Anonymous chat
Summarize
Summary of Anonymous chat
The Anonymous chat feature in the Consumer Service Portal allows consumers to initiate chat sessions with consumer service agents without logging in. Guest users can click the Chat link in the portal header, complete a form with basic details such as name, email, and issue type, and submit a chat request. The request is then routed to the appropriate agent queue based on the issue type, enabling agents to accept and engage in the chat session. Agents can also create consumer records or cases during the chat, or transfer the session to another agent if needed.
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Setting Up Anonymous Chat
To enable this feature, ServiceNow customers must:
- Activate the Consumer Service Portal plugin (com.glide.service-portal.consumer-portal).
- Modify the default anonymous chat record producer or create a new one to gather guest user information.
- Create matching rules for each agent queue to route chat requests based on issue type.
- Configure anonymous chat properties to manage chat session limits.
- Optionally, customize Connect actions like Create Case for Guest and Create Consumer and Case for Guest for agent workflows.
Key Features
- Anonymous Connect Support plugin: Enables the anonymous chat feature.
- Connect Support Routing plugin: Routes chat requests to appropriate queues.
- Record Producer: A configurable form based on the Customer Interaction table collects guest user info and triggers routing.
- Matching Rules: Define routing logic for chat requests by issue type (e.g., Billing Support, Order Support, Product Support).
- Properties: Control limits on guest chat sessions per hour and define messaging when limits are exceeded.
Practical Benefits
This feature enables ServiceNow customers to offer seamless, no-login support interactions to consumers, improving accessibility and user experience on the Consumer Service Portal. Automated routing based on issue type ensures efficient handling by specialized agents, while configurable limits help manage system load and prevent abuse.
Consumers can chat with a consumer service agent without logging in to the Consumer Service Portal.
From the Consumer Service Portal, guest users can click the Chat link in the portal header to initiate a chat session with a consumer service agent. Clicking this link opens a form that requests some basic information, including the user's name, email address, and type of issue. Completing and submitting the form creates a chat request that is routed to the appropriate agent queue based on the selected issue type. Once the assigned agent accepts the request, a chat session is established. If necessary, the agent can create a consumer record or a case for the guest user, or transfer the chat to another agent.
Setting up anonymous chat
- Activate the Consumer Service Portal plugin (com.glide.service-portal.consumer-portal).
- Modify the default anonymous chat record producer or create a new record producer.
- Create one matching rule for each agent queue.
- Configure anonymous chat properties.
- If necessary, modify the Connect actions to provide the desired functionality for consumer service agents in chat conversations. The anonymous chat feature includes these actions: Create Case for Guest and Create Consumer and Case for Guest. For more information, see Administer Connect actions.
Anonymous chat plugins
- Anonymous Connect Support (com.glide.connect.anonymous_support): enables the anonymous chat feature for Connect.
- Connect Support Routing (com.glide.connect.support.routing): routes Connect Support requests to the appropriate chat queue.
Anonymous chat record producer
The form used to request information from a guest user is a configurable record producer based on the Consumer Interaction table (sn_customerservice_customer_interaction), which is a new table in the Istanbul release. When a guest user submits the form, the information provided is stored as a record in the Customer Interaction table. This record is used for routing the chat request.
The default anonymous chat record producer, What can we help you with?, is located at . This is a public record producer. You can modify this record producer or create your own. If you choose to create your own, see Section 3 in the Making a record producer and catalog item public on a CMS page [KB0551300] article. You must also set the glide.sc.use_user_criteria property to false.
For more information, see Record Producer.
Anonymous chat routing
Information provided by the guest user assists with routing and also provides the context of the request to the consumer service agent. The chat request is routed to the appropriate agent queue based on the type of issue selected. The routing for anonymous chat requests uses matching rules. Create one matching rule for each queue and tie a chat request to a chat queue based on the selected issue type. Matching rules for anonymous chat are based on the Customer Interaction table.
- Anonymous Connect - Billing Support
- Anonymous Connect - Order Support
- Anonymous Connect - Product Support
These rules are based on the selections in the Issue Type field on the default anonymous chat record producer.
Anonymous chat properties
There are two properties related to the anonymous chat feature. Set these properties to limit the number of chat requests created by guest users.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| connect.support.max_guest_sessions_per_hour | Limit maximum number of guest conversations created in the last hour.
|
| connect.support.guest_sessions_rate_limit_reached_message | Message shown to user when rate limit for guest conversations is breached.
|