Getting started with Virtual Agent Designer

The Virtual Agent Designer is a diagram tool for creating and managing topics, which are blueprints for conversations between a virtual agent and user. You can design topics that help your users resolve common work issues or guide them through self-service tasks.

Virtual Agent conversations are built using topics. When building a topic, there are various components (controls) that you can use to build the logic of a conversation, as well as the responses that the user sees. Virtual Agent conversations can also include subflows and actions if they were made conversational in Workflow Studio or topics that include subflows and actions through the Action utility node. Conversational subflows and actions are only available in Virtual Agent Designer if Now Assist in Virtual Agent has been configured. Conversational subflows and actions only appear to users during a conversation if the Subflows and actions skill is turned on in Now Assist Admin. For more information, see Now Assist in Virtual Agent.

Virtual Agent can use either generative AI or Natural Language Understanding (NLU) to match the user's request with the appropriate conversation or topic.

With large language model (LLM) topic discovery, you can use generative AI through Now Assist in Virtual Agent to match the user's request with the desired conversation or topic. With Now Assist in Virtual Agent, you can test and publish your models from within Virtual Agent Designer. Now Assist in Virtual Agent uses LLMs and generative AI skills to improve deflection rates and reduce the amount of time-consuming work that Natural Language Understanding (NLU) topic discovery requires. For more information, see LLM topic discovery in Virtual Agent.

With NLU/keyword topic discovery, the topic author associates the topic with an intent within an NLU model. An intent describes what the user wants to achieve. User utterances are matched with intents to determine the most appropriate topic for the user. Associating a topic with a model and intent is called mapping.

If you're using ServiceNow NLU topic discovery, then Virtual Agent Designer integrates with NLU Workbench so that you can map topics to new or existing models and intents without leaving the interface. In addition, you can also modify utterances, test, train, and publish your models from within Virtual Agent Designer.

Virtual Agent Designer home page

Note:

Note:

An updated Virtual Agent Designer user interface is available when you install Now Assist in Virtual Agent and turn on the Now Assist Topics skill. This content assumes that you have activated this skill and can see the list view. If this skill is not enabled, you will see the legacy UI and topics page. For more information, see Virtual Agent Designer legacy topics page.

When you open Virtual Agent Designer, the home page lists the assets in your instance. These assets include topics, topic blocks, setup topics, small talk topics, custom controls, subflows, and actions.

Note:

Along with small talk topics, you can also set small talk filters to redirect conversations based on unexpected user statements. For more information, see Configure small talk filters.

On the home page, you can access and edit any of these assets in Virtual Agent Designer, and create topics, topic blocks, setup topics, small talk topics, and custom controls.

Note:

Conversational subflows and actions are available in Virtual Agent Designer if Now Assist in Virtual Agent has been configured. Conversational subflows and actions are also shown in Virtual Agent Designer if the Now Assist Panel is available. For more information on the Virtual Agent Designer Panel, see Now Assist panel

You can test and preview active topics to verify that they work as intended. You can also sort and search for topics. When you have many assets, use the search bar and filter icon to quickly organize and find your topics. For more information, see Virtual Agent Designer home page.

Each topic list entry identifies the asset and provides the following information by default:

• Name: Name of the topic. Template topics also contain (Template) in the name.
• Type: Topic types include Topic, Topic Block, Setup Topic, Small Talk, Custom Input Control, Custom Response Control, Subflows, and Actions.
• Status: Status types include Draft, Modified (with unsaved changes), or Published.
• Active: Whether the asset is active or inactive.
• Last modified: Time (minutes, hours, days, or months) that the asset was last modified.
• Description: Description of the asset. For topics, this field is created and updated on the Properties tab.

Figure 1. Example topic list entry

When you open a topic, a tab is displayed in the navigation header bar. The topic's name is shown on the tab, and a red dot appears if the topic has unsaved changes. Hover over the tab to view the scope in which the topic was created.

Figure 2. Example topic tab

When you open a subflow or action, a tab is displayed in the navigation header bar. This tab opens the subflow or action in Workflow Studio within the Virtual Agent Designer environment.

Virtual Agent Designer Topics page

When you open Virtual Agent Designer, the Topics landing page lists the assets in your instance. These assets include topics, topic blocks, custom controls, setup topics, and small talk topics. The Topics page lets you access, create, and edit these assets in Virtual Agent Designer.

You can also test and preview active topics to verify that they work as intended. You can also sort and search for topics. When you have many topics, use the sort filters to quickly organize and find your topics. For more information, see Virtual Agent Designer home page.

Each topic card identifies the asset and provides the following basic information:

• Name: Object name. If the asset is a topic block or custom control, the icon for the asset type is also displayed.
• Published status: Time (minutes, hours, days, or months) that the item was last published and state. The status also indicates if the asset is read-only.

  Source template: Prebuilt topics include the word template in the name. You can duplicate these predefined conversation templates and use them.

• Draft state: If you update a published item but haven’t yet republished it, the Published status is marked as Draft. This lets you quickly identify the items that are still in progress.
• Modified: Time (minutes, hours, days, or months) that the item was last updated.
• Category: Type of group to which the topic or asset belongs.

Figure 3. Example topic card with publish status and category

Topic properties

Use the topic Properties tab to identify a Virtual Agent asset and how it’s used. The properties you can specify depend on the method of topic discovery used in your instance: LLM or NLU/keyword. For example, if you have activated Now Assist and are working with an LLM topic, the Properties tab includes fields for what you want the topic to do and which assistants to use. If you have activated NLU, you can select NLU/keyword from the Type drop-down menu when you create a topic. The Properties tab includes fields for identifying the NLU model and intent for the topic.

