Configure vs. Code for ServiceNow CSM Customer Self-Service

Harriet Frankli

ServiceNow Customer Service Management (CSM) is designed to empower organizations to deliver better self-service through customer portals, configurable experiences, and a rich suite of AI features. One key aspect is the focus of configuration over customization to enable business users to make changes without writing code for a no-code experience and ensure upgrades are fast and reliable.

Faster Time to value

To meet evolving customer requirements, pre-built reference portals ship out the box for CSM and CRM Industry verticals. Capabilities also include a reuseable library of Configurable Portal Widgets that can be easily configured by a business user and the ability to embed Self-service capabilities on third-party websites.

Configuration Matters for Upgrades

Configuration in ServiceNow means making changes using the CSM app with an intuitive user interface, rather than altering the underlying code. This approach is especially valuable during upgrades. Since configurations don’t touch the baseline code, ServiceNow upgrades are implemented quickly and smoothly. In contrast, customizations that modify code could delay upgrades. By relying on configuration, organizations benefit from new features, security updates, and bug fixes with minimal disruption and effort.

Empower Business Users

ServiceNow CSM provides intuitive configuration capabilities that allow business users to set up and manage self-service features independently, without technical or coding expertise. Here’s how business users can leverage configuration:

Customer Portals: Leverage customer portals by activating reference portals or using the drag-and-drop designer to organize content and workflows.
Configurable Portal Widgets: Define behavior, appearance, and data sources directly from the web page’s Configurable Portal Widget instance ensuring rapid configuration and branding.
Service Catalog and Knowledge Management: Add Service Catalog items, knowledge articles, and categories through simple configuration screens.
Conversational Appointment Booking and Walk-up Experience: Enable and configure appointment types, booking rules, and walk-up processes using built-in settings.
Engagement Messenger: Configure Engagement Messenger to launch customer self-service capabilities on your organization’s website. This includes such features as Now Assist in Virtual Agent, chat, case management, AI search, and more.
Omnichannel Communication: Set up Virtual Agent, chat, callbacks, and other channels through guided administrative experiences.

Elevate Self-Service with AI-Powered Conversations

Now Assist in Virtual Agent brings AI to every self-service touchpoint in CSM, making setup and ongoing management easy for business users:

Ease of Setup: Now Assist is designed for rapid configuration, with guided setup and built-in guardrails. Business users can enable and govern virtual agent capabilities without technical expertise, reducing implementation and maintenance effort.
Customer Portals & Widgets: Now Assist integrates seamlessly into Customer Portals, Engagement Messenger, and third-party messaging channels. Customers interact with intelligent assistants that answer questions, route issues, and trigger actions—all powered by AI.
Multi-Turn Q&A Value: The Virtual Agent supports dynamic, multi-turn conversations, allowing customers to ask follow-up questions, switch topics, and receive context-aware answers. This conversational flow feels natural, synthesizes information from trusted knowledge sources, and resolves issues faster—often without live agent intervention.
Self-Service Features: Customers can request catalog items, access knowledge, book appointments, and more using natural language. Sensitive topics are automatically redirected to live agents, ensuring appropriate handling.
Business User Benefits: Multi-turn Q&A deflects Tier 1 support volume, shortens time-to-resolution, and delivers consistent, actionable answers. Business users benefit from reduced manual effort, improved documentation consistency, and increased satisfaction due to AI-driven, conversational support.
Multilingual and Contextual Support: Virtual Agent understands and responds in multiple languages, with context-aware answers

Configuration in ServiceNow CSM delivers a balance of flexibility, speed, and ease of use. It empowers business users to configure and leverage out of the box portals and self-service features quickly, keep upgrades simple and reliable, and reduce dependency on technical resources. While customization may be needed for organization specific requirements or advanced scenarios, configuration offers a powerful, scalable approach for most organizations seeking to maximize value.