Exploring Agent Chat

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Exploring Agent Chat

    Agent Chat facilitates direct communication between live agents and end users through chat. Initially, users engage with a virtual chat powered by AI and can request to connect with a live agent for further assistance. Agents can create incident or case records, transfer chats, and utilize a persistent chat widget available on any portal page. Assignment rules can be established to ensure chats are directed to the most suitable agent based on their skills and availability.

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    Key Features

    • Agent Whisper: Allows agents and chat managers to converse without the requester’s knowledge.
    • Chat Surveys: Collects valuable information from users via conversational questionnaires, enhancing the chat experience.
    • Chat Transcript Downloads: Enables requesters to download transcripts of their conversations with agents.
    • Dynamic Translation: Supports conversations in multiple languages to cater to diverse requesters.
    • Agent-Initiated Messaging: Agents can start conversations with requesters on their preferred messaging platforms.
    • Advanced Work Assignment (AWA): Routes chat requests based on agent availability, expertise, and queue length.
    • Link Unfurling: Displays previews of links shared during conversations for improved context.
    • Cross-Channel Insights: Agents can access conversation history and sentiment analysis in real-time during chats.

    Key Outcomes

    By implementing Agent Chat, organizations can enhance user satisfaction through effective communication, streamline their support process, and provide responsive service tailored to individual needs. The integration of AI and feedback mechanisms ensures continuous improvement and adaptability in service delivery.

    Agent Chat enables live agents to interact directly with end users through chat. Your end users can chat with a live agent to ask questions and receive information.

    Agent Chat overview

    The chat system starts with virtual chat, which is an autonomous chat powered by artificial intelligence. The requester can then ask to chat with a live agent using Agent Chat. Using Agent Chat, agents can communicate with requesters, create incident or case records, or transfer chats to another agent or queue.

    Agent Chat uses a persistent widget for chat conversations on any portal page of the portal that you're using. You can establish assignment rules to enable chat conversations to reach the best agent available who has the capacity and skills to handle the job or the agent can transfer the chat to another agent. Agents can use response templates to enable reusable, consistent messages to requesters.

    Virtual chat conducts a survey before and after the Agent Chat. The pre-survey gets preliminary information about the requester to aid in the chat session. The post-chat survey gets feedback on the requester's satisfaction with the agent who helped.

    Note:
    Starting with the Quebec release, legacy Agent Workspace is no longer deployed, enhanced, or supported. For details, see the Deprecation Process [KB0867184] article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.

    Agent Chat benefits

    Benefit Feature Users
    Agents and chat managers have a conversation without the requester knowing. Agent Whisper Agents, chat managers
    Gather important information from end users through conversational questionnaires. Chat surveys Agents
    Download a transcript of the conversation between the agent and the requester. Chat transcript downloads for requesters Requester
    Carry out a conversation in another language. Dynamic Translation for Agent Chat overview Agent, requester
    Initiate conversations with requesters on a messaging app of the requester's choice. Agent-Initiated Messaging Interface Agent, requester
    Read a summarization of the chat (this is available only if you have Now Assist installed). Agent

    Routing chats

    Requesters start chats with virtual chat. When they request to chat with a live agent on Agent Chat, their request goes into a queue controlled by Advanced Work Assignment (AWA), which routes chats to different agents based on availability, queue length, and expertise.

    Unfurling links

    If an agent or requester enters a link during an Agent Chat conversation, the links are "unfurled" or displayed with a preview of the website's content. Links in Agent Chat conversations are unfurled in the same manner as Virtual Agent. For more information, see Using link unfurling in Virtual Agent.

    Cross-channel conversation history and cross-channel message-level sentiment

    Agents can see cross-channel conversation history and cross-channel message-level sentiment in real time when an agent is having a live conversation with a requester in the chat panel in Agent Chat. For more information, see .