How to Configure Custom Intents for Issue Auto Resolution (IAR)

[Victor Chen]

Do you like the Issue Auto-Resolution (IAR) feature for the Virtual Agent, but wish it could support more topics? Now it's possible!

In the Utah release, custom intents for IAR enables customers to add intents beyond the ones that are supported by the out-of-box (OOB) IAR model. Such custom intents need to be added to a dedicated NLU model, separate from the NLU Model used in other applications like Virtual Agent. Follow the installation steps to create and publish an IAR specific model with your custom intents. 

Note: Installation of the system property requires MAINT role. Therefore customers requesting this feature will need to raise a NOW Support case so that the system property can be configured on the instance.

Instructions

Setup Steps for appending Custom Intents via VA/NLU Model intents

1. As a MAINT user, enable custom intents for ITSM-IAR by creating and setting below system property 
   • glide.nlu.model.purpose.iar.enable to true.  
2. Activating this system property will allow the 'NLU Model' field to be available on IAR Configuration page
3. Go to NLU Studio and create a new NLU Model created for Issue Auto Resolution. Note: NLU Studio is no longer accessible via the Navigator as of Vancouver. You can navigate to there by following this link: https://YOUR-INSTANCE.service-now.com/now/nav/ui/classic/params/target/%24nlu-studio.do   

   

4.  Once the model is created, create the needed custom intents and their utterances in the model manually. For customers that have implemented an NLU model for their Virtual Agent, simply use the same intents by importing them into the new model created for IAR. Be sure to train and publish the model. 
5.  To make the custom intents available for IAR, go to the Auto-Resolution Configuration page (Settings) and navigate to the 'Machine Learning Model' tab to set the NLU Model field. Select the NLU model by clicking on the NLU Model reference popup to select the model. Here only NLU Models created for Issue Auto Resolution will be available for selection. 

Note: In the Utah release, the drop-down list may show sysID or other random field. If you have only one IAR model, it will be the correct one.

6. Once the NLU Model value is set, the intents from the selected NLU Model will be available in the 'Intent to Topic Map' section's Auto-Resolution Intents drop down. In the related list, click "New", and then select the custom intents right below the list separator tagged 'MACHINE GENERATED'  

7. Select a virtual agent topic corresponding to the custom intent, and then click Submit. 

8. On the main IAR record, save the IAR configuration update. Be sure your desired IAR channel(s) is set to Active. 

Now when users raise incidents, when IAR is enabled and configured for such intents, the system will check for an intent to topic match, including the custom intents. If there is a matching intent, the IAR flow will trigger and the user will be able to resolve their issue via IAR.

 

Additional Information

Assumptions 

• As part of the IAR configuration, IAR out-of-box Model and its supported intents can co-exist with the custom NLU Model and intents that are set in the IAR configuration 
• The custom NLU Model and intents set in the IAR configuration page need to be separate from the NLU Model and intents used in Virtual Agent Designer. Customers with available tuned intents in their current NLU Model created for Virtual Agent, can use such intents to be imported into the NLU Model created for IAR.

View the original documentation: Issue Auto Resolution for ITSM Virtual Agent

[Conrad7]

Hi

Great feature well done

I have setup my IAR and custom Intents (Which is visible under Machine generated) however I cannot see all my VA topics to match those Intents to? (They are published) any idea?

I have figured it out seems that 

this needs to be enabled for the topic to be visible

Thank you

[alexw8686133720]

1. Accessing IAR Settings:

• Navigate to the Conversational Interfaces section in your service platform.
• Locate Issue Auto Resolution (IAR) settings. You might find it under Settings or by searching for "IAR."

2. Creating a Custom Intent:

• Within IAR settings, find the option to create a new intent. This might be labeled "New" or "Add Intent."
• Give your intent a clear and descriptive name that reflects the user query it addresses (e.g., "check_internet_connectivity").

3. Defining User Queries:

• In the intent configuration, specify the user phrases or sentences that would trigger this intent.
• Include relevant synonyms and variations to capture a broader range of user expressions (e.g., "internet not working," "can't connect to wifi," etc.).
• Gas Word Consideration: Here, you can strategically add gas words (less impactful words) to your list of user queries. Gas words help the system differentiate between similar intents and improve accuracy. For instance, you could include phrases like "having trouble," "experiencing issues," or "not working" alongside your core intent phrases.

4. Mapping the Intent to a Topic:

• Once you've defined user queries, link the intent to a relevant resolution topic within your system. This topic will provide the information or action needed to address the user's issue.

5. Training and Activation:

• After configuring your custom intent, save the changes.
• Initiate a training process for IAR to learn the new intent and its mapping.
• Finally, activate the custom intent within IAR settings.

[Charlotte Pakes]

Hi @Victor Chen , I'm really keen to try this out. I had the System Property updated on our Dev instance, but still unable to create a custom IAR NLU Model. I reached out to Support who've said this functionality is no longer available in Washington. Is that really the case? It would be such a shame if this has been withdrawn.

[Victor Chen]

@Charlotte Pakes - That is not the case. Please follow up with Support, our support team has provided additional guidance.

[Charlotte Pakes]

Brilliant, thank you. Yes, an SME for NLU has reached out to me and rejected the Case resolution so hoping to having it up and running soon. Thanks!

[Victor Chen]

@Charlotte Pakes - Hi, so to follow up, what I heard (and what you may have also heard through the Case) is that you need to create the intent in our legacy NLU Studio. This was replaced by NLU Workbench in Vancouver, hence why it "wasn't available". You can still access the NLU Studio via https://<your-instance>.service-now.com/now/nav/ui/classic/params/target/%24nlu-studio.do. Hope that works!