Text bot response control
Summarize
Summary of Text bot response control
The Text bot response control in Virtual Agent allows you to display bot responses as formatted text within a topic. This functionality supports rich text formatting such as bold, italics, links, bulleted and numbered lists, and emojis to enhance user interaction. It enables you to create dynamic and engaging responses, including inserting script-generated content like temporary passwords or personalized greetings.
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Key Features
- Response Message: Supports rich text and scripting with Glide record or script variables, enabling personalized and dynamic content.
- Text Formatting: Easily format text using editor controls, including creating links with static or dynamic URLs using the data pill picker.
- Alternate Messages: Add multiple alternate responses so Virtual Agent can randomly select different replies to improve conversation variety.
- Advanced Options:
- Shorten Responses: Automatically truncates long responses with a “Show more” link for better user experience (enabled by default).
- Secure Responses: Masks sensitive information after display to protect user privacy.
- Request Feedback: Enables thumbs up/down icons for users to provide feedback on bot replies.
- Conditional Display: Use no-code conditions or low-code scripts to control when a response node is shown in the conversation.
- Channel Support: Fully supported across major channels like Web UI, Mobile UI, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Workplace, Twilio SMS, LINE, WhatsApp, Apple Messages for Business, and Alexa (with voice-read header on nonscreen devices). Facebook Messenger supports only plain text.
- Scripting Examples: You can use JavaScript to generate personalized greetings or lists with Markdown-formatted links within responses.
Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
- Create engaging, personalized conversations with users by leveraging dynamic scripting and rich text formatting in Virtual Agent responses.
- Improve user experience by presenting concise messages with expandable details and enabling user feedback.
- Maintain security and privacy by masking sensitive responses after they are shown.
- Control response visibility with conditional logic to tailor conversations based on user context or data.
- Deliver consistent bot experiences across multiple communication channels, ensuring broad user accessibility.
Use the Text bot response control in a Virtual Agent topic to display a bot response as text. You can format the Text bot responses using the text editor controls. For example, you can bold or italicize the text, as well as include links, bulleted lists, and emojis.
Text bot response properties
Use the Text response properties panel to design bot responses to the user.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Node name | Name that identifies this Text bot response node in the topic flow. |
| Response message | The Text bot response to the user. The response can be one of the following:
You can format the text messages using the text editor controls. For example, you can use the icons on the Response Message field to bold or italicize the text, as well as include links, bulleted lists, numbered lists, and emojis. You can also include an input variable, such as a temporary password, in the response message. To include a link, do one of the following:
Fill in the fields in the Confirmation window. Enter the text to use as the link, and then enter the URL in the Link field. Enter the display label for the link and a static URL, or use the data pill picker to create a dynamic URL. |
| Add alternate message | Add one or more alternate response messages for the user. Virtual Agent randomly chooses one of your responses for each conversation. |
.| Shorten responses | |
| Enable | When turned on, long bot responses are shortened. A Show more link is shown along with the truncated response. When the option is turned off, the entire response is used. By default, this option is turned on. |
| Make this response secure | |
| Enable | When enabled, the bot response is displayed to the user, but thereafter securely masked and not viewable by others. |
| Request feedback | |
| Enable | When turned on, thumbs up and down icons are displayed next to bot responses for feedback. |
| Hide this node | |
| Conditionally show this node if |
A no-code condition statement or low-code script that specifies a condition for presenting this node in the conversation. The condition must evaluate to true. |
Channel support
| Channel | Support | Constraints |
|---|---|---|
| Web UI | Supported | None |
| Mobile UI | Supported | None |
| Now Assist panel | Supported | None |
| Microsoft Teams | Supported | None |
| Slack | Supported | None |
| Workplace | Supported | None |
| Facebook Messenger | Supported | Plain text string only |
| SMS Twilio | Supported | None |
| LINE | Supported | None |
| Supported | None | |
| Apple Messages for Business | Supported | None |
| Alexa (Voice) | Supported | For screen devices, full support. For nonscreen devices, the header is read. |
Example Text bot response script
In this example, the script returns a string that greets the user. The gs.getUser().getFirstName() property is used to append the first name of the current user.
(function execute() {
return 'Hello ' + gs.getUser().getFirstName();
})()In this example, the script returns links to three instances in the response. Use Markdown to include multiple links in the script.
(function execute() {
var output = 'Hello\n';
output += '\n- [Instance 1](http://instance1.com)';
output += '\n- [Instance 2](http://instance2.com)';
output += '\n- [Instance 3](http://instance3.com)';
return output;
})()Example Text bot response control
| Response properties | Text bot response output |
|---|---|