Exploring Virtual Agent API

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

    The ServiceNow® Virtual Agent API is a REST API designed to facilitate the integration of any chat interface or bot with ServiceNow's Virtual Agent and Agent Chat. This API is available from the ServiceNow® Store and allows developers and admins to leverage Virtual Agent in two main configurations: as a standalone bot or as a secondary bot within a multi-bot environment.

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    Key Features

    • Standalone Bot: Integrate Virtual Agent with enterprise systems or third-party chat interfaces, enabling user interaction through various channels.
    • Secondary Bot: Function alongside a primary bot, managing specific user requests, like service tickets, while communicating through the primary bot.
    • Server-to-Server Integrations: Capable of creating integrations that do not require specific control transformations.
    • Supported Features: Integrate many features from Virtual Agent and Agent Chat, with availability depending on your ServiceNow release and API version.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing the Virtual Agent API, ServiceNow customers can enhance their chat environments, allowing for seamless interactions between users and various bots. Customers should be aware of limitations such as the inability to brand chats through this integration and that Now Assist capabilities are limited to asynchronous mode. For detailed technical specifications, refer to the Virtual Agent Bot Integration API documentation.

    Use the ServiceNow® Virtual Agent API app to integrate any chat interface or a bot with ServiceNow® Virtual Agent or Agent Chat. The app is available from the ServiceNow® Store.

    Overview of the Virtual Agent API

    The Virtual Agent API is a REST API. This API is built on the conversational custom chat integration framework that is provided with Virtual Agent starting in the Paris release. The API enables ServiceNow developers, advanced users, and admins to use Virtual Agent in either of the following ways:

    Standalone bot
    Use Virtual Agent as a standalone bot that you integrate with enterprise or with any other third-party chat interface that supports conversational interfaces.

    Your end users can interact with the Virtual Agent and Agent Chat through multiple channels by using this integration.

    Secondary bot
    Use Virtual Agent as a secondary bot in an environment that has multiple, specialized bots managed by a primary bot.

    In this scenario, a primary bot manages communication with secondary bots on behalf of the end user. A primary bot could be IBM Watson Assistant or a homegrown primary bot.

    Your secondary bots, such as the ServiceNow bot, might handle specific types of end-user requests, such as service tickets or reservations.

    The Virtual Agent API is useful for creating server-to-server integrations. However, for integrations that require the transformation of unsupported controls that must be rendered in your existing chat interface, consider using the Custom Chat Integration Framework.

    For information about features such as the URL format and the supported request and response parameters in the Virtual Agent API, see Virtual Agent Bot Integration API.

    Video link to Virtual Agent Academy. Augment your experiences with the Virtual Agent API (Virtual Agent Academy video)

    How the Virtual Agent API works

    The following diagram shows how the REST API processes user input from a third-party chat interface or a primary bot, and then generates a bot response.
    1. The user provides input to a primary bot or third-party chat interface.
    2. The bot sends a POST request JSON to the inbound REST endpoint (via scripted REST API).
    3. The ServiceNow AI Platform authenticates and processes the request, which is sent to Virtual Agent or a live agent.
    4. The ServiceNow AI Platform sends a POST response JSON from the outbound REST endpoint (via REST API) back to the bot.
    5. The primary bot or third-party chat interfaces displays the response to the user.
    Figure 1. Inbound and outbound REST endpoints in the Virtual Agent API
    Diagram that shows how the REST endpoints in the Virtual Agent API handle user input and authentication and bot response and authentication.

    To see a demonstration of the Virtual Agent API and an FAQ, see Getting Started with Virtual Agent APIs on the Community site.

    Limitations

    The Virtual Agent API does not support the following features:
    • Chat branding through this Virtual Agent API integration.
    • Now Assist capabilities are supported only in asynchronous mode.