Exploring ITSM Virtual Agent

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Exploring ITSM Virtual Agent

    The ServiceNow ITSM Virtual Agent enhances IT service management by providing an intelligent messaging interface that allows for immediate assistance with IT-related queries. This tool enables IT technicians to focus on complex issues while the virtual agent handles common, simpler incidents, improving both technician and employee experiences.

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    Key Features

    • User Satisfaction: The Virtual Agent offers 24/7 self-service capabilities, ensuring users receive quick assistance and a personalized experience.
    • Increased Productivity: By deflecting routine tickets and reducing call volumes, the Virtual Agent facilitates efficiency for both users and IT staff across platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
    • Automation Support: Automates common support tasks, allowing agents to concentrate on more complex issues, thus scaling support operations effectively.
    • Natural Language Understanding (NLU): Utilizes NLU to understand user intent and context, improving interaction quality. Users can opt for keyword-based interactions for faster results or full NLU for a richer experience.
    • Automatic Notifications: Proactively keeps users informed about the status of incidents and requests, including alerts for managers regarding approvals.

    Key Outcomes

    By implementing the ITSM Virtual Agent, ServiceNow customers can expect enhanced user satisfaction, increased operational productivity, and streamlined incident management. The automation of common tasks allows for a more focused approach to complex issues, ultimately leading to improved service delivery and efficiency in IT operations.

    The ServiceNow ITSM Virtual Agent provides assistance through conversations within an intelligent messaging interface.

    ITSM Virtual Agent overview

    Empower your IT technicians to concentrate on more challenging, demanding user requests and incidents by deflecting the most common, simpler incidents to a virtual agent. ITSM Virtual Agent enhances both the IT technician experience and the employee experience by addressing IT-related queries immediately.

    Virtual Agent benefits

    User Satisfaction
    User satisfaction

    Provide better self-service by helping users and customers get what they need quickly with always-on, omni-channel experiences. Enable your users to get immediate help, day or night. Boost user and customer satisfaction by offering a personalized Virtual Agent experience, whereby user information is remembered and applied during the conversation.
    Increased productivity

    Deliver great experiences for your users, as well as your agents and technicians, by deflecting tickets and reducing call volumes. Drive productivity by providing a virtual agent on familiar channels, such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Facebook Messenger, and Workplace.
    Automation support

    Scale your support organizations and free your agents and technicians to focus on more complex user issues by automating common support tasks.
    Empowered service owners

    Enable service owners to deliver and refine AI capabilities quickly without data science expertise.

    Components

    Natural Language Understanding

    You can use Natural Language Understanding (NLU) for all your ITSM Virtual Agent topic conversation flows. ITSM Virtual Agent uses NLU to comprehend word meanings, recognize word contexts, and infer user or system actions.

    You can decide whether you want ITSM Virtual Agent to use only keywords, which result in quicker time-to-value in the short term. Or you can choose to use NLU, which results in a better employee experience in the long term.

    ITSM Virtual Agent and the ITSM NLU Model for Virtual Agent Conversations are available from the ServiceNow Store. Visit the ServiceNow Store website to view all the available apps and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.

    The ITSM NLU Model for Virtual Agent Conversations provides pre-built NLU entities, intents, and utterances. Some of the provided intents and utterances include:
    • Escalate Ticket topic:
      • Raise incident INC0010023 ticket priority to higher level
      • Raise the priority on my open ticket
    • Check Outages and Service Degradations topics:
      • Are there currently any reported company-wide issues?
      • Is there an outage?
    • Email Setup topic
      • I want to set up email on my mobile device
      • How do I set up company email on my phone?

    Enable NLU on the ITSM Virtual Agent application and republish your existing conversations to optimize user experience with the NLU feature.

    ITSM Virtual Agent automatic notifications

    Virtual Agent proactively informs you about the status of your incidents and requests. Managers are alerted when they have approvals.

    ITSM Virtual Agent notification defined on the Task [task] table
    These notifications are used by fulfillers and employees. The Task type filter on the Task table enables automatic status notification when the value is Incident or Requested item. When the state of the incident or requested item task changes, a Virtual Agent message is sent to the user.
    ITSM Virtual Agent notification defined on the Approval [sysapproval_approver] table
    These notifications are used by request management or knowledge management. When an approval is submitted, an automatic Virtual Agent message is sent to the approver alerting them of the approval request.