Net Promoter Score (NPS)

What Is Net Promoter Score (NPS)?

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a customer loyalty metric that measures how likely customers are to recommend your company, product, or service to others. Developed by Bain and Company in partnership with Fred Reichheld and Satmetrix, NPS has become one of the most widely adopted metrics in business. It is used by organizations worldwide to gauge customer sentiment, track loyalty trends, and predict revenue growth.

Unlike CSAT, which captures satisfaction with a specific interaction, NPS reflects the customer's overall relationship with your brand. That makes NPS a strategic indicator, not just an operational one.

How to Calculate Net Promoter Score

NPS = % Promoters minus % Detractors

The calculation starts with a single question: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend [company/product] to a friend or colleague?"

Respondents are grouped into three categories:

• Promoters (9-10): Loyal customers who actively recommend you and drive referral growth.
• Passives (7-8): Satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offers.
• Detractors (0-6): Unhappy customers who may damage your brand through negative word of mouth.

For example, if you survey 200 customers and 120 are Promoters (60%), 50 are Passives (25%), and 30 are Detractors (15%), your NPS is 60 minus 15, which equals +45.

NPS ranges from -100 to +100.

Industry Benchmarks

NPS benchmarks vary substantially across industries and company types. General interpretation thresholds based on Bain and Company's framework:

• Above 0: More promoters than detractors. A positive baseline.
• Above 20: Favorable. Your customers are generally satisfied and loyal.
• Above 50: Excellent. Strong customer advocacy and healthy referral growth.
• Above 70: World-class. Rare and typically seen in companies with exceptional customer experiences.

Industry-specific averages (2025-2026 data):

• SaaS: Average NPS of approximately +31. Enterprise SaaS tends to score higher (+35) than startups (+28).
• Retail and e-commerce: +35 to +45 typical.
• Financial services: +30 to +40 for digital-first providers.
• Telecommunications: +10 to +25, historically among the lowest-scoring industries.

Research Insight: According to Bain and Company, companies with the highest NPS in their industry grow at more than 2x the rate of competitors. NPS leaders achieve this through consistently low-effort experiences and rapid issue resolution, both of which AI is uniquely positioned to deliver.

Why It Matters

NPS matters because it connects customer sentiment directly to business outcomes:

• Revenue growth: Promoters spend more, stay longer, and refer new customers. Each point of NPS improvement correlates with measurable revenue gains.
• Churn prediction: Detractors churn at significantly higher rates. Companies with NPS above +50 see approximately 40% lower churn rates than peers.
• Operational feedback: NPS follow-up questions provide qualitative data that helps teams prioritize product and service investments.
• Board-level visibility: NPS is one of the few metrics executives and board members universally understand, making it a powerful tool for aligning the organization around customer experience.

Customer support interactions have an outsized impact on NPS. A single bad support experience can turn a promoter into a detractor. That makes resolution rate, time to resolution, and Customer Effort Score direct inputs to NPS performance.

How AI Improves This Metric

AI-powered customer service improves NPS by addressing the root causes that create detractors:

• Faster resolution: AI Agents resolve routine issues in seconds, eliminating the wait times and back-and-forth that frustrate customers and lower NPS.
• Consistent quality: AI provides the same accurate response every time, regardless of agent availability, time of day, or volume spikes. That consistency builds the trust that turns passives into promoters.
• 24/7 availability: Customers in any time zone can get help immediately, removing one of the most common sources of detractor-level frustration.
• Reduced effort: By resolving issues in a single interaction with no transfers or repeated explanations, AI directly improves the effort scores that correlate with NPS gains.

The Maven AGI Advantage

Maven AGI improves NPS by resolving customer issues quickly, accurately, and consistently. When 80-93% of customer issues are resolved by AI on the first interaction, the drivers of detractor scores, long wait times, repeated contacts, and unresolved problems, are eliminated.

• Mastermind (EdTech): 93% live chat resolved. Faster resolution and fewer escalations drive higher customer satisfaction.
• Papaya Pay (FinTech): 90% autonomous resolution, meaning customers get answers immediately without navigating support queues.
• Enumerate (PropTech): 91% resolution rate, with consistent AI-driven quality across every interaction.

Maven AGI Approach: NPS improves when customers trust that your support will resolve their issue quickly and completely. Maven AGI delivers that experience at scale, with AI Agents that resolve, not just respond. With $78M in funding and customers like ClickUp, Thumbtack, and Tripadvisor, Maven AGI is the AI customer service platform built for teams that measure success by customer loyalty.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good NPS score?

Any score above 0 is positive, meaning you have more promoters than detractors. Above 20 is favorable, above 50 is excellent, and above 70 is world-class. The most meaningful comparison is against your own industry. A +30 in telecommunications is strong, while a +30 in SaaS is average.

How often should I measure NPS?

Most companies measure NPS quarterly for relationship tracking and continuously for transactional feedback. Quarterly surveys capture overall brand sentiment, while post-interaction NPS (sometimes called tNPS) identifies specific touchpoints that help or hurt loyalty.

How does customer support affect NPS?

Support interactions have a disproportionate impact on NPS. A customer who has a frustrating support experience is far more likely to become a detractor than a customer who never needs support is to become a promoter. That is why metrics like first contact resolution, AHT, and CES are direct levers for NPS improvement.

Can AI improve NPS even for complex issues?

Yes. Even when AI cannot fully resolve a complex issue, it improves NPS by providing instant initial responses, collecting context before handoff, and ensuring the customer never repeats their story. The combination of AI-first resolution and intelligent escalation creates a better experience than human-only support.

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