Exploring Now Assist in Virtual Agent

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Exploring Now Assist in Virtual Agent

    Now Assist in Virtual Agent leverages large language models (LLMs) and generative AI to enhance Virtual Agent capabilities, streamlining topic discovery and reducing the setup effort traditionally required with Natural Language Understanding (NLU) topics. It simplifies configuration through guided setup and supports migration of existing NLU topics to LLM-based topics, enabling faster deployment without specialized expertise. Now Assist is accessible via various portals including the chat widget, mobile app, and Microsoft Teams.

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    Key Features

    • AI-Powered Search Integration: Combines AI Search with conversational chat to interpret natural language queries and provide synthesized, actionable responses, improving issue resolution and reducing live agent escalations.
    • Service Catalog Access: Allows users to request and refine service catalog items within the chat, supporting natural language inputs for detailed requests and enabling a full conversational catalog experience when generative AI is enabled.
    • LLM Topic Creation and Management: Administrators can create and activate LLM topics and Now Assist skills through the guided setup, with customizable skill pickers to tailor the user experience.
    • Multi-Platform Deployment: Deploy Now Assist across multiple channels including portals, chat widgets, mobile apps, and Microsoft Teams for broad accessibility.
    • Mid-Topic Switching: Supports seamless switching between different requests within the same conversation using plain language, enhancing conversational fluidity.
    • Performance Monitoring: Provides performance and usage metrics through the Conversational Interfaces console and Now Assist Admin console to help administrators track value and optimize usage.

    Benefits

    • Rapid Setup: Guided configuration enables quick deployment without requiring deep AI or NLU expertise.
    • Improved User Experience: Natural language processing and generative AI deliver more accurate answers with actionable options, reducing reliance on live agents.
    • Enhanced Service Catalog Interaction: Users can easily search, request, and refine catalog items conversationally, increasing self-service rates.
    • Customizable and Scalable: Administrators can tailor topics and skills to specific needs and deploy across multiple platforms.
    • Insightful Analytics: Performance tracking tools help measure the effectiveness of Now Assist and guide ongoing improvements.

    Now Assist in Virtual Agent uses large language models (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.

    Now Assist capabilities bring generative AI to Virtual Agent. Using LLMs for topic discovery simplifies the amount of setup and configuration required for Virtual Agent. Topics that use keyword and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) discovery often require months of development and the involvement of dedicated subject matter experts. Unusual issues or questions may lead a user to contact a live agent instead. You can continue to use your existing NLU topics and migrate them into new LLM topics using the topic migration feature within Virtual Agent Designer. For more information on topic migration, see Migrating NLU/keyword Virtual Agent topics to LLM topics.

    Use the guided setup to configure Now Assist in Virtual Agent in a few minutes. No expertise is necessary to launch the experience. For more information, see Configuring assistants overview.

    Now Assist in Virtual Agent is available through portals on the chat widget, the mobile app, and Microsoft Teams.

    Search in Now Assist in Virtual Agent

    Now Assist skills in Virtual Agent enhance the user experience by combining AI Search with chat. These skills can increase issue resolution in Virtual Agent and reduce deflections to a live agent.

    The following figure shows how the requester uses natural language rather than keywords in the chat. Now LLM Service determines the most likely option based on the requester's input and sends a synthesized response with possible action items. Queries can apply to both information searches and service catalog requests.

    Figure 1. Example of standard chat's synthesized response with conversational and non-conversational catalog options
    A summary of the iPad options along with catalog options to either Go to request or Start request in the Virtual Agent.

    Now Assist in Virtual Agent shows users the best possible answer to a query, in the form of actionable options displayed along with the results. The bot may generate answers based on what it found, or return actionable options or links. Users have the option to see more results as needed.

    Service Catalog access

    Now Assist in Virtual Agent also gives users access to available options in the Service Catalog. Users can request an item, such as a mobile phone. The user can then provide more information to refine the search. For example, they may refine their request to a blue 256-GB iPhone. They can even request a new item instead, all in the same conversation, and the generative AI creates its responses using natural language.

    For full catalog functionality in the chat window, enable the generative AI experience for catalog item request submissions. For more information, see Configure Now Assist in Conversational Catalog Request.

    LLM topic creation

    Admins can create LLM topics for Now Assist in Virtual Agent. For more information, see LLM assistants. Activate the Now Assist Topics skill in the Now Assist guided setup. For more information, see Configuring assistants overview.

    For more examples of having a conversation with Now Assist in Virtual Agent, see Using Now Assist in Virtual Agent.

    The skill picker is configurable based on the user's requirements. For example, a user can change the View all topics label in the skill picker and add or remove the bullet list of promoted assets from the skill selection message.

    Benefits

    Now Assist in Virtual Agent provides the following benefits.

    Benefit Feature User
    Configure Now Assist in Virtual Agent in a few minutes, from either the Conversational Interfaces console or the Now Assist Admin console. Guided setup experience virtual_agent_admin or admin
    Now Assist skills can be turned on within the guided setup. Activate a Now Assist skill virtual_agent_admin or admin
    Deploy Now Assist in Virtual Agent on multiple portals using the chat widget, the mobile app, and Microsoft Teams. Configuring assistants overview virtual_agent_admin or admin
    Generative AI enhances the user search experience with the ability to generate answers and enabling the user to select the Show more results option for a new search. Now Assist Q&A Genius Results skill requesters
    Give users in-chat access to available options in the Service Catalog. Now Assist Multi-Turn Catalog Ordering skill requesters
    Now Assist lets Virtual Agent switch easily between requests, using plain language when new queries are made in the same conversation. Mid-topic switching during Now Assist in Virtual Agent conversations requesters
    Monitor performance metrics for Now Assist in Virtual Agent from the Conversational Interfaces console. Conversational Interfaces console virtual_agent_admin or admin
    Monitor value metrics (Now Assist usage versus Now Assist in Virtual Agent) from the Now Assist Admin console. Overview tab in Now Assist Admin virtual_agent_admin or admin