Troubleshoot issues with Topic Recommendations

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Troubleshoot issues with Topic Recommendations

    This guide provides troubleshooting steps for resolving issues with Topic Recommendations in ServiceNow. It covers common problems and their solutions to ensure a smooth experience when using the Topic Recommendations feature.

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    Key Features

    • Model Training: Topic Recommendations trains models when new topics are added to the Virtual Agent. If an error occurs, the topic is still added, but the model remains in draft state.
    • Error Logging: Users can check the error log for details on issues when adding topics, helping to identify specific problems.
    • Analysis Reports: These reports help evaluate the performance of the recommendations, though they are only available in one instance at a time.

    Key Outcomes

    • Blank Topic Recommendations Page: Configure an analysis report or activate ITSM Virtual Agent Conversations for default setups.
    • Errors Adding Topics: Check the system log for error details. The system will continue to add recommendations despite training errors.
    • Long Topic Addition Times: Monitor the status in the topic staging list and system logs to identify delays in the process.
    • Report Generation Limits: Recognize that a minimum of 10,000 and a maximum of 300,000 records are required for report generation.
    • Model Selection for Upgrades: Users upgrading from Quebec must manually select a model for Topic Recommendations to function correctly.
    • Unlinked Topics: Linking is optional; it acknowledges existing topics without requiring all recommendations to be linked.
    • Missing VA Handling Tab: Ensure the system property glide.ui.escapeallscript is set to True to display the necessary tab.

    Investigate and resolve unexpected behavior with Topic Recommendations, or find answers to common questions.

    For information about using Topic Recommendations, see Quick start for Topic Recommendations.

    Note:
    Topic Recommendations tries to train the model when you add new topics to Virtual Agent. If an error occurs during training, the topic is still added, but the model remains in a draft state.
    Issue Solution

    Topic Recommendations page is blank

    		 No analysis reports have been configured.

    Configure an analysis report. You can also install or activate ITSM Virtual Agent Conversations, which will add default configurations to Topic Recommendations. For more information, see Set up ITSM Virtual Agent.

    Error when adding topics to Virtual Agent

    		 Check the error log for details:
    1. Navigate to All > System Logs > System Log > Errors.
    2. Find the entry that has a value of sn_topic_recommend in the Source column.

      The Message field displays the error.

      Note:
      If model training fails while adding topics, Topic Recommendations will ignore those errors and continue to add your recommendations. In this case, you will be notified that the models are in draft state.
    Reports have intent matches, but no pre-built topic matches

    Make sure ITSM Virtual Agent Conversations is installed and activated for the instance. If the app is installed, then none of the pre-built topics address the issues found in your reports. For more information, see Set up ITSM Virtual Agent.
    Analysis reports are not available in production instances

    This is the expected behavior. Analysis reports and Intent Discovery are designed to live in one instance only. Added topics and NLU models are made available in a "new" instance, but the Topic Recommendations reports do not move between instances.
    Analysis report is stuck and says "Analysis in progress" Check the status in the Discovery Report Definitions table:
    1. Navigate to All > sn_nlu_discovery_report_definition.list.
    2. Sort the table on the Created column, and then find the name of the affected analysis definition.
    3. If the Status column is empty, the analysis failed. Try running it again.

    You can also navigate to NLU Workbench > Intent Discovery to see if something went wrong in the intent discovery process. For more information, see Intent Discovery.
    Adding new topics takes longer than expected Try the following:
    • Navigate to All > sn_topic_recommend_topic_staging.list and view the Status column to see what stage topic generation is in. Training models can take some time.
    • Navigate to All > System Logs > Events to see which event ran last or if the event is queued.
    • If the reason for failure is not clear, navigate to All > sn_topic_recommend_topic_staging.list and change the value of the Status field to Error. You can then try to add the recommendation again.
    Can't generate a report with less than 10,000 or more than 300,000 records

    Topic Recommendations currently supports a minimum of 10,000 records and a maximum of 300,000 records. This is done for performance and to ensure a statistically significant data set.
    Model is not preselected in the app

    If you are upgrading from Quebec and this is your use of the Topic Recommendations app, you must select a model. Once you select a model, Topic Recommendations preserves the selection.
    Unmigrated model support

    While you are encouraged to migrate your models to groups, Topic Recommendations does not require models to be grouped.
    Unlinked topics You don't have to link all recommendations. Topic linking is a way to "acknowledge" a recommendation if you have an existing topic.
    The Topics/Requests VA Can Handle tab is not displayed

    System property glide.ui.escape_all_script is not set to True.

    Navigate to ALL > sys_properties.list (or ALL sys_properties_list.do). Search for and select glide.ui.escape_all_script, then set its Value to True.