Configuring Recommended Actions

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated October 17, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of Configuring Recommended Actions

    The Recommended Actions application in ServiceNow enables agents to receive and take relevant, context-driven actions to efficiently resolve customer issues. Integrated with AI search and decision trees, it helps agents focus on critical call-to-actions directly within the workspace, such as the CSM Configurable Workspace. This functionality streamlines troubleshooting, improves resolution times, and enhances the customer support experience.

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    Key Features

    • Contextual Recommendations: Actions are tailored to the current record context, guiding agents to the most appropriate next steps.
    • Action Types: Includes guidance (e.g., attaching knowledge articles), guided decision trees (multi-step troubleshooting flows), field recommendations (e.g., suggesting assignment groups), and AI-powered search with relevant resource cards.
    • AI Search Integration: Provides unified, intelligent search results and proactive recommendations within the same interface, leveraging case context to improve relevance and speed resolution.
    • Flexible Access: Agents can access recommended actions through a contextual side panel or subtabs, enabling seamless workflow integration.
    • Configurable Ranking: Actions can be prioritized using configurable logic to highlight the most critical tasks first.

    Example Use Cases

    • Applying resolutions from similar solved cases.
    • Reassigning cases by recommending assignment groups.
    • Suggesting and attaching relevant knowledge articles.
    • Guiding agents through refund eligibility decision trees.

    Setup and Configuration

    Administrators need to perform several setup tasks to enable Recommended Actions:

    • Install the Recommended Actions application from the ServiceNow Store.
    • Assign appropriate roles to users to control access and capabilities.
    • Configure contexts, rules, and recommendations to define when and what actions appear.
    • Optional integration with Guided Decisions Experience application to create and embed decision trees for guided troubleshooting.

    Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Helps agents respond more effectively by providing contextual, prioritized actions.
    • Reduces time to resolution through AI-driven search and decision support.
    • Improves agent productivity by consolidating guidance and actions within a single interface.
    • Supports complex troubleshooting processes with configurable decision trees.

    Use the Recommended Actions application to display relevant actions to agents based on a context of a record or enable agents to perform an AI search to find relevant resources. Agents can quickly and easily take these actions to help customers and resolve their issues.

    Figure 1. Recommended Actions in CSM Configurable Workspace
    Recommended actions and Search tabs in the contextual side panel in CSM Configurable Workspace
    With Recommended Actions:
    • Provide agents with optimal action in a context of a record.
    • Enable agents to focus their attention to the critical call-to-action.
    • Allow agents to take an action in a contextual side panel or in a subtab.
    • Enable agents to work through a troubleshooting process and provide a resolution to customers.
    • Rank actions that agents can take based on a configurable logic.
    • Recommend a value for a field on a form.
    • Enable agents to use AI search to find the most relevant resources.

    Example scenarios of recommended actions implementation

    Use Recommended Actions to provide following recommendations:

    • Apply resolution from a solved case: Recommend agents to apply resolution from a similar solved case and then close the case.
    • Reassign case: Recommend a field value for the Assignment group field so that the case is assigned to the right team.
    • View and attach article: Recommend a Knowledge article relevant to the customer issue so that agents can view and attach article to the current case.
    • Review a refund request. Recommend a decision tree for agents to work through to determine if the customer is eligible for a refund.

    For end-to-end configurations of recommended actions for specific scenarios, see Example configurations of recommended actions.

    Action types for recommendations

    With the Recommended Actions application, you can create the following types of actions for agents to take. For more information, see Recommended Actions.
    Action type Description
    Guidance

    An action that an agent can take or information that they can share. For example, a guidance can recommend that an agent can attach a knowledge article in comment or work note or mail of a case or create a work order.

    Guided decision tree A guided flow to follow. A decision tree is a multi-step process that includes a series of questions and answers and results in guidance.
    Field recommendation A recommended value to use for a field. For example, this type of action can recommend the assignment group based on the text in the case short description.

    AI search

    Agents can enter their queries in the search bar to access AI-powered search results. The most relevant answers for the search query appear as genius result cards. Agents can take actions from the search cards directly to resolve an issue. For more information, see AI search in Recommended Actions.

    Benefits of AI search integration with Recommended Actions
    • Unified search and recommendations: This integration combines AI-driven search capabilities with proactive recommendations, providing a unified toolset for agents.
    • Contextual intelligence: The system leverages contextual data to deliver highly relevant search results and recommendations tailored to each case.
    • Proactive recommendations: Agents receive actionable suggestions to accelerate case resolution, based on real-time case context.
    • Seamless workflow: The integration streamlines the user workflow by providing access to search and recommendations within a single interface.

    Using recommended actions

    Agents can access recommended actions in a workspace such as CSM Configurable Workspace by selecting the Recommended Actions icon (Recommended Actions icon) in the contextual side panel. For more information, see Using the Recommended Actions application.

    Setting up recommended actions

    Set up the Recommended Actions application so that you can create actions of type guidance or field recommendation. Users with the admin role can complete the following setup tasks.
    Table 1. Steps to set up the Recommended actions application
    Setup task Description
    Install the Recommended Actions application Install the Recommended Actions application from the ServiceNow® Store.
    Assign roles to Recommended Actions users Assign roles to your users to control access to Recommended Actions features and information.
    Configuring the Recommended Actions application Configure recommended actions to create a context, rule, and recommendations with action types such as guidance and field recommendation.
    Note:
    The Guided Decisions application (sn_gd_core) is required to create guided decision trees.

    Integrating decision trees in recommended actions

    Optionally, set up the Guided Decisions Experience application so that you can create decision trees and then integrate them in recommended actions. Users with the admin role can complete the following setup tasks.
    Table 2. Steps to integrate decision trees in recommended actions
    Setup task Description
    Install the Guided Decisions Experience application Install the Guided Decisions Experience application from the ServiceNow® Store. This application enables you to configure decision trees that you can use as recommendations.
    Configuring decision trees Configure decision trees that agents can use to troubleshoot solutions for customer issues.
    Add Guided Decisions to Recommended Actions Add decision trees to recommended actions, so that agents can take relevant actions in a troubleshooting process based on a record context.

    Request apps from the ServiceNow Store

    Visit the ServiceNow Store website to view all the available apps and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.