Chat in CSM Omnichannel

[danielfranca]

Chat in ServiceNow CSM Omnichannel

Core concepts for delivering chat, including virtual agent with Now Assist, live support, engagement messenger and mobile.

Overview

This hub consolidates official ServiceNow resources across Product Docs, ServiceNow University (Now Learning), Best Practices (Now Create), and Community articles to help you plan, activate, and scale CSM chat from early adoption to measurable outcomes.

Chat in ServiceNow CSM: AI-led, customer-driven

Chat in ServiceNow Customer Service Management (CSM) enables real-time, conversational engagement that is deeply connected to case management, workflows, knowledge, and routing. Customers can start with guided conversations and move to live support when they need it without restarting the experience.

Virtual Agent provides the conversational framework across channels, enabling customers to interact through guided conversations before escalating to live support when needed. For a practical deep dive into how Now Assist enhances Virtual Agent , refer to this Community article by Fernando: Now Assist for CSM in Virtual Agent .

Advanced Work Assignment (AWA) ensures that when live support is required, conversations are routed efficiently to the right agent with full context.

Typical Interaction Flow

1. The customer starts a chat
2. Now Assist provides conversational guidance and answers
3. Information and intent are captured progressively
4. When the customer requests help or the scenario requires it, a live agent joins the conversation
5. The agent continues with full context and AI-generated insights

Omnichannel Context Preservation

Chat in CSM maintains conversation continuity across channels, ensuring customers and agents never lose context when switching between touchpoints:

• Seamless channel transitions - Customers can start a chat conversation on mobile and continue it later on the web portal without repeating information
• Persistent conversation history - All interactions, messages, and context are preserved regardless of which channel the customer uses
• Context-aware escalations - When conversations move from self-service to live agent support, the full interaction history travels with them, eliminating the need for customers to re-explain their situation

This omnichannel approach ensures that the customer's journey is continuous and connected, regardless of how they choose to engage with your service organization.

Chat Entry Points

🧑‍💻 ServiceNow Portal

Deliver chat through the ServiceNow-provided portal, supporting both Virtual Agent with Now Assist and direct connection to live agents. This is the primary self-service entry point, combining guided conversations with seamless escalation to human support when needed.

🌐 Third-party portals & websites (Engagement Messenger)

Embed chat directly into external websites and customer portals using Engagement Messenger, bringing conversational support to customers where they already are.

📱 Mobile apps

Extend chat to mobile experiences so customers can engage on the go, using the same conversations, routing logic, and workflows as web channels.

🧑‍💼 Agent experience

Agents manage live chat in a unified workspace where conversations, customer context, interaction history, and knowledge are available side by side.

• Chat and customer context in one workspace
• Role-based, configurable layouts
• Consistent experience across digital channels

Learning and Enablement Resources

1. Best Practices (Now Create)

• Virtual Agent – Starter Stories & Story Tests
• Virtual Agent Workshop 1: Identify & Define
• Virtual Agent Workshop 2: Design & Build

2. ServiceNow University (Now Learning)

• Virtual Agent Fundamentals

3. Product Documentation

• Omnichannel Communications with Customers
• Chat feature in CSM
• Set up Engagement Messenger

Happy implementing. Comment below for questions, additional assets, or to share your CSM Chat success stories.