Question: Trigger Virtual Agent API via Slack Mention & Return Now Assist Response Back to Slack

[Eric Park]

Summary
I’m currently exploring whether it is possible to trigger the ServiceNow Virtual Agent Bot API (sn_va_as_service) from Slack using an @mention, execute Now Assist (LLM/Generative) responses, and then post the generated output back into Slack.

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Current Setup / Context

• Platform: ServiceNow (Zurich / early Geneva)

• Features involved: Virtual Agent + Now Assist + AI Agent

• Verified: Now Assist works correctly in Employee Center

• Target channel: Slack

• Expected flow:

  1. Slack @BoT mention

  2. Custom Slack App → Virtual Agent API call

  3. Now Assist / VA Topic execution

  4. Generated response returned to Slack

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Initial Findings

• The VA Bot API creates a conversation session successfully

• However, unsure whether Now Assist responses are returned as:

  • REST callback,

  • conversation stream,

  • or polling-style subscription

• Slack VA appears to be Topic-driven, and LLM/Now Assist responses seem limited in Slack compared to Employee Center

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Questions

1. Is the architecture below officially supported?
   Slack → Custom App → Virtual Agent Bot API → Now Assist → Slack

2. When using the VA Bot API:

   • Does the response return directly in REST?

   • or stream/polling conversation?

   • If documented, could you share references?

3. Can Slack trigger Now Assist / RAG / Generative AI / AI Agent,
   not only VA Topics?

4. Is there an official plan or roadmap for LLM-enabled Slack channel support?

5. Are there any examples, best practices, KB articles, or community threads for similar implementations?

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Additional Info

• Reference APIs:

  • /api/sn_va_as_service/bot/integration

  • Virtual Agent Bot API docs

  • Now Assist in Virtual Agent

Purpose is for customer PoC/demo and to validate whether Slack can provide a comparable experience to Employee Center using Now Assist.

Thanks in advance!