--- sourceDocument: Australia Customer Service Management sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/customer-service-management Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia Customer Service Management ft:clusterId : - csm bundleId : - csm workflow : - Customer and Industry --- # Contextual side panel component # Contextual side panel component {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated October 19, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) 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 Contextual Side Panel Component The contextual side panel component is integrated within the Customer Service Management (CSM) centered chat interaction record page to support agents in researching and resolving customer issues efficiently. It offers multiple tabs and tools that streamline access to relevant resources, case details, and collaboration features directly within the agent workspace. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Recommended Actions Tab:** * Provides system-generated recommendations such as similar incidents and open cases. * Includes AI search functionality that delivers relevant knowledge articles and resources based on the interaction's short description or agent-entered keywords. * Offers Suggested Actions tailored to the context of the current record, including recommended field values and actions. * Requires the `sncsnbaction` application, included with the CSM Configurable Workspace. * **Related Lists Tab:** * Displays related records like Related Tasks, Recent Interactions, Open Cases, and Attachments in an expandable accordion format. * Shows the number of records available and presents them as cards for quick review. * **Attachments Tab:** Allows agents to view and download attachments related to cases. * **Templates Tab:** Provides access to form templates that agents can apply to automatically populate fields when creating new records such as incidents or changes. * **Collaborate Component:** Facilitates communication between agents, stakeholders, and other users to gather information for case resolution. ## Search Sources and Guidance Actions Agents can perform specific actions on search results from various source types directly within the contextual side panel: * **Knowledge Base Articles:** Send or copy article links in chat, read articles, flag or mark articles as helpful. * **Cases:** Show or copy resolutions for resolved cases, link or open cases. * **Incidents, Problems, Requests:** Link or open corresponding records such as incidents, problems, or change requests. ## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers This component centralizes critical information and tools for customer service agents, reducing the need to switch contexts or applications. Agents can quickly find relevant knowledge, view related case details, apply templates, and collaborate---all of which contribute to faster, more accurate issue resolution and improved customer satisfaction. The contextual side panel component includes different tools that agents can use to research and resolve customer issues. The CSM centered chat interaction record page includes the contextual side panel component, which provides agents with the following functionality. {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__table_orh_5rr_m1c__entry__2} | Tab | Description | |-|-| | Recommended Actions | The Recommended Actions tab is available as the first tab in the contextual side panel. It includes a set of base system recommendations, such as similar incidents and similar open incidents. The Recommended Actions tab includes [AI search](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/UWM0QjcbCeJoatraA01~GQ "Enable agents to use AI search in Recommended Actions to find relevant resources or resolutions for customer issues.") functionality and Suggested Actions. * AI search tab: Agents can use AI search to find relevant resources or resolutions for customer issues. The search feature displays an initial set of search results based on the text in the interaction short description. This initial set of results includes knowledge articles. Agents can also enter different search keywords and repeat the search. From the list of search results, agents can select a source to see search results of that type. For more information, see Search sources and guidance actions. For all the other source types, the default guidance is supported. The default guidance for search results is a guidance that can be used for any search sources that don't have mapped guidances. For more information on default guidance, see [Default guidance for search results](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/XQ3uXy4wCArJ1mltL3cyrg "The Default guidance for search results is a guidance that can be used for any search sources that don't have mapped guidances."). For more information, see the following topics: * [Enable AI search in Recommended Actions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/_wCHQCaexxMakpoEPqXp6w "As an admin, you can enable the Recommended Actions - AI search on the Front-line case page, CSM default record page, and CSM Interaction page (for chat, video, walk-up, and email channels) by setting the hideAgentAssistShowRA UX page property to true.") * [Use AI search in Recommended Actions to resolve cases](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/u0Esp~S0V5nQlDa_3jKzfQ "As an agent, use AI search in Recommended Actions to help address customer issues and resolve cases quickly.") {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__ul_w3r_x3r_vfc} Note: Using Recommended Actions in the contextual side panel requires the [Recommended Actions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/cA8b_npAX5lBDlypG6_GVA "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 action to help customers and resolve their issues.") application (sn_cs_nb_action) which is included with the CSM Configurable Workspace application. * Suggested Actions tab: This tab displays relevant actions to agents based on a context of a record or recommend a value for a field. For more information on how to configure contexts so that relevant recommendations are displayed for the agents, see [Recommended Actions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/oDe1A6kmwaW3NTuDclw0_g "Use Recommended Actions to display relevant actions to agents based on a context of a record or recommend a value for a field."). {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__ul_c5h_3hf_cfc} | | Related Lists | Provides access to the interaction related lists. The CSM centered chat interaction record page incorporates related list functionality into the contextual side panel. These lists appear in an accordion format that agents can expand and collapse as needed. An indicator displays the number of records available in a related list. When expanded, the records in a related list are displayed in card format. The CSM centered chat interaction record page includes the following related lists: * Related Tasks * Recent Interactions * Open Cases {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__ul_gj2_l5q_ydc} | | Attachments | The Attachments tab provides access to case-related attachments. From this tab, agents can view and download attachments. | | Templates | The Templates tab provides access to available form templates which enable agents to automatically populate fields on new records. Agents can manually apply a template when creating a new record such as an incident or change. | | Collaborate | The Collaborate component enables agents to communicate with stakeholders and other users and gather information for case resolution. For more information, see [Collaborate component](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/j3NbkwLpbE8Ncva9nfkP9Q "Use the Collaborate component in CSM Configurable Workspace to communicate with stakeholders and gather information for case resolution."). | [Table 1. CSM centered chat interaction record page tabs in the contextual side panel] {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__table_orh_5rr_m1c} ## Search sources and guidance actions {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__section_udg_vmw_wkc} The following table shows the actions that an agent can perform on the search results of various source types:{#centered-chat-side-panel-component__table-csm-ws-rp-chat__entry__2} | Search sources | Guidance actions | |-|-| | Knowledge base article | * Send an article link in chat * Copy an article link to the article * Read an article * Flag * Mark an article as helpful {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__ul_vnw_xqv_bfc} | | Cases | * Show or copy a resolution for resolved cases * Link or open a case {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__ul_d4g_2rv_bfc} | | Incidents | * Link an incident * Open an incident {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__ul_kth_krv_bfc} | | Problems | * Link a problem * Open a problem {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__ul_m2y_mrv_bfc} | | Requests | * Link a change request * Open a change request {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__ul_s5g_4rv_bfc} | [Table 2. Search sources and guidance actions on the CSM centered chat interaction record page] {#centered-chat-side-panel-component__table-csm-ws-rp-chat}