Summarize internal collaboration threads to keep agents aligned and cases moving forward
Sidebar Discussion Summarization is a generative AI skill that captures the essence of internal discussions between customer service agents and subject matter experts in the case sidebar. These conversations happen outside the customer’s view and are used to share insights, troubleshoot issues, or coordinate next steps. The skill produces a concise recap of these internal exchanges so agents can quickly understand decisions made and actions required without reading the full thread.
Key Capabilities
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Summarizes internal collaboration
Reviews sidebar discussions to surface the most important points, decisions, and follow-up actions for the agent team. -
Context-aware
Uses the entire thread to ensure summaries reflect the flow of the conversation and capture relevant case details. -
Keeps agents in sync
Helps new or reassigned agents get up to speed quickly without rereading long sidebar exchanges or unnecessarily routing Cases. -
Feedback-enabled
Agents can rate the summary to help improve accuracy and usefulness over time.
Implementation
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Activate the Now Assist for CSM plugin.
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Enable the Sidebar Discussion Summarization skill in the Now Assist Admin Console
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Ensure the CSM Configurable Workspace includes the sidebar component where agents collaborate internally.
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Assign the skill to the appropriate internal roles (for example,
sn_customerservice_agent) - Use Sidebar Discussion Summarization
Key Best Practices
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Use after multi-agent or SME collaboration to capture and share agreed decisions.
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Review summaries before closing or escalating a case to ensure no key points are missed.
- Train your agents to not only use Sidebar for teams validation before routing but also to leverage its /summarize quick action in the chat as needed
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Integrate with MS Teams for better results and adoption
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Monitor agent feedback to refine summary usefulness and coverage.
Formal Learning
Now Learning: Now Assist for CSM Essentials Path
Measured Success and Outcomes
|
Outcome |
Value to Agents |
Key Metric |
|---|---|---|
|
Faster agent handoffs |
New agents understand case history without reading every post |
Average ramp-up time on reassigned cases |
|
Improved team alignment |
Reduces miscommunication and duplicated effort |
% of cases with sidebar summary viewed |
|
Better decision tracking |
Ensures internal agreements are captured and actionable |
Reduction in missed follow-up tasks or incorrect routing |
|
More efficient note-taking |
Saves time compared to manual recap of conversations |
Agent time saved per case |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can see the sidebar and its summary?
Only agents and internal collaborators with access to the case workspace and the sidebar component. Customers or requesters never see sidebar content.
Does this replace manual note-taking for collaboration?
It can significantly reduce the need for manual recaps, but agents should still validate the summary for completeness.
Can it be used across teams?
Yes, as long as those teams have access to the same workspace and case records.
How is accuracy improved?
By collecting agent feedback and making skill adjustments through cloning or configuration changes in Now Assist Skill Kit and Now Assist Admin console.
