Quick start for Virtual Agent

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated November 5, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of Quick start for Virtual Agent

    The Quick Start guide for Virtual Agent helps ServiceNow customers rapidly deploy and configure Virtual Agent on their portals using the Conversational Interfaces console. It covers activating Virtual Agent, adding it to portals, customizing branding, and leveraging pre-built ITSM conversations. For customers licensed for Now Assist, the guide also points to enabling advanced generative AI skills within Virtual Agent.

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    Activating and Installing Virtual Agent

    Customers should begin by navigating to the Conversational Interfaces console to install and activate the Virtual Agent plugin if it is not already installed. The process includes installing recommended plugins such as the ITSM Virtual Agent Conversations plugin via the ServiceNow Store. Licensed customers can install all necessary plugins simultaneously to support IT service management use cases.

    Making Virtual Agent Available on Portals

    After installation, add Virtual Agent as a chat option in your web portal menus through the Conversational Interfaces console. The configuration allows specifying one or more portals, naming the chat configuration, and setting the menu order. Note that Now Assist in Virtual Agent and Virtual Agent using NLU discovery cannot be used simultaneously on the same portal.

    Customizing Branding and Look

    Virtual Agent's appearance can be personalized by changing colors, logos, and bot icons via the branding settings accessible from the Conversational Interfaces console. Customers using Now Assist can also adjust branding during its configuration. Applying branding helps align Virtual Agent’s interface with your company’s identity.

    Using Topic Recommendations

    The Topic Recommendations app helps identify common use cases and relevant topics for Virtual Agent based on your company’s data. Configuring this app enables you to quickly discover and deploy Virtual Agent topics that improve user experience and deflect routine requests.

    Next Steps and Expansion

    • Configure Now Assist skills within Virtual Agent for enhanced AI-driven conversations.
    • Create custom Virtual Agent topics tailored to your organization’s needs.
    • Set up chat experiences and adjust system messages for both Virtual Agent and Agent Chat.
    • Enable AI Search and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) to improve interaction quality.
    • Utilize language detection and dynamic translation to support multilingual conversations.
    • Integrate Virtual Agent with live agent support for seamless escalation.

    This quick start empowers ServiceNow customers to deploy a fully branded, functional Virtual Agent quickly and extend its capabilities over time to meet evolving business needs.

    Using the Conversational Interfaces console, you can quickly add Virtual Agent to a portal, configure branding, personalize the greeting, and begin to use pre-built ITSM Virtual Agent conversations.

    If you have a license for a Now Assist product, you can also quickly deploy Now Assist skills in Virtual Agent in a matter of minutes. For details, see Configuring Now Assist in Virtual Agent.

    Before you begin

    If you have a license for Virtual Agent, the following sections will help you get started and create conversations for your organization quickly.

    If you do not have a license for Virtual Agent, you can try Virtual Agent Lite, which comes preinstalled. For information about getting started with Virtual Agent Lite, see Quick start for Virtual Agent Lite.

    Use the Conversational Interfaces console application to activate and configure Virtual Agent quickly. For more information about the Conversational Interfaces console, see Conversational Interfaces Console.

    Step 1: Activate Virtual Agent and recommended store plugins

    If Virtual Agent has not been activated on your instance, you will need to install it.
    Figure 1. Conversational Interfaces console page when Virtual Agent is not installed
    Conversational Interfaces console when Virtual Agent is not installed.
    1. Navigate to All > Conversational Interfaces > Home.
    2. If Virtual Agent is not installed, select Get Virtual Agent plugin on the home page.
    3. When prompted, select Start install.
      The Applications page opens with Virtual Agent (com.glide.cs.chatbot) selected.
      Figure 2. Install the Virtual Agent plugin
      Select Install/Update to install the Virtual Agent plugin.
      1. If you have a Virtual Agent license, select Install/Update All.
      2. In the dialog box, select Install to begin.
    4. Under Choose what type of requests you want your bot to support, select Get ITSM plugin.
      Figure 3. Install the ITSM Virtual Agent Conversations plugin
      Select Get ITSM plugin to install it from the ServiceNow Store.
    5. Follow the directions in the ServiceNow Store and select Opt-in when prompted.
    6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to install additional plugins. Otherwise, continue to the next section.

    Step 2: Make Virtual Agent available to users

    Add a chat entry to the menu of your web portal. You can add Virtual Agent to additional portals later.

    For conversations based on generative AI large language models (LLMs), you can quickly set up Now Assist in Virtual Agent and add it to a portal. For information about adding Now Assist in Virtual Agent to a portal, see Configuring Now Assist in Virtual Agent.

    Note:
    You cannot use both Now Assist in Virtual Agent and Virtual Agent using NLU discovery in the same portal.
    1. Navigate to All > Conversational Interfaces > Home.
    2. Under Add your bot to a portal, select Add to portal.
      Figure 4. Add your bot to a portal tile on the Conversational Interfaces console page
      Add your bot to a portal tile on the Conversational Interfaces console page.
    3. Fill in the form for Service Portal Agent Chat Configuration.
      Type a name and unlock the Portal(s) field to specify one or more portals for your virtual agent. Type a number in the Order field to specify where to include Virtual Agent on the menu.
      1. In the Name field, type a name for the configuration.
      2. Select the Portal lock icon to open it.
      3. Select the search icon, and then select a portal.
      4. In the Order field, type a number to indicate the order that the configurations should run.

        Only one configuration applies per portal. If there are multiple configurations on a portal, the system runs the first configuration found from lowest to highest.

    4. Select Submit.

    For more detailed information, see Add your bot to a portal.

    Step 3: Customize the look and feel of Virtual Agent

    You can change the way Virtual Agent looks to the end user. You can change the colors, add your company logo, and change the icon that represents your bot.

    If you're using Now Assist in Virtual Agent, you can customize the look and feel during the configuration process. For more information, see Configuring Now Assist in Virtual Agent.

    1. Navigate to All > Conversational Interfaces > Home.
    2. Under Edit your bot's look and feel, select Set up branding.
      Figure 5. Edit your bot's look and feel tile on the Conversational Interfaces console page
      Edit your bot's look and feel tile on the Conversational Interfaces page.
      The Branding settings page opens.
    3. Select New or the name of an existing branding record.
    4. On the form, fill in the fields.
    5. Select Save.
    6. Apply the branding configuration as described in Set up your Virtual Agent bot's branding.

    Step 4: Get recommended topics

    The Topic Recommendations app lets you evaluate the common use cases that Virtual Agent can help resolve or deflect. You can use Topic Recommendations with Virtual Agent topics that use either keyword or NLU topic discovery.

    1. Navigate to All > Conversational Interfaces > Home.
    2. Under Set up Topic Recommendations, select Get Recommendations.
      Figure 6. Set up topic recommendations
      Set up topic recommendations.

      The Topic Recommendations page opens.

    3. Use the Quick start for Topic Recommendations to configure and get topic recommendations based on your company's data.

    Explore further

    As you work with Virtual Agent, you can expand its capabilities by implementing other features. For example, you can do the following: