--- sourceDocument: Brazil Conversational Interfaces sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/conversational-interfaces Release : - brazil ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Brazil Conversational Interfaces ft:clusterId : - convint bundleId : - convint workflow : - Platform --- # Work assignments # Work assignments {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Brazil Updated September 10, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 4 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 Work Assignments Advanced Work Assignment (AWA) in ServiceNow Brazil release automates routing work items to the most qualified agents based on configurable assignment criteria. It enhances efficiency by pushing tasks to agents considering capacity, assignment recency, and skills, ensuring optimal workload distribution and expertise matching within service channels. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Assignment Rules:** Choose between two main rules---**Most Capacity** , which assigns work to agents with the greatest availability, and **Last Assigned**, which assigns work to agents who have waited longest without a new assignment. * **Agent Interaction Options:** Configure whether agents can reject work items, automatically accept chat interactions, and set timers for accepting or rejecting assignments. * **Skill-Based Assignment:** Enable skill matching to assign work items to agents with the appropriate skills. Options include evaluating skill levels and enforcing mandatory skills to ensure agents meet required expertise thresholds. * **Eligibility and Capacity Management:** AWA dynamically determines eligible agents based on presence, assignment rules, and skill requirements, accounting for spare capacity created by completed, declined, or transferred work. ## How Work Assignment Operates * AWA selects work items from the highest priority queues, including items that have timed out or were previously rejected. * It identifies eligible agents considering presence, assignment rules, and skills. * The system pushes the work item to the most qualified agent's inbox, starting a timer for acceptance or rejection unless auto-accept is enabled. * Skill evaluation prioritizes agents with the greatest number of matching skills and sufficient skill levels, with mandatory skill enforcement filtering assignments to only qualified agents. ## Skill-Based Assignment Setup * Define and assign specific skills to agents via Skills Management. * Add skilled agents to assignment groups linked to relevant work queues. * Create assignment rules in AWA to enable skill handling, including options for skill level evaluation and mandatory skill enforcement. * Configure routing conditions on queues and scripted business rules to associate skills with service channels and work item tables. ## Benefits for ServiceNow Customers By leveraging AWA, customers can ensure work items are assigned efficiently to the right agents, balancing workloads and enhancing service quality. Skill-based routing increases resolution effectiveness by matching expertise to task requirements, while flexible assignment rules and agent interaction settings provide control over workflow automation and agent experience. After routing work items to the appropriate queues and corresponding agent groups, Advanced Work Assignment (AWA) pushes work to the most qualified agent using the assignment criteria that you specify. Assignment criteria revolve around the type of assignment rule (most capacity or last assigned) and whether skills are defined. Administrators can choose to push work items to agents based on one of these assignment rules: * Most capacity: This option pushes work to agents that have the most capacity (availability for work) for a given channel. For example, suppose that two available agents, Agent 1 and Agent 2 have different capacities. Agent 1 has capacity for three chats, but Agent 2 has capacity for two chats and is currently working on one chat. AWA assigns the next work item to Agent 1 with the most capacity. * Last assigned: This option pushes work to the agent who has gone the longest without a work assignment in the service channel. If more than one agent has the same spare capacity in a service channel, AWA creates and assigns the next work item to the agent who has gone the longest without work in the service channel. {#awa-assignment__ul_twr_x5t_cgb} In addition to selecting the assignment rule, AWA admins can also determine whether: * Agents can reject work items. * Agents automatically accept chat interactions. * A timer is used to set a timeout period (the length of time that an agent has to reject or accept a work item). * Agent skills are to be considered during assignment. {#awa-assignment__ul_gqc_g1p_dgb} ## Assignment process {#awa-assignment__section_qxl_kcp_dgb} When an agent is available, AWA: * Checks the queue priority and gets an item from the queue with the highest priority. AWA also reviews items that have timed out or have been rejected by agents. * Identifies the eligible assignment pool. The eligibility assignment pool widens the group of agents who are eligible to work on an item. * Determines the available agents based on their presence state, the assignment rule selected (most capacity or last assigned), and also skills, if defined. Agents have spare capacity when they decline, transfer, or complete a work item. For example, after an agent transfers a chat, the agent has additional capacity. * Pushes the item to the inbox of the most qualified agent (the timer begins). * Accepts work items automatically when Enable auto-assign work items is selected. Agents are unable to manually Accept or Reject work items. {#awa-assignment__ul_hdp_gq4_dgb} ## Skill-based work assignment {#awa-assignment__section_v4n_ncp_dgb} In AWA, you can enable skill-based assignment and if needed, evaluate skill levels and make skill assignment mandatory (required). The basic process for setting up skills involves the following steps: 1. Identify agents that have specific skills (for example, a foreign language or expertise in a certain area such as network routers), and then assign the skills to those agents using the Skills Management feature. 2. Make the agents members of the assignment groups for the work item queues involving those skills. 3. Create an assignment rule in AWA that enables skill handling for the specific skills. If you chose to select the Evaluate skill level option while creating the assignment rule, AWA also reviews agents' skill levels prior to assigning the work item to the most qualified agent. If multiple agents have the same number of matching skills, agents with more skills at the sufficient skill level are prioritized over agents with fewer skills at the sufficient level. For example, a chat comes through listing three skills at a high skill level. Agent A and Agent B both have the three skills. Agent A has three skills with the following skill levels: two high and one low. Agent B has three skills with the following skill levels: one high and two low. In this example, Agent A would be the first assignee of the work item because they have more skills with the sufficient skill level than Agent B. Agent B would only be assigned this work item if Agent A rejected the work. AWA also prioritizes the number of matching skills over the number of skills with the sufficient skill level. For example, a chat comes through listing two skills and their sufficient skill levels: Both the English skill and the Databases skill are associated with an advanced skill level. Agent 1 has both skills but only at the beginner skill level. Agent 2 has only the English skill at the sufficient advanced skill level but doesn't have the Databases skill. In this example, the chat is routed to Agent 1 because this agent has both skills even though they aren't at the sufficient skill level. If you also chose to select the Enforce mandatory skills option while creating the assignment rule, AWA only assigns the work item to agents that have the mandatory skills at the sufficient skill level. For example, a work item with two high-level associated mandatory skills and one optional skill is ready for assignment. Agent C has all three skills but only one of the mandatory skills at the sufficient high skill level. Agent D has only the two mandatory skills, but both skills are at the sufficient high skill level. In this example, Agent D would be the only applicable work item assignee because they are the only agent with both mandatory skills at a high enough level. 4. Create the work item queue with a routing condition that includes the specific skill, and include the appropriate group in the eligible assignment pool. 5. Create a scripted business rule that includes the skill in the table associated with the relevant service channel (for example, the Case table). {#awa-assignment__ol_usr_m2p_dgb}During work assignment, AWA routes and assigns work items to the Agent Workspace inbox of the most qualified agent based on the agents skills and if applicable, skill level and mandatory skill settings.