customer experience programmes — including CES, NPS and CSAT — for companies of all sizes across multiple sectors.
| Why RateNow | What it offers you |
|---|---|
| Proven experience | Years of track record operationalising VoC programmes for small and large companies across multiple sectors. |
| Analytics platform | RateNow Analytics provides real-time actionable insights to identify and eliminate the most impactful friction points in your journey. |
| Sector-specific benchmarks | Access to CES, NPS and CSAT benchmarks by country and sector to contextualise your score with real market data. |
| Multichannel | Collect CES feedback via email, in-app, SMS, web, QR and physical point of sale in a single integrated platform. |
| Tailored solutions | Every CES programme is customised: touchpoint selection, frequency, scale, alert system and closed-loop according to your objectives. |
Where are the bottlenecks in your customer experience? RateNow helps you identify them precisely and turn every CES score into a measurable improvement action.
Ready to eliminate friction in your customer experience? Talk to our team and we'll design your Voice of the Customer programme together: sales@ratenow.cx
Bibliography
- Dixon M., Freeman K., Toman N.: Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers — Harvard Business Review, 2010
- Dixon M., Toman N., DeLisi R.: The Effortless Experience — CEB/Gartner, 2013
- Gartner: How Service Leaders Can Increase Customer Loyalty — updated 2024
- Fullview: Customer Effort Score: Calculator, Benchmarks & How to Improve — November 2025
What is CES or Customer Effort Score?
The Customer Effort Score (CES) is a metric that measures how much effort a customer must make to resolve a problem, complete a purchase or interact with a company. It is measured with a question on a 1–7 scale using the CES 2.0 format: '[Company] made it easy for me to resolve my issue.' The lower the perceived effort, the higher the future loyalty.
How is CES calculated?
Two methods: (1) Average: sum of all scores divided by the number of responses. (2) Percentage of easy (the most widely used): percentage of customers who responded 5, 6 or 7 out of 7. Example: 88 out of 100 customers respond 5+ → CES% = 88%. This second method is preferred for communicating results to teams and executives.
What is a good CES score?
On a scale of 1 to 7: above 5.5 is good; above 6.0 is excellent. As a general reference, a CES% above 70% is the minimum starting threshold. The internal benchmark (comparing quarter to quarter) is more valuable than the external one, as CES varies greatly by sector, channel and scale used.
What is the difference between CES 1.0 and CES 2.0?
CES 1.0 (2010) uses a direct question about customer effort on a 1–5 scale. CES 2.0 uses a statement on a 1–7 scale: '[Company] made it easy for me to resolve my issue.' The statement format generates more honest responses because it asks the customer to confirm or refute a hypothesis, reducing self-assessment bias. CES 2.0 is the currently recommended standard.
When should CES be measured?
Immediately after the interaction, when the recollection is accurate: at the closure of a support ticket, after completing a purchase, at the end of an onboarding, or after using self-service. It should not be used as a general periodic survey (that is the role of relational NPS). Its value lies in the specificity of the moment.
What is the difference between CES, NPS and CSAT?
CES measures effort at a specific touchpoint (transactional, operational). NPS measures loyalty and likelihood to recommend the brand (relational, strategic). CSAT measures satisfaction with a specific interaction (transactional, satisfaction). All three are complementary: NPS for long-term vision, CSAT for point-in-time satisfaction, CES to detect and eliminate friction.
How to improve CES?
The highest-impact strategies are: (1) Resolve at first contact (FCR) — callbacks double the effort. (2) Improve self-service to reduce the need for contact. (3) Implement AI for immediate resolution in routine interactions. (4) Simplify transactional processes (checkout, forms, payments). (5) Empower agents with a unified customer view to prevent customers from repeating themselves.
What tool should I use to measure CES?
RateNow is a Voice of the Customer (VoC) platform that allows you to design, send and analyse CES surveys in real time across multiple channels (email, in-app, SMS, web, QR). It offers automatic alerts for high-effort responses, analytical dashboards by touchpoint and expert support to turn data into concrete improvement plans. Contact sales@ratenow.cx.
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