Recommendations in Recommended Actions

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Recommendations in Recommended Actions

    Recommendations in ServiceNow provide agents with suggested actions, enhancing their ability to resolve issues efficiently. There are three primary types of recommendations: Guidance, Decision Tree, and Field Recommendation. Each type serves a specific purpose in aiding agents during their tasks.

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    Key Features

    • Recommendation Creation: Agents can create recommendations by selecting a type from the New Recommendation screen, leading them to the Recommendation form.
    • Recommendation Form: This form includes essential information such as rule name, context, recommendation name, action type, and associated action inputs.
    • Action Inputs: These parameters are critical for executing actions. Agents can select from static values or use a resource generator to provide inputs.
    • Resource Generators: Useful for finding relevant resources for action inputs, enhancing the effectiveness of recommendations.
    • Recommendation Hints: Provide context to agents, explaining the rationale behind the recommendation, visible in the Recommended Actions side panel.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing recommendations, agents can streamline their workflows, troubleshoot issues effectively, and access pertinent resources needed for various actions. This functionality leads to improved service delivery and operational efficiency within ServiceNow.

    A recommendation is a way to suggest a helpful action to an agent. A recommendation includes the action and any relevant resources and inputs.

    There are three types of recommendations that are provided to agents:
    • Guidance: An action that an agent can take or information that they can share.
    • Decision tree: A guided flow to troubleshoot an issue and provide a solution.
    • Field recommendation: A recommended value to use for a field.

    Creating a recommendation

    When you create a recommendation, you can select the type from the New Recommendation screen. This screen lists the available types.

    New Recommendation screen that presents available recommendation types.

    Selecting a type on the New Recommendation screen takes you to the Recommendation form. The selected type is added to the Action type field on the Recommendation form.

    Recommendation form

    The Recommendation form provides information about a recommendation, including the selected action and any inputs and resource generators that the action requires.

    When you create a recommendation, you select an action type and an action. The next steps depend on the action type that you select. For example, guidances and field recommendations require action inputs while decision trees don’t.

    When you create a recommendation, provide this information and save the record. After saving, you can see the Action inputs form section. Inputs are parameters that go into an action and enable agents to complete that action. You can select relevant inputs manually, from the context record, context inputs, or from the resource generator.

    You can access the recommendation records by navigating to All > Recommended Actions > Recommendations. New recommendations can be created only inside the rules. For more information, see Create a recommendation.

    Table 1. Recommendation form fields
    Field Description
    Rule The name of the rule for the context. This field is read-only.
    Context The name of the context that the Rule belongs to. This field is read-only.
    Name The name of the recommendation.
    Action type The type of recommendation:
    • Guidance
    • Decision tree
    • Field recommendation
    This field is automatically filled with the selection from the New Recommendation screen.
    Action The action to select for the recommendation. The available actions are determined by the selection in the Action type field.

    You can also create an action for the selected action type of guidance, decision tree, or field recommendation.

    Resource generator

    The resource generator to select from the Resource generators list. You can also create a resource generator.

    Guidances and field recommendations can use resource generators to find relevant resources for the action inputs.

    If you change the value in the Resource generator field, you must save the recommendation to use the resource generator.

    Recommendation hint Text that tells the agent why a recommendation is being suggested. Hints apply to action types of guidance and decision tree.

    The hint appears at the top of the action cards in the Recommended Actions side panel.

    Order The order of the recommendations inside the rule.
    Active When enabled, the recommendation is active.
    Action inputs Action types and actions require inputs. These inputs are the parameters that enable agents to complete an action. You can choose static values for action inputs or you can use a resource generator to supply values.

    If a context input is available for the context, it appears in the pill picker of the fields in Action inputs section.

    Group Group created by a defined grouping strategy that displays relevant recommendations together.
    Note:
    You might need to configure the Recommendation form to display the Group field. This field is available by default for Workforce Optimization for ITSM users.
    Note:
    The Action type, Action, and Recommendation hint fields aren’t shown for the AI search resource generator. You can configure the Action type and Action fields, and mapping between AI search outputs and guidance actions inputs in the Search result mapping related list.