Configuring Virtual Agent
Summarize
Summary of Configuring Virtual Agent
This guide explains how to configure Virtual Agent in ServiceNow to support employees, IT teams, and customers effectively. Using the Conversational Interfaces Console, you can activate and customize Virtual Agent features, components, and integrations tailored to your organization's needs. Some settings overlap with other applications like Agent Chat.
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General Chat Settings
Configure key chat options such as branding the chat client, previewing messages, conversation routing, and integrating with third-party messaging apps. You can also create pre-chat surveys, manage context variables for chat information, and enable callback options through other ServiceNow applications. Additionally, system chat messages and URL navigation behaviors can be customized.
Note that the Sensitive Data Handler feature is being deprecated; customers should transition to using the Data Privacy application for sensitive data management.
Virtual Agent can send email summaries of unread messages when users are inactive to maintain engagement.
Virtual Agent Specific Settings
- Get topic recommendations based on your data to optimize conversational flows.
- Configure performance tracking and deflection to measure and improve Virtual Agent effectiveness.
- Use Natural Language Understanding (NLU) for topic discovery and conversation design, including creating NLU models with the NLU Workbench.
- Create custom greetings and set up topics to tailor the chat experience.
- Define issue routing to Virtual Agent and run simulations for auto-resolution scenarios.
- Enable and configure notifications within Virtual Agent, allowing users to receive informational or actionable messages.
- Leverage AI Search for fallback results to enhance user experience.
- Implement language detection and dynamic machine translation to support multilingual conversations.
Security and Customization
Virtual Agent leverages ServiceNow platform hardening practices, so it is important to follow overall instance security recommendations.
Customize chat experiences based on the user's conversation context, allowing different interactions depending on how users initiate contact.
Deployment Options
- Use the portable chat widget to embed Virtual Agent on third-party web pages, Service Portals, or UI Builder portals.
- Configure Virtual Agent for optimized use within ServiceNow mobile applications, including service portals for mobile.
- Support multiple simultaneous conversations with context separation for richer user interactions.
- Utilize catalogs and autopilot features to enable service and product requests directly within chat conversations.
Advanced Configuration
- Set up cross-scope access privileges to allow topic authors and developers to use topic blocks and custom controls across different scoped applications.
- Create or modify custom Virtual Agent categories to organize topics and assets, with options to display category labels in the topic picker menu for end users.
Configure the Virtual Agent features, components, and integrations that you need to provide support to your employees, IT teams, and customers.
Use the Conversational Interfaces Console to activate and configure Virtual Agent. Some of the general settings in the console are shared with other applications, such as Agent Chat.
| I want to... | See these topics |
|---|---|
| Chat Client Display Options | |
| Brand my bot | Branding your chat client |
| Preview new or unread messages in a minimized chat window | Enable message preview on the chat widget |
| Conversation Routing | |
| Configure my bot to run in third-party messaging apps | Integrating Virtual Agent with messaging apps. |
| Create pre-chat surveys | Define pre-chat survey configurations |
| Create and use context variables to store chat-related information | Configure context variables for storing chat-related information |
| Display or announce callback options to users through other ServiceNow apps | Omnichannel Callback |
| Configure topic context intents | Define topic context intent configurations |
| System Actions | |
| Modify system chat messages | Change Virtual Agent and Agent Chat system messages |
| Specify how links open from the chat window | URL navigation in Conversational Interfaces |
| Configure my bot to detect sensitive data | Configuring Sensitive Data Handler Note: This feature is being prepared for future deprecation. It will be hidden and no longer available for installation but will continue to be supported. For details, see the Deprecation Process [KB0867184] article in the Now Support knowledge base. Install the Data Privacy application as a replacement. For more information, see Data Privacy. |
| Send email summaries of unread messages to users when they are inactive | Sending missed chat activity emails |
| I want to... | See these topics |
|---|---|
| Get recommendations for Virtual Agent topics based on my data | Quick start for Topic Recommendations |
| Configure performance tracking for Virtual Agent topics | Create deflection configurations and patterns |
| Use Natural Language Understanding (NLU) for topic discovery | Configure Natural Language Understanding in Virtual Agent Creating models (using NLU Workbench) |
| Create custom greetings and setup topics | Configure a Virtual Agent chat experience |
| Determine which issues are routed to Virtual Agent first | Configure and run an Issue Auto Resolution simulation |
| Send notifications to users in Virtual Agent | |
| Use AI Search to return fallback results for Virtual Agent | Improving the user experience with AI Search |
| Detect and dynamically translate Virtual Agent topics into a different language | Using language detection and dynamic machine translation in Virtual Agent enhanced chat conversations |
Virtual Agent security
Platform hardening for your instance is leveraged by Virtual Agent, so you should follow the overall platform hardening recommendations. For details, see Secure your instance.