Virtual Agent Topic blocks

[nityabans27]

Hi,
I am trying to access topic blocks in virtual agent through virtual agent designer in my Personal Developer Instance(PDI), but they are not available and visible to me. On the other hand when I am using Demo instance then they are visible like create an incident.
What could be a possible explaination for this?

[AyushKumarM · Accepted solution]

Hello @nityabans27 ,

I believe we cannot see them in PDIs but the same is not true for dedicated servicenow instances.
In dedicated instances they are available when we install the required plugins,


Please mark this as helpful if this helps in any way.

[Community Alums]

When you use your Personal Developer Instance (PDI), it usually comes with only the base Virtual Agent plugin installed (like com.glide.cs.chatbot).
But topic blocks like “Create an Incident,” “Get Help,” “Check My Requests,” etc. are actually part of additional demo content plugins or sample topics (for example:

• com.glide.cs.demo

• com.glide.cs.itSM

• com.glide.cs.hr)

These demo topics are not installed by default in PDIs to keep the instance lightweight.

On the other hand, ServiceNow demo instances or training instances are usually preloaded with these demo topic blocks so you can immediately see and test them.

1. Go to your PDI → System Definition → Plugins

2. Search for plugins like:

   • Virtual Agent Conversations for ITSM (com.glide.cs.itsm)

   • Virtual Agent Demo Topics (com.glide.cs.demo)

   • Any other VA topic pack that matches your area (HR, CSM, etc.)

3. Click Install (some may show “Request Plugin Activation” if it’s restricted, but many are free to install on PDIs).

---

After installing these, refresh Virtual Agent Designer, and you should see the topic blocks.

[AyushKumarM · Accepted solution]

Hello @nityabans27 ,

I believe we cannot see them in PDIs but the same is not true for dedicated servicenow instances.
In dedicated instances they are available when we install the required plugins,


Please mark this as helpful if this helps in any way.

[Dr Atul G- LNG · Accepted solution]

Hi @nityabans27 

That’s the expected behavior of Virtual Agent (VA) in a Personal Developer Instance (PDI), as VA in PDI comes with limited functionality and capabilities.