Advanced Work Assignment in ServiceNow CSM
An overview of Advanced Work Assignment and its role in omnichannel routing for Customer Service Management.
Overview
In an omnichannel customer service model, work can arrive through many channels, such as email, chat, messaging, or phone. ServiceNow Customer Service Management uses Advanced Work Assignment (AWA) to intelligently route this work to the right agent, regardless of channel.
AWA acts as the central routing capability for omnichannel CSM. It continuously evaluates incoming work and assigns it to available agents based on predefined criteria, helping organizations deliver consistent, timely support while balancing agent workload.
All customer channels follow a consistent routing model, delivering a unified and consistent agent and customer experience.
What is Advanced Work Assignment
Advanced Work Assignment is ServiceNow automated work distribution capability. Instead of agents manually picking work from queues, AWA actively offers new work items to agents who are available and qualified to handle them.
AWA evaluates factors such as assignment group, agent availability, workload capacity, and skills to determine which agent should receive each piece of work. Once identified, the work item is presented to the agent directly in their workspace, where it can be worked immediately.
AWA in an omnichannel context
AWA is channel agnostic. It routes work the same way whether it originates from email, chat, messaging apps, or phone related interactions represented within ServiceNow. This allows organizations to manage customer service work through a single, consistent routing mechanism.
Because all channels flow through the same assignment framework, agents can work across channels from one workspace while maintaining full customer context. Conversations can move from automated experiences to live agents or from one channel to another without losing history or information.
Advanced Work Assignment can also be used alongside contact center integrations. In these scenarios, voice routing is handled by the contact center platform. For more information, see the ServiceNow Contact Center Integration Framework article.
How AWA routes work
When new work enters ServiceNow, Advanced Work Assignment evaluates it against routing rules and queues defined by the organization. Each queue represents a category of work and is typically associated with a specific agent group, such as a product team, region, or support tier.
AWA continuously monitors agent availability and workload. It considers factors such as whether an agent is available, how much work they are already handling, and whether they belong to the appropriate assignment group. Based on these conditions, AWA identifies the most suitable agent to receive the work.
This evaluation happens in real time as work arrives and as agent availability changes. As a result, work is distributed dynamically, helping ensure that incoming requests are handled promptly while avoiding overloading individual agents. This approach supports fair workload distribution and consistent service delivery across all supported channels.
Channels supported by AWA
- Customer service cases
- Email originated work and interactions
- Live chat and virtual agent escalations
- Messaging channels such as SMS and social messaging
- Phone related work represented within ServiceNow
Agent experience
Agents receive work through a unified inbox in ServiceNow Agent Workspace. When an item is routed by AWA, agents can begin working immediately.
Regardless of channel, agents see relevant customer information, interaction history, and related records in context.
Common use cases
- Assign email generated cases or email interactions to the appropriate agent or team
- Route live chat and messaging conversations to available agents
- Balance workload across agents during peak periods
- Support blended agents working across chat, messaging, email, and voice
- Apply consistent routing logic across all customer service channels
Additional resources
Best practices
- Advanced Work Assignment process guide
- Advanced Work Assignment starter stories
- Advanced Work Assignment process workshop presentation
Video
Documentation
