Deploying Virtual Agent topics in other channels
Summarize
Summary of Deploying Virtual Agent topics in other channels
ServiceNow Virtual Agent enables you to deploy conversational topics across multiple chat channels, including default applications like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Workplace, Facebook Messenger, web, and mobile clients. Additionally, you can extend Virtual Agent capabilities to custom channels through conversational custom chat integrations, allowing third-party chat providers such as Skype to interface with Virtual Agent.
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Specifying Channels for Topics and Topic Blocks
When creating or editing a topic or topic block in Virtual Agent Designer, you can specify the chat channels where the topic will be active via the Channels field under Advanced properties. This setting ensures the topic runs only in the designated default or custom chat clients configured for your instance.
The Virtual Agent Designer includes built-in guardrails that validate conversation controls against the selected channels. It identifies controls unsupported by certain channels, helping you tailor conversations effectively for each chat environment.
Design-Time Channel Validation
- Topic Properties Tab: Displays warnings if any controls used in the topic are incompatible with the selected channels.
- Flow Tab (Canvas): Highlights unsupported controls within the conversation flow and provides property sheet messages for affected nodes.
- You can adjust your conversation design by branching flows to exclude unsupported controls for specific channels, ensuring a seamless user experience.
Managing and Viewing Available Channels
To view the list of available chat channels in your ServiceNow instance, use the filter in the Assistant Designer Asset library or consult the Messaging Channels [syscschannel] table. Default channels include web chat, mobile clients, and integrated messaging apps. Custom channels added via conversational custom chat integrations also appear here, enabling you to manage and deploy topics across all supported environments.
Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
- Deploy Virtual Agent conversations consistently across multiple chat platforms, including custom messaging providers.
- Receive real-time design validation to ensure compatibility of conversation controls with targeted channels.
- Customize and optimize user interactions by branching conversation flows to accommodate channel-specific capabilities.
- Manage and monitor available chat channels effectively within your instance for streamlined topic deployment.
When creating a topic or topic block, you can specify the chat channels in which the topic or topic block will run. During conversation design, Virtual Agent Designer provides built-in guardrails to help you tailor your conversations to those channels.
In Virtual Agent, a channel is a chat interface or application in which Virtual Agent interacts with end users. Default channels are the chat applications natively supported by Virtual Agent, such as the Slack, Microsoft Teams, Workplace, and Facebook Messenger applications, and the web and mobile clients. Virtual Agent also supports custom channels created through the conversational custom chat integrations feature, which enables third-party applications (other chat providers) to work in Virtual Agent.
For example, admins can build a custom conversational chat integration for a specific messaging provider, such as Skype. Admins also define the controls that can be used in topics that run in these channels. For details about creating channels for chat providers and specifying the controls used in a channel, see Creating conversational custom chat integrations in Virtual Agent.
Specifying channels in your topics or topic blocks
When you create or edit a topic or topic block, you can specify the applicable channels in the Channels field under Advanced properties in the Topic Properties page. Applicable channels are the custom channels created for your instance through the conversational custom chat integrations. Use this field to specify chat clients in which the topic or topic block will run.
During conversation design, Virtual Agent checks the various controls used to build the conversation flow to confirm that the control is valid for the channels in which the topic or block will run.
Design checks for specified channels during conversation design
- Properties tab (Topic Properties page)
In the following example, Skype and SMS are the additional channels in which the topic will run. The banner message identifies the controls that are not supported on the channels for the topic. As you develop the conversation flow, you can revise your conversation so that it does not use any of the specified controls for your selected channels.
Figure 2. Topic Properties tab with defined channels - Flow tab (Virtual Agent Designer canvas)
In the following example flow, the banner message identifies the controls that are not supported for the specified channels. The property sheet for the affected nodes also displays a message indicating that the control is not supported. For example, when you highlight a particular node (control) in the flow, the associated property sheet for the node indicates that the control is not supported in the Skype and SMS channels.
If you have controls that cannot be used, you can branch the flow so that you can continue building the flow with the controls that are supported.
Figure 3. Topic Flow tab with channel warnings
Finding the channels available in your instance
To see a list of the available channels in your instance, use the filter icon (
) in the Assistant Designer Asset library (). The Messaging Channels [sys_cs_channel] table also shows the available channels.
The default channels in Virtual Agent are the web chat and mobile clients and also the Virtual Agent messaging integrations for the Slack, Microsoft Teams, Workplace, and Facebook Messenger messaging applications. In the previous example, SMS is an available chat channel that was created for your instance through a conversational chat integration. When you choose a channel, the home page lists your topics (cards) by channel type. For more information, see Creating conversational custom chat integrations in Virtual Agent.