Virtual Agent chat not routing to Live Agent even though agents were Available

[Sirri]

Hello Experts,

I am troubleshooting a routing issue where a Virtual Agent chat did not reach any live agent, even though multiple agents were shown as Available on the Chat channel at that time.

Issue Summary:
I would like to understand whether there is any configuration that restricts each live agent to handling only one chat at a time. For example, if there are 3 live agents, and each agent is already handling 1 active chat, will a 4th user’s chat fail to route to any live agent?

If this behavior is expected, could you please confirm where this limit is configured (e.g., AWA capacity settings, work item concurrency, or chat capacity)?

Additionally, I would like to understand other scenarios in which a Virtual Agent escalation to a live agent might not route, even when agents appear Available.

Your guidance on the relevant configuration areas and possible routing failure scenarios would be greatly appreciated.

[GlideFather]

@Sirri 
That's difficult to tell, is it just the one and only user or some more?

[Juhi Poddar]

Hello @Sirri 

Yes, this situation can occur depending on the Advanced Work Assignment (AWA) capacity configuration.

In the Chat Service Channel, the Default capacity and Default work item size determine how many chats an agent can handle concurrently. For example, if the Default work item size = 1 and Default capacity = 2, an agent can handle up to 2 simultaneous chats.

If the capacity is already consumed (for example, all agents are already handling chats and their capacity is fully utilized), then additional chats may not be routed to those agents even if their presence shows Available.

You may want to review the following configurations:

• ALL -> Advanced Work Assignment → Service Channels → Chat
• Default capacity and Default work item size
• Agent capacity overrides (if configured)
• Assigment rules and chat queue

These settings control how many chats an agent can receive at the same time and could explain why the escalation did not route to a live agent.

Note: You may also find it helpful to go through the ServiceNow University video that explains the complete AWA and Chat configuration steps: Agent chat

Hope this helps!

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Thank You
Juhi Poddar

[Sirri]

@Juhi Poddar ,

We observed an instance where an interaction did not route to any live agent despite apparent available capacity and availability.

Environment/Settings

• Default work item size: 1
• Default capacity: 50

Agent Availability at the time

• Live agents online: 3
• None of the agents had ≥5 active interactions at that time.

Interaction Details (UK time):

• Chat opened: 2026‑03‑04 12:09:51
• System auto-closed (Abandoned): 2026‑03‑04 14:52:01
• Outcome: Closed – Abandoned by system (no assignment to a live agent)

Customer Concern
The customer has raised a concern that this interaction did not reach a live agent even though agents appeared Available and capacity should have allowed assignment.

Please share your thoughts what was the reason you can think apart from this.

Thank you