Capturing information from a user in a Apple Messages for Business chat conversation

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Capturing information from a user in a Apple Messages for Business chat conversation

    ServiceNow’s Virtual Agent Designer enables you to create and manage conversational topics that interact with users via Apple Messages for Business. It provides a set of input controls to capture user information during chat conversations and supports various bot responses to enhance engagement. Apple Messages for Business also includes native interactive features that can be integrated with Virtual Agent for a richer user experience.

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    User Notification Consent

    Notifications are disabled by default on the Apple Messages for Business channel and require users to opt in. Consent can be obtained either by users typing "Notification" in the chat to subscribe/unsubscribe or through administrator-configured portal options. Without user consent, notifications cannot be delivered.

    Key Features

    • User Input Controls: Virtual Agent Designer supports multiple input types to capture user responses effectively:
      • Text: Users enter plain text.
      • Static Choice: Selection from predefined lists.
      • Dynamic Choice: Selection from dynamically generated lists, e.g., user-specific case lists.
      • Boolean: Yes/No type responses.
      • File Picker: Uploading files to the bot.
      • Date Time: Selection of dates and times.
      • Carousel: Selecting an item from a carousel display.
    • Bot Responses: Virtual Agent can respond using:
      • Text: Plain text messages.
      • Image: Sending images.
      • Link: Web links (domains must be whitelisted).
      • Table: Organizes information neatly, such as service changes or contact info.
      • Card: Displays records with selectable cards like record cards, video cards, or image cards.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    By leveraging Virtual Agent Designer’s input controls and bot responses, you can design conversational workflows that efficiently capture user data and deliver relevant information within Apple Messages for Business. Enabling and managing user notification consent ensures compliant communication. This integration enhances user engagement through native app features and structured interactions, helping you provide responsive, personalized service via Apple Messages.

    Virtual Agent Designer is a diagram tool for creating and managing topics, which are blueprints for conversations between a virtual agent and user.

    Use the collection of input controls provided by the Virtual Agent Designer to prompt and capture information from a requester in a Apple Messages for Business chat conversation. For more information, see Getting started with Virtual Agent Designer.

    For more information about displaying images along with external links, see Using link unfurling in Virtual Agent.

    Apple Messages for Business has an array of interactive features that are native to the app. For more information about these interactive features, see Integrating Virtual Agent with Apple Messages for Business.

    User notification consent

    Note:

    Notifications are turned off by default for the Apple Messages for Business channel. Make sure to enable notifications at the channel level.

    Users must opt in to receive notifications. No notifications can be delivered until the user grants consent.

    There are two ways for users to grant consent to receive notifications:
    • The user can enter Notification into the Apple Messages for Business chat to get a bot response with the option to subscribe or unsubscribe from receiving notifications for your business on Apple Messages for Business.
    • As the administrator, you can set up the option for users to subscribe or unsubscribe from notifications from your portal. See Subscription-based notifications for more information.

    User input controls

    The Conversational Integration with Apple Messages for Business application supports the following user input controls in Virtual Agent Designer.

    Table 1. Supported user input controls
    User input control Description
    Text User enters a plain text string in the conversation.
    Static Choice User selects an item from a predefined list.
    Dynamic Choice User selects an item from a list that is created dynamically. For example, the user can select from a list of cases that they opened.
    Boolean User enters a Boolean response to the bot. For example, the user can reply Yes or No in a chat conversation.
    File Picker User sends a file to the bot.
    Date Time User selects a calendar date, time (hours and minutes), or both.
    Carousel User selects a single item from the carousel.

    For more information about configuring user input controls, see Virtual Agent Designer user input controls.

    The Conversational Integration with Apple Messages for Business application supports the following bot responses in Virtual Agent Designer.

    Table 2. Supported bot responses
    Bot response Description
    Text Bot sends a plain text string to the user.
    Image Bot sends an image to the user.
    Link

    Bot sends a web link to the user.

    Note:
    Any URLs must be added to the allowed domain list (sys_cs_hostname_allow_list) table.
    Table

    Bot sends information in a table format so that users can see information in a more organized way.

    For example, you can organize and display information such as the following:
    • Planned service changes
    • Company holidays
    • Contact information
    • Testing sites
    Card Bot uploads and displays selected information from a record on your instance. You can choose a record card, video card, or small or large image card.

    For more information about configuring bot responses, see Virtual Agent Designer bot responses.