Catalog Agent conversational status conditions

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated April 30, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Catalog Agent conversational status conditions

    The Catalog Agent conversational status conditions define the criteria that determine whether a catalog item can deliver a fully conversational experience within the Premium chat interface powered by Now Assist. This conversational mode allows requesters to order catalog items through guided chat interactions instead of traditional forms.

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    To enable a catalog item for the Premium chat experience, the item must comply with specific conditions related to its design, scripting, field types, and complexity. Items that do not meet these criteria will open as traditional forms instead.

    Key Conditions Affecting Conversational Eligibility

    • Conversation Disabled: If the turnoffnowassistconversation property is enabled, the item is excluded from Premium chat regardless of other settings.
    • Forced Form Mode: The makeitemnonconversational property flags complex items to open only as forms, prioritizing structured input over chat.
    • Question Count Limit: Items exceeding the maximum configured number of questions (default is 4, controlled by snnowassistcr.og.questionthreshold) are too complex for conversational handling.
    • Client-Side Scripts and UI Policies: Items using dynamic client scripts or UI policies that alter the form dynamically are incompatible with chat since these behaviors rely on traditional browser forms.
    • Field Visibility and Defaults: If all fields are hidden, pre-filled, or read-only, there is no conversational interaction possible.
    • Unsupported Question Types: Certain variable types such as Lookup Select Box, Lookup Multiple Choice, Table Question, Attachment Question, and others are not supported in the conversational interface.
    • Advanced Filtering: Items that require complex filtering for list selections fall back to traditional forms.
    • Pricing Impact: Items where questions affect cost or pricing cannot be handled conversationally, as pricing changes are not supported in chat.
    • Repeating Data Inputs: Catalog items that include multi-row or table-style inputs (e.g., ordering multiple accessories in one request) are not supported in chat.
    • Complex Item Types: Order guides, wizards, content items, and standard change templates have complex structures and open as traditional forms.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    Catalog items that meet these conditions can be delivered in a streamlined, conversational format, enhancing requester experience through guided interactions.

    Items that do not meet these criteria will default to the familiar form-based interface, ensuring no loss of functionality but without the conversational benefits.

    Meeting the requirements for conversational experience typically does not require rebuilding catalog items from scratch. Small adjustments—such as reducing the number of questions, removing incompatible client scripts, or changing variable types—can enable the agentic AI chat interface.

    Variable Types and Conversational Support

    Some variable types sourced from lookup tables or capturing requester identity are incompatible with the chat experience, including:

    • Lookup Multiple Choice
    • Lookup Select Box
    • Requested For (Single)

    These variables and other unsupported types require traditional forms for full functionality.

    Conditions that determine whether a catalog item can deliver a fully conversational experience in the Premium chat interface.

    Premium chat is a conversational interface powered by Now Assist. Instead of filling out a traditional form, requesters can request catalog items through conversations. For a catalog item to work in this mode, it must meet certain conditions.
    • The conversation is turned off using the turn_off_nowassist_conversation property, preventing the item from appearing in Premium chat mode, regardless of how the item is designed.
    • The catalog item has been flagged to open as a form and not a chat using the make_item_non_conversational property. This is used for complex items where a structured form is preferred over a guided conversation.
    • When a catalog item has more than the configured maximum number of questions (using the sn_now_assist_cr.og.question_threshold property, which has a default value of 4), it can be complex to handle as a natural back-and-forth conversation.
    • Catalog items use client-side scripts that change the form dynamically as the user fills it in. For example, hiding certain fields based on earlier answers, or running a calculation. These scripts only work in a traditional browser form and can't be replicated inside a chat window, so the item can't be made conversational while these scripts are active.
    • Similar to scripts, UI policies are rules that change what requesters see on the form based on their inputs. Because these rules depend on the form rendering in a browser, they aren't compatible with the step-by-step chat approach.
    • Every field on the catalog item is either hidden from the user, pre-filled with a default value, or set to read-only. Since there are no questions left, there is nothing for a conversational experience to do.
    • Some question types, such as check box, Custom, Render UI Page, Custom with Label, Lookup Select Box, List Collector, Lookup Multiple Choice, Masked, Table Question, Requested For, Attachment Question, and Table Name, aren't supported.
    • Some fields let users pick a value from a list (for example, choosing a specific laptop model from a catalog). Items with this kind of advanced filtering fall back to the traditional form.
    • If any question on the catalog item influences the cost or pricing of what is being requested, the item can't be handled conversationally. Pricing implications aren't supported in the chat interface.
    • Some catalog items include a section where the user can add multiple rows of information. For example, ordering accessories for several employees at once. This kind of repeating, table-style input is not supported in a Premium chat interface.
    • Certain catalog item types, such as order guides, wizard, content items, or standard change templates, have a structure that is more complex than a simple request. These types aren't eligible for the conversational experience and open as a traditional form.
    Table 1. Catalog Agent variable types
    Variable type Description
    Lookup Multiple Choice Presents multiple options sourced from a lookup table, where the user can select one or more values.
    Lookup Select Box Presents a single-selection list sourced from a lookup table.
    Requested For (Single) Captures the identity of the person for whom the catalog item is requested, supporting single-user selection.
    Note:
    • Conversational catalog items that don't support agentic AI may be discoverable, but they don't appear within the conversation in the Premium chat experience. These catalog items open as forms that requesters can fill out and submit.
    • Meeting these requirements doesn't require rebuilding a catalog item from scratch. Often, small adjustments, such as reducing the number of visible questions, removing an unused client script, or switching a field type, are enough to make an item eligible for the full agentic AI experience.