Using link unfurling in Virtual Agent

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Using link unfurling in Virtual Agent

    Link unfurling in Virtual Agent enhances conversations by generating content-rich previews when supported links are shared in chat widgets, mobile devices, or various channels. These previews can include text, images, and videos, improving user engagement and information clarity during interactions with users, virtual agents, or text-based bots on the ServiceNow platform.

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    Note that link unfurling performance can be affected by external factors such as website availability, security policies, and response times. However, such delays do not disrupt the conversation flow or impact the user experience.

    Key Features

    • Support Criteria: Links are supported for unfurling if they meet all these conditions:
      • The host or domain is listed in the Hostname allow list table.
      • The link contains standard, compliant Open Graph (OG) tags (e.g., og:image) in the page header metadata.
      • The link is shared in a conversation with a user, virtual agent, or in a text-based bot response.
    • Platform Scope: These criteria apply specifically to the ServiceNow chat widget and mobile devices. Support and requirements may differ for other client platforms; customers should consult their specific client documentation.
    • Content Types Supported: The ServiceNow user interface supports image, video, and text-based OG tags. When both video and image tags are present, video takes precedence in the preview card.
    • Asynchronous Processing: The system fetches OG tag metadata asynchronously and generates card-based previews, with timing influenced by network and system performance.
    • Channel Variations: Supported OG tags may vary across communication channels such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Workplace from Facebook. Customers should review channel-specific documentation for details.
    • Customization: Administrators can add OG tags to ServiceNow UI pages to enable unfurling of internal links, following documented instructions.
    • Control: Link unfurling is enabled by default but can be disabled by setting the system property com.glide.cs.enablelinkunfurling to False.
    • Security and Governance: The Hostname allow list table (syscshostnameallowlist) is used to manage which hosts and domains are permitted for link unfurling, enabling admins to control the scope of content previews.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enhances user and agent conversations with rich previews, making link sharing more informative and engaging.
    • Improves clarity and context in virtual agent dialogs without disrupting conversation flow, even if link fetching is delayed.
    • Provides administrators with granular control over which external or internal domains can have link previews, ensuring compliance with security policies.
    • Supports multiple content types and adapts previews based on channel capabilities, offering a flexible user experience across platforms.
    • Enables customization of ServiceNow UI pages with OG tags to extend unfurling capabilities to internal links.

    Virtual Agent supports link unfurling on the chat widget, mobile devices, and various channels. Link unfurling generates a content-rich preview when a supported link is shared in a conversation with a user, a virtual agent, or in a text-based bot response.

    If the link is supported on the chat widget or channel, the generated content-rich previews can include text, images, and videos.
    Note:
    Factors such as website availability, security policies, or response time of the link you want to unfurl are unpredictable. As a result, link unfurling may be delayed or unavailable. However, these performance-related issues don’t impact the user and don't affect the conversation flow.

    How to determine if a link is supported

    The ServiceNow user interface currently supports link unfurling for OG tags only. A link is supported only if all the following conditions are met:
    • The host or domain is included in the Hostname allow list table.
    • The link uses standard, compliant Open Graph (OG) tags in the page header as metadata. For example, og:image.
    • The link was shared in a conversation with a user, a virtual agent, or in a text-based bot response.
      Note:
      These conditions apply only to the chat widget and mobile devices on the ServiceNow® platform. Support requirements and conditions for clients on other platforms can vary. For client-specific support and requirement conditions, see the documentation for the client you're using.
    Tip:
    Admins can add OG tags to ServiceNow UI pages by following the instructions in the Adding meta tags to ServiceNow UI Pages Knowledge Base article.
    When a link meets the specified criteria, the ServiceNow software does the following:
    • Asynchronously fetches, if available, the OG tag at the provided link.
    • Attaches a card-based, content-rich preview of the link based on the OG tag.

    The time required to complete these and any other required tasks can vary, depending on your network configuration and system performance.

    Supported OG tags

    The ServiceNow user interface supports image, video, and text-based OG tags. When both an image OG tag and a video OG tag are fetched, the video is used instead of the image in the card-based, content-rich preview.

    Note:
    The specific OG tags supported on channels can vary. For example, the OG tags supported on Slack may be different from the OG tags supported on Microsoft Teams, or Workplace from Facebook. For details about the OG tags supported on channels, see the documentation for the channel you're using.

    Disabling link unfurling

    Link unfurling is automatically enabled by default. To turn it off, admin users can change the com.glide.cs.enable_link_unfurling system property to False.