Use the Properties tab to do the following:

• Specify the name and type of asset, such as topic, topic block, custom control, and so forth).
• Specify the model type, add a topic description, specify the purpose of the topic, and select which assistants can run this topic for Now Assist customers.
• Control who uses the topic and what channels it can run in.
• Associate live agent variables with a topic.
• Add keywords to the topic or map the topic to a ServiceNow NLU model and intent.

For more information, see Topic Properties tab.

Topic flow

When you create or update a topic, topic block, or custom control, you build the conversation flow on the Flow tab. In the default view, the flow looks like a diagram. Use the controls for user inputs, bot responses, and utilities to define the flow. The status of the topic and NLU model (if used) appears in the upper-right corner of the window.

The Table View option in Virtual Agent Designer displays the nodes in your conversation flow as a table, rather than as a diagram. Each node is identified in a corresponding row in the table. You can add, change, or delete nodes using these table rows.

For example, instead of dragging controls and dropping them onto the canvas, you can select Add new node to insert a node into the appropriate row in the table. When you focus on a particular row (node), the corresponding property sheet for the node is displayed.

As you create or update your design, you might find it helpful to switch between the diagram view and the Table View using the Table View option. If your conversation contains many nodes, the Table View lets you review all the nodes in your conversation quickly. You can use the Search table option to quickly find a particular node or control.

Use the Flow tab to do the following:

• Design your topic flow. For more information, see Design the flow of your topic.
• Add script variables. For more information, see Define script variables for a topic.
• Add entities to your topic. For more information, see Use system-derived entities in your topic.
• Add nodeless entities, if you’re creating a topic for NLU conversations. For more information, see Add nodeless NLU entities to your topic flow.

For more information, see Topic Flow tab.

NLU model and intent mappings

If you activated NLU on your instance, the NLU Intent tab is available for your topics in Virtual Agent Designer. Once you have bound the topic to a model and intent on the Properties tab, you can use the NLU Intent tab to do the following:

• Review utterances used in your topic. For more information, see Review and edit utterances and associated entities.
• Train your NLU models. For more information, see Train, test, and publish your NLU model.

  Test the topic model with user utterances to see if it triggers the appropriate intent and topic. You can also test entity recognition.

Note:

The virtual_agent_admin role includes the nlu_admin role, which enables topic authors to work on ServiceNow models.

For more information about this tab, see Topic NLU Intent tab.

Topic languages

The Languages tab displays the topic's translation status for languages that have been activated on the instance for both LLM and NLU conversations. If you're using NLU/keyword, you can also review the language mappings for that topic.

Use the Languages tab to do the following:

• View translation status for activated language plugins.
• Test your topic with a given language. For more information, see View and test the topic in a specific language.
• Edit translations. For more information, see Edit the topic translations.
• Request translations. For more information, see Request topic translations in additional languages.
• View and update NLU language and entity mapping. For more information, see View or modify NLU language mappings and entity mapping.

  For more information, see NLU model mapping in Virtual Agent Designer.

For more information about this tab, see Topic Languages tab.

• Designing a Virtual Agent topic
  Walk through the design of an example Virtual Agent topic that enables users to view incidents they submitted. The example highlights various design controls that can be used to build the conversation flow.
• Create a Virtual Agent topic
  Use Virtual Agent Designer to create and modify Virtual Agent topics (conversations). Build your topic to meet a specific objective or goal, such as fulfilling a user's request or helping a user complete a task.
• Migrating NLU/keyword Virtual Agent topics to LLM topics
  The topic migration workflow enables you to migrate your existing Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and keyword topics into new large language model (LLM) topics.
• Duplicate a Virtual Agent topic
  Create a new topic or topic block by copying an existing Virtual Agent topic or topic block and customize it.
• Testing LLM topics
  Preview, test, and debug topics that use large language models (LLMs) in the Virtual Agent Designer chat window.
• Testing NLU/Keyword topics
  Use the chat test window to preview, test, and debug Natural Language Understanding (NLU)/Keyword topics.
• Debug a Virtual Agent topic
  Investigate and resolve unexpected behavior in your custom Virtual Agent topics, topic blocks, and controls.
• Publish a Virtual Agent topic
  Deploy an inactive topic or an updated topic to save it and make it available to users on Virtual Agent clients.
• Delete a Virtual Agent topic
  Delete a Virtual Agent topic that is no longer needed.
• Promote or demote LLM topics in Virtual Agent Designer
  Promote topics in Virtual Agent Designer, after associating them with a large language model (LLM) assistant, to have them suggested to the user by the LLM assistant.
• Reorder promoted LLM topics in Virtual Agent
  Arrange large language model (LLM) topics to a desired non-alphabetical order after promoting them for recommendation by the Virtual Agent.
• Managing conversational subflows in Virtual Agent Designer
  View and manage conversational subflows through Virtual Agent Designer.
• Managing conversational actions in Virtual Agent Designer
  View and manage conversational actions through Virtual Agent Designer.
• Managing custom skills in Virtual Agent Designer
  View custom skills through Virtual Agent Designer.
• Managing AI agents in Virtual Agent Designer
  View AI agents created in AI Agent Studio through Virtual Agent Designer.