Assigning preferred agents to work on tasks

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Assigning Preferred Agents to Work on Tasks

    Assigning preferred agents allows for more efficient task management by leveraging agents who are familiar with specific customer contexts. Preferred agents are those who have established relationships through on-site work or are linked to customer contracts. This process utilizes dynamic scheduling to streamline task assignment.

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    Key Features

    • Dynamic Scheduling: Tasks can be assigned to preferred agents through auto-assign features or appointment booking.
    • Agent Recommendation: High-priority tasks can be automatically assigned to preferred agents based on availability.
    • Appointment Booking: When customers book appointments, these are directly assigned to preferred agents, ensuring continuity and familiarity.

    Key Outcomes

    By implementing preferred agent assignments, ServiceNow customers can expect:

    • Increased task efficiency by assigning agents who know the customer context.
    • Improved customer satisfaction as preferred agents are familiar with specific needs and requirements.
    • Streamlined scheduling as tasks can automatically adjust based on existing appointments and priorities.

    To effectively utilize this feature, ensure preferred technicians are linked to customer accounts and that matching criteria are set in dynamic scheduling configurations.

    Preferred agents are agents who are most familiar with the context of tasks they've been assigned and are preferred by customers. For example, they could be agents who work on-site at a customer premise or are associated with the customer contracts or entitlements.

    You can assign preferred agents to tasks using dynamic scheduling when you assign tasks using any of the following methods:
    • Auto-assign using agent recommendation
    • Book an appointment using Appointment Booking
    Here are a few scenarios on how tasks can get assigned to preferred agents.
    Note:
    The preferred technicians must be added to the respective customer accounts and the preferred technician matching criteria must be added to the dynamic scheduling configuration.
    In this example, let's define the roles as follows:
    Table 1. Preferred users and their roles
    Role Name
    Customer of Acme Corporation George Warren
    Dispatcher Lisa Ray
    • Mona Lisa
    • Alex Ray
    • Lynda Caraway
    		 Preferred technicians for Acme Corporation account

    Scenario 1: Auto-assign using agent recommendation

    This example shows how tasks that are high priority can get assigned to preferred agents.

    Note:
    Lisa Ray is logged in as a dispatcher.
    1. Navigate to Field Service > Dispatching > Dispatcher Workspace
    2. Locate a task for Acme Corporation that must be assigned to a preferred technician. Let's say Mona Lisa is the preferred technician available to work on this task.
    3. Drag the task and drop it to Mona Lisa's schedule in the calendar. The task has now been scheduled.
    4. Now, a high-priority task from Acme Corporation enters the task queue. This task must be assigned to the same preferred agent Mona Lisa and has to be scheduled at the same time when the previous task was scheduled.
    5. Drag the task to Mona Lisa's schedule in the calendar. This task automatically takes the time slot of the previously scheduled task and that task moves to the next available schedule that is available for Mona Lisa.

    Scenario 2: Book an appointment using Appointment Booking

    This example shows how when a customer books an appointment, it’s automatically assigned to the preferred agent.

    Note:
    George Warren is logged in as a customer of Acme Corporation.
    1. Navigate to the customer service portal.
    2. Select a service that requires an appointment.
    3. Select the desired time slot and select Select.
    4. Select Submit.

      Navigate to Field Service > Dispatching > Dispatcher Workspace and see that the task has been assigned to the preferred agent Mona Lisa.

    For more information on adding a preferred agent to a work order task see, Set technician preferences for tasks.