---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-service-management
Release :
- australia
ft:locale :
- en-US
ft:publication_title :
- Australia IT Service Management
ft:clusterId :
- itsm
bundleId :
- itsm
workflow :
- Technology
---
# Request cancellation
# Request cancellation workflow {#ariaid-title1}
Release version: Australia
Updated September 25, 2026
 2 minutes to read
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## Summary of Request cancellation workflow
The Request cancellation workflow in ServiceNow's Australia release automates the cancellation of catalog requests created by the L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist when an incident is escalated to a human agent.
This process prevents unnecessary fulfillment work and reduces duplicate efforts by ensuring that inappropriate or unwanted catalog requests are promptly closed.
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## Key Features
* **Automatic cancellation on escalation:** Any escalation of an incident to a human agent triggers the automatic cancellation of any pending or submitted catalog requests created by the L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist for that incident.
* **Cancellation process:** The system closes all relevant request items by marking them as *Closed Incomplete* and posts customer-facing notes explaining the cancellation reason.
* **Requester-triggered escalation:** Requesters can initiate escalation by commenting on the incident (e.g., indicating the request is incorrect), which leads to cancellation and notification, enabling a straightforward way to correct mistakes without complex procedures.
* **Monitoring cancellations:** A performance dashboard tracks the cancellation rate of requests submitted by the AI Specialist. High cancellation rates can highlight issues such as incorrect catalog item matching, unclear descriptions, or ineffective variable collection.
## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
* Reduces wasted effort on processing inappropriate or incorrect catalog requests, improving operational efficiency.
* Provides transparency and communication to requesters by notifying them when their requests are cancelled and why.
* Enables IT teams to identify and address catalog item or configuration issues through cancellation rate monitoring.
* Improves user experience by allowing simple escalation and correction workflows without navigating complex administrative steps.
## Example
When a requester adds a negative comment like "It did not resolve my issue," the incident state changes from *On Hold* to *In Progress* . If this comment causes escalation to a human agent, the linked catalog request is automatically cancelled with its state set to *Closed Incomplete*, ensuring no further fulfillment work is done on that request.
When an incident is escalated to a human agent, the L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist automatically cancels any catalog request it created for that incident, to prevent unnecessary fulfillment work.
## Automatic cancellation on escalation {#catalog-request-cancellation-l1-sd-ai-spec__cancellation-overview}
Requesters sometimes realize after submission that a catalog request drafted or submitted by the L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist is not what they actually need. If the incident is escalated to a human agent for any reason, the L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist automatically cancels any catalog request it created for that incident. This helps prevent unnecessary fulfillment effort and reduce duplicate work.
## How cancellation works {#catalog-request-cancellation-l1-sd-ai-spec__how-cancellation-works}
Cancellation is triggered by escalation to a human agent, not directly by the comment itself. Any escalation, for any reason, cancels the L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist's pending or submitted catalog request. When cancellation happens, the system:
* Closes any request items the L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist created for the incident that aren't already closed, setting them to Closed Incomplete
* Posts a customer-facing note on each cancelled request explaining why it was cancelled
## Monitoring cancellations {#catalog-request-cancellation-l1-sd-ai-spec__cancellation-metrics}
The performance dashboard tracks the cancellation rate: the percentage of requests submitted by the L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist that are later cancelled by the requester. A high cancellation rate may indicate that:
* The L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist is matching incidents to the wrong catalog items
* Catalog item descriptions or variables are unclear to requesters
* The variable collection process is not capturing the requester's actual needs
When you identify patterns in cancellations, review your L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist catalog matching configuration and consider updating catalog item details or variable wording to reduce future mismatches.
## Requester experience {#catalog-request-cancellation-l1-sd-ai-spec__requester-experience}
A requester's comment can trigger escalation: for example, if they indicate the request is wrong. If that happens, any catalog request the L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist created for that incident is cancelled and the requester is notified. This gives requesters a simple, natural way to correct a mistake without having to navigate
administrative workflows.
## Example: catalog request cancellation {#catalog-request-cancellation-l1-sd-ai-spec__cancellation-example}
The following example illustrates the state changes for an incident-linked catalog request when a requester adds a negative comment.
When the requester adds a comment such as "It did not resolve my issue" to the incident, the incident state changes from On Hold to In Progress. If that comment results in the incident being escalated to a human agent, the linked request is cancelled and its state changes to Closed Incomplete.