Universal Request versus Interaction Record

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Universal Request versus Interaction Record

    Universal Requests and Interaction Records (also known as New Call records) are tools used by agents across various departments to manage employee interactions and service requests. While both are created during agent interactions such as live chats or phone calls, they serve distinct purposes and are handled differently within the ServiceNow platform.

    Show full answer Show less

    Interaction Record

    An Interaction Record is a temporary record used by agents to document notes and determine next steps during real-time communication with an employee. It enables agents to:

    • Attach the interaction to an existing request, like an IT incident, HR case, or Universal Request.
    • Create a new department-specific ticket (e.g., IT incident or HR case).
    • Create a Universal Request and assign it to a Tier 1 agent or assignment group within a department.

    Interaction Records help agents capture initial details during live conversations, facilitating smooth handoffs when specialized expertise is required.

    Universal Request

    A Universal Request is a task record created from an Interaction Record when the issue needs to be escalated or transferred to another department, typically assigned to a Tier 1 group. It is a requester-facing record that:

    • Appears on the requester’s ticket list page, allowing visibility and tracking.
    • Supports cross-departmental ticket transfers and unified ticket views.
    • Acts as a parent record for child tickets like incidents (INC), HR cases (HRC), or custom tasks.
    • Enables cross-departmental SLA reporting and comprehensive tracking.

    Universal Requests provide a structured way to manage and escalate employee issues across departments efficiently.

    Key Differences

    • Purpose: Interaction Records are temporary and used during the initial interaction; Universal Requests are persistent task records for issue resolution or escalation.
    • Visibility: Universal Requests are visible to requesters; Interaction Records are not.
    • Task Type: Universal Requests are recognized task types with child records and reporting capabilities; Interaction Records are not task types.
    • Cross-Departmental Use: Universal Requests support cross-departmental ticket transfers and reporting; Interaction Records do not.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    ServiceNow customers can use Interaction Records to efficiently capture and document live employee interactions, enabling agents to assess whether to escalate or resolve issues immediately. When escalation or cross-departmental handling is required, Universal Requests provide a robust framework for transferring, tracking, and reporting on these tasks. This ensures seamless collaboration between departments and enhanced visibility for employees tracking their service requests.

    Universal requests and interaction records (New Call records) are created and used by agents of various departments. However, they differ in the way they are handled. The following information provides an overview of both the records and how they differ from each other.

    Interaction Record

    An Interaction Record or a New Call record is used by an agent to take notes and determine the next steps during a live chat or a phone call. From an Interaction Record, an agent can perform one of the following actions:
    • Attach the interaction to an existing request, such as an IT incident, an HR case, or a Universal Request.
    • Create a new department ticket, such as an IT incident or an HR case.
    • Create a Universal Request and assign it to a Tier 1 agent or assignment group in a specific department.
    Let's say an agent gets a live chat from a customer who is experiencing a technical problem. The agent documents the conversation in an interaction record and determines that the issue needs expertise of IT department. To ensure a seamless hand off, the agent creates an IT incident.

    Universal Request

    A Universal Request is created from an Interaction Record or New Call record when an agent determines that a new task record must be transferred to a different department by assigning it to a Tier 1 assignment group.

    Let's say an employee wants to find specific information about medical benefits on the company's self-service portal. The employee searches for information about medical benefits and finds no relevant catalog items. In this case, the employee can select Request help on the portal to create a universal request.

    The following table lists the high-level differences between an Interaction Record and a Universal Request.

    Table 1. Differences between Universal Request and Interaction Record
    Universal Request Interaction Record
    Universal Requests are task records used by Tier 1 agents to either resolve or escalate an employee issue through any channel. Interaction records are temporary records used by agents to capture initial interactions with an employee from a chat or phone call. The agent determines whether to create a new task record or add it to an existing record.
    Universal Requests are requester-facing records. The universal requests are listed on the requester's ticket list page. They can view the individual tickets in the standard ticket page. Interaction records are not requester-facing records.
    Universal Request is a task type that agents work on. Universal Request supports cross-departmental ticket transfers and a unified ticket page experience for the requester. Interaction record is not a task type.
    Universal Request is a task type that serves as a parent record for other records that are created as child records, such as INC, HRC, and custom task types. It is also used for all cross-departmental reporting. Interaction records cannot be used for cross-departmental SLA reporting.