Using link unfurling in Virtual Agent

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Using link unfurling in Virtual Agent

    Link unfurling in Virtual Agent enhances user conversations by generating content-rich previews when supported links are shared. These previews can include text, images, and videos, improving engagement on chat widgets, mobile devices, and various channels. The feature operates asynchronously and does not disrupt the conversation flow even if delays or failures occur due to external factors like website availability or security policies.

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    Key Features

    • Supported Platforms: Chat widget, mobile devices, and channels within the ServiceNow platform, with client-specific support varying on other platforms.
    • Support Conditions: Link unfurling works only if:
      • The host/domain is listed in the Hostname allow list table.
      • The link contains compliant Open Graph (OG) tags in the page header (e.g., og:image).
      • The link is shared in a conversation involving a user, virtual agent, or text-based bot response.
    • OG Tags Support: Supports image, video, and text-based OG tags. When both image and video tags are present, the video is prioritized in previews.
    • Customization: Admins can add OG tags to ServiceNow UI pages to enable unfurling on internal pages.
    • Disabling Feature: Link unfurling is enabled by default but can be disabled by setting the system property com.glide.cs.enablelinkunfurling to False.
    • Hostname Allow List Configuration: The Hostname allow list [syscshostnameallowlist] table controls which hosts/domains are allowed for link unfurling, enabling administrators to manage security and compliance.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    By leveraging link unfurling, ServiceNow customers can provide users with visually rich and informative previews directly within Virtual Agent conversations, enhancing user experience and engagement. Proper configuration of the Hostname allow list and ensuring OG tags on linked pages are essential to enable this functionality effectively. Administrators maintain control over this feature through system properties and can tailor it to their environment’s security and performance needs.

    Virtual Agent supports link unfurling on the chat widget, mobile devices, and various channels. Link unfurling generates a content-rich preview when a supported link is shared in a conversation with a user, a virtual agent, or in a text-based bot response.

    If the link is supported on the chat widget or channel, the generated content-rich previews can include text, images, and videos.
    Note:
    Factors such as website availability, security policies, or response time of the link you want to unfurl are unpredictable. As a result, link unfurling may be delayed or unavailable. However, these performance-related issues don’t impact the user and don't affect the conversation flow.

    How to determine if a link is supported

    The ServiceNow user interface currently supports link unfurling for OG tags only. A link is supported only if all the following conditions are met:
    • The host or domain is included in the Hostname allow list table.
    • The link uses standard, compliant Open Graph (OG) tags in the page header as metadata. For example, og:image.
    • The link was shared in a conversation with a user, a virtual agent, or in a text-based bot response.
      Note:
      These conditions apply only to the chat widget and mobile devices on the ServiceNow® platform. Support requirements and conditions for clients on other platforms can vary. For client-specific support and requirement conditions, see the documentation for the client you're using.
    Tip:
    Admins can add OG tags to ServiceNow UI pages by following the instructions in the Adding meta tags to ServiceNow UI Pages Knowledge Base article.
    When a link meets the specified criteria, the ServiceNow software does the following:
    • Asynchronously fetches, if available, the OG tag at the provided link.
    • Attaches a card-based, content-rich preview of the link based on the OG tag.

    The time required to complete these and any other required tasks can vary, depending on your network configuration and system performance.

    Supported OG tags

    The ServiceNow user interface supports image, video, and text-based OG tags. When both an image OG tag and a video OG tag are fetched, the video is used instead of the image in the card-based, content-rich preview.

    Note:
    The specific OG tags supported on channels can vary. For example, the OG tags supported on Slack may be different from the OG tags supported on Microsoft Teams, or Workplace from Facebook. For details about the OG tags supported on channels, see the documentation for the channel you're using.

    Disabling link unfurling

    Link unfurling is automatically enabled by default. To turn it off, admin users can change the com.glide.cs.enable_link_unfurling system property to False.