IT Service Management AI agent collection explain SLA agentic workflow

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated August 22, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of IT Service Management AI Agent Collection Explain SLA Agentic Workflow

    The Explain SLA agentic workflow in ServiceNow IT Service Management (ITSM) enables users to analyze Service Level Agreements (SLAs) related to tasks such as incidents, problems, cases, or change requests. It provides detailed insights into SLA assignment, task ownership, and pause/resume events affecting SLA duration. This workflow helps users understand SLA status before or after a breach occurs, supporting better task management and SLA adherence.

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    Key Features

    • SLA Identification: Automatically identifies the most critical SLA for a task, typically the one closest to breaching, based on SLA timer configurations.
    • Interactive Questioning: Suggests standard and custom questions to explore SLA details, including assignment, duration, ownership changes, and breach causes.
    • Insight into SLA Events: Tracks pause and resume events, reassignment patterns, and user/group involvement throughout the SLA lifecycle.
    • Manual Invocation: The workflow does not trigger automatically and must be manually invoked by users with the appropriate role (snuxcgenai.snaiaslaexplain).
    • AI Agent Integration: Uses an AI agent to generate detailed SLA explanations and respond interactively to user queries, accessible via the Now Assist panel.
    • Configuration and Customization: Workflow can be duplicated and modified as needed, with an emphasis on updating all related instructions when changes are made.

    Practical Use and Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Proactive SLA Management: Assigned users can monitor SLA progress, identify potential breaches early, and plan interventions to meet SLA timelines.
    • Post-Breach Analysis: Investigate causes of SLA breaches, analyze reassignment and ownership patterns, and identify factors contributing to delays.
    • Improved Task Handling: Use insights to optimize SLA configurations and create better assignment strategies for more effective service delivery.
    • User-Friendly Access: Easily access the workflow and AI agent via the Now Assist panel by entering task identifiers or relevant keywords.

    Getting Started

    • Access the workflow through AI Agent Studio by navigating to All > AI Agent Studio > Create and Manage > Explain SLA.
    • Enable the Now Assist panel icon for convenient access in the ServiceNow interface.
    • Utilize suggested or custom questions to query the AI agent for detailed SLA insights.
    • Ensure appropriate roles and permissions are assigned for workflow access and use.

    Use the explain SLA agentic workflow to analyze a Service Level Agreement (SLA) and gain insight into the SLA assignment, task ownership, and pause and resume events in the SLA duration for a task, such as an incident, problem, case, or change request.

    Explain SLA agentic workflow overview

    The explain SLA agentic workflow begins with identifying the most important SLA associated with a task. By default, the matched SLA is the SLA that would be breached first. However, a different SLA can also be identified based on your SLA timer configuration. The workflow then suggests a few standard questions about the identified SLA. Based on the questions asked, the workflow explains the SLA breakdown by assignment, SLA duration, and provides insight into the task ownership, reassignment, and causes for the SLA breach.

    The explain SLA agentic workflow can be used in the following scenarios:
    • Before an SLA is breached, assigned users can gain an insight into the time elapsed and potential for the SLA breach. The assigned user can track gaps with previous assignments and SLA ownership if the SLA breakdown shows multiple reassignments across teams and repeated pauses in the SLA. Based on requirements, the user can ask the agent questions to plan the handling of the incident or task in adherence to the SLA timelines.
    • After an SLA is breached, users or groups can investigate the possible causes of the breach, reassignment patterns, and users who were assigned for the longest duration. The agent can also provide information on the factors contributing to the SLA breach. Based on the information, the SLA can be monitored and configured for better handling of tasks, and improved assignment plans can be created.
    Note:
    The explain SLA agentic workflow doesn’t have a trigger and is invoked manually.

    To modify the explain SLA agentic workflow, duplicate it, and adjust the settings according to your requirements.

    Important:
    When you modify an agentic workflow, AI agent, or tool, make sure that you update all instructions accordingly.

    Explain SLA

    Autonomously generate an explanation for the SLA breakdown.

    Note:
    The workflow can be accessed by the sn_uxc_gen_ai.sn_aia_sla_explain role that is available as a part of the itil role.
    To access and configure the agentic workflow:
    1. Navigate to All > AI Agent Studio > Create and manage.
    2. Select Explain SLA.

    AI agent used in the explain SLA agentic workflow

    The explain SLA AI agent provides a list of suggested questions that you can ask the agent to get a detailed explanation about the SLA. You can also add custom questions regarding the SLA.

    The following SLA details can be traced by conversing with the agent:
    • Reason for choosing the SLA for the given task
    • SLA target and vendor values
    • If the SLA is likely to breach
    • Time elapsed for the SLA
    • Number of times the SLA has paused or resumed, and their details
    • User and group assignments for the SLA
    • SLA assignment and breach patterns

    Generating SLA information using the explain SLA agentic workflow

    In the agentic workflow record:
    1. Review the information in the Describe and connect screen and in the Define trigger screen, make the necessary updates, and then select Save and Continue.
    2. In the Select a UI display screen, turn on the Display option to add the icon for the Now Assist panel in the menu bar.
    3. Select Save and test.
    The AI agent executes the request for the agentic workflow.

    Example of the explain SLA agentic workflow output in the ServiceNow® AI Agent Studio

    Explain SLA agentic workflow output in AI Agent Studio.

    Access and use the explain SLA agentic workflow from the Now Assist panel.

    You can add a query using the change request number to use the AI agent. You can enter the number from the suggested questions, add keywords from the questions, or ask custom questions to the agent.

    For the query instruction, follow the steps specified in the List of steps field of the Define key requirements screen of the agentic workflow record.

    In the AI Agent Studio, the human agent gets notified as soon as a text message is generated so that they can follow the on-screen instructions and complete the task. For more information, see Request the generative AI capabilities in ITSM by using the Now Assist panel.