From the Customer Service Portal and Consumer Service Portal, customers can start a chat with a virtual or live agent for help.

The chat communication channel uses the ServiceNow® Connect Support feature to provide chat capability. You can also enable the ServiceNow® Virtual Agent application to create or use predefined chatbot topics (conversations) for your users.

The chat request from the customer is either routed to a virtual agent or to an available agent with the required skill set. The agent can respond to the customer and, if necessary, create a new case or link the discussion to an existing case.

An agent can also initiate a Zoom meeting from a chat to resolve issues faster. For more information, see Chat Zoom Connector.

If a case is created as the result of a chat, the customer can later find and view the case from the portal for updates. The customer service agent can also link a chat discussion to an existing case. Details from the chat discussion are copied to the case form.

For more information, see Connect Support and Configuring the chat channel.

When a support agent of the assignment group associated with the chat queue ends a chat with a user, a survey is available in the chat window for the users. Users can take the survey to give feedback about the interaction with an agent. The survey is not captured in the transcript in the agent's interactions page.

Email queries from customers can be managed either as interactions or cases. Interactions handle simple queries that can be resolved promptly, while cases are for more complex issues requiring investigation. Use interactions for simple questions and as a staging object for case categorization. Use cases for complex issues requiring investigation by the back office to facilitate proper resolution.

Email Interaction

Enables you to create interactions to manage email engagement with customers. Agents can review these interactions and take appropriate actions. The customer query can be resolved by an email response over the interaction, or a case can be created for further investigation.

This prevents the creation of duplicate and unnecessary cases and provides agents with a consistent experience across all channels. Email interactions are handled in CSM Configurable Workspace using the same workflow that agents use for voice, chat, and messaging interactions.

Streamlining case management from intake to resolution

When a customer sends an email, it’s automatically created as an interaction in the system. This interaction captures all email communication between agent and customer, providing agents with context for the query. The agent reviews the interaction to determine whether the issue requires further investigation. If the customer’s request is clear and needs resolution, a case is created based on the interaction.

Once the case is created, the interaction is marked as closed. This helps prevent unnecessary duplication and keeps the system organized. When the agent replies to the customer's email through the case, an outbound interaction is automatically created. This confirms that all communication is tracked, maintaining a complete record of the conversation.

Agents can initiate outbound email interactions directly from contact or consumer records in CSM Configurable Workspace for proactive customer engagement. The system automatically creates a Work-In-Progress interaction, assigns it to the agent initiating the email, tracks the email thread, and manages the interaction lifecycle including automated reminders and auto-closure of inactive interactions.

The Email Interaction for CSM includes the following capabilities:

• Wrap-up codes: Agents select an internal wrap-up code when closing an interaction, supporting reporting and compliance for both AWA-routed and CCaaS-routed interactions.
• Transfer: For CCaaS-routed interactions, agents can transfer the interaction to another queue or agent.
• Reroute: The system reroutes interactions to available agents when the assigned agent is unavailable and a customer responds.
• Activity stream: Agents view email threads, compose responses, and track the full conversation history within the interaction.

This approach provides clarity of effort at every stage. Interactions represent customer problem intake, while cases represent investigation and resolution. For detailed information about each capability, see Using Email Interaction for Customer Service Management.

Email to case

With email to case, customers can send emails to create cases and update current cases. They can also receive email updates from customer service agents as cases progress.

Creating, viewing, and updating cases

Customers can create a case by sending an email to a designated address. They can also create a case for a specific product by sending an email to a designated address and including the product name in the subject line. Or, if a channel configuration has been created, customers can send an email to a designated address regardless of the information included in the subject line.

After submitting a case, the customer receives a confirmation email with the assigned case number and a link to the Case form. When an agent updates a case, the customer receives an email with the details.

Customers can update an existing case in the following ways:

• By replying directly to an email from a customer service agent.
• By creating an email and including the Case: prefix followed by the case number in the subject line. For example, Case:CS0000011.

Accepting and rejecting solutions

When an agent proposes a solution to a case, the customer receives an email with instructions for accepting or rejecting the solution. The customer can reply and include Accept or Reject in the first line of the email, or the customer can select the Accept or Reject link in the email.

When an agent closes a case, two emails are sent to the customer. The first email states that the case has been closed. The second email provides a link to a customer satisfaction survey.

Hinweis:

If a customer accepts a solution or closes a case from the Customer Service Portal, they’re automatically routed to the survey. They don’t receive the survey email.

To get started with the email channel, see Configuring the email channel.

External customers can reach out to customer service agents by phone. The Customer Service Management application uses both Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) and OpenFrame to provide phone support for customers.

Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)

CTI provides a way to integrate the ServiceNow AI Platform with telephony providers to support inbound and outbound calls. With this integration, customer service agents can place and accept calls from customers, quickly identify customers and account information, and capture case-related information.

Hinweis:

The CTI integration with the Twilio Voice product requires activation of the Notify plugin.

OpenFrame

OpenFrame is a tool that enables CTI capability with telephony service providers. OpenFrame provides a communication frame that agents use to place and receive customer calls.

Interaction Controls Component (ICC)

Integrate ICC with contact centers to embed a native call control interface within the Agent Workspace. This streamlines the management of all inbound and outbound phone interactions by providing contextual assistance in a single interface.

Hinweis:

The Interaction Controls Component (ICC) is a framework that includes voice call features. However, these features will not function unless they are implemented by a CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) solution.

For more information, see: Interaction Controls Component (ICC) for voice calls

To get started with the phone channel, see Configuring the phone channel.