Actions and action groups in Proactive Prompts

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Actions and action groups in Proactive Prompts

    Proactive Prompts in ServiceNow enable users to take immediate actions directly from prompts, enhancing engagement and productivity. The available actions differ by communication channel, with most actions supported on the Employee Portal and Virtual Agent. Action groups provide a streamlined way to access sets of frequently used actions within the Employee Portal.

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    Actions Available

    • View details: Allows users to see expanded information related to the prompt, including URLs configured via Script data sources. This is exclusive to the Employee Portal, while the Virtual Agent displays details by default.
    • Send email: Enables users to compose and send emails directly from the prompt using the organization’s default mail client. Only active users with configured email addresses in the User [sysuser] table can be selected as recipients.
    • Set up meeting: Allows scheduling meetings through default mail clients like Outlook or Gmail. This action supports configurable parameters to specify the mail client and is limited to active users with emails configured in the system. Applicable only in the Employee Portal.
    • Start chat: Supports initiating one-on-one chats via Microsoft Teams, requiring the relevant plugin. Only active users with configured emails are selectable. This action is also limited to the Employee Portal.

    Configurable Parameters

    Several actions include parameters to customize behavior:

    • mailClient: Defines the default mail client for the Set up meeting action (default is Outlook; can be changed to Gmail).
    • selectindividual: Controls whether actions like Send email, Set up meeting, and Start chat target a single employee or multiple employees. Default is false (single employee). Applicable only in the Employee Portal.

    Action Groups

    Action groups are collections of common actions bundled for quick access, available only in the Employee Portal. The two primary groups for Proactive Prompts are:

    • Chat action group
    • Email action group

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    By leveraging these actions and action groups, customers can improve user responsiveness and streamline communication workflows directly within ServiceNow’s Employee Portal and Virtual Agent. Configurable parameters provide flexibility to align with organizational preferences for communication tools and user targeting.

    Actions provide the user the ability to act on the prompt.

    The types of actions available differ based on the channel. Unless otherwise noted, the actions in the following table are available for Employee Portal and Virtual Agent.

    Table 1. Actions in Proactive Prompts
    Action Description
    View details Enables the user to see more details about the prompt, including any URL provided in the signal configuration. Users can also access links directly to the items/tasks/records based on the URL configured in the Script data source. For more information see, Create a signal in Proactive Prompts.
    Note:
    • The display of links to items/tasks/records only works with the Script data source.
    • The details displayed are influenced by the selection in the Collect records field.
    • This action is available only for the Employee Portal. In Virtual Agent, the details are displayed by default.
    Send email The user can send an email directly from the prompt. This action takes the user directly to the compose window depending on the default mail client configured in your organization. Users can choose to send the email to one user or all users at the same time.
    Note:
    Only active users with their email configured in the User [sys_user] table can be selected to send the email.
    Set up meeting The user can schedule a meeting via the default mail client like Outlook or Gmail based on your organization's configuration.
    Note:
    • This action has a configurable action parameter mailClient of type string. By default, the mail client is Outlook. You can change it to Gmail.
    • Only active users with their email configured in the User [sys_user] table can be selected to set up a meeting.
    • This parameter is applicable only for Employee Portal actions.
    Start chat The user can talk to the stake holder one-on-one via Microsoft Teams.
    Note:
    • The Start chat action requires the com.snc.ms_teams plugin to have been installed.
    • Only active users with their email configured in the User [sys_user] table can be selected to start a chat.
    Note:
    The configurable action parameter selectindividual under Actions in the Employee Center Action framework determines whether you can select all employees or one individual employee for the Send email, Set up meeting, and Start chat actions. The default value is false. This parameter is applicable only for actions in Employee Portal.

    Action groups

    Action groups are a collection of frequently used actions in a framework for quick access. Action groups are used only in Employee Portal. For Proactive Prompts, the action groups available are:
    • Chat action group
    • Email action group

    For more information, see Action group.