Omnichannels for communicating with customers

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read

    • Meet customers where they feel most comfortable by providing omnichannel support. Customers can use chat on the Customer Service Management portal, chat via consumer messaging apps, use email, or place a phone call.

    Customers can use the following consumer messaging apps to message you.
    • WhatsApp
    • LINE
    • Facebook Messenger
    • Apple Messages for Business
    To learn more, see Integrating with consumer messaging apps.

    Chat channel

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

    Figure 1. Chatting with an agent
    Infographic displaying the process for users to chat with a virtual or live agent to get help submitting a case and resolving an issue.

    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 channel

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

    Customers can email support to submit a case and get help from an agent.

    Creating, viewing, and updating cases

    Customers can create a new case by sending an email to a designated address. They can also create a new 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.
    Note:
    If the case number in the subject line is incorrect, a new case is created.

    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 click the Accept or Reject link in the email.

    When an agent closes a case, two emails are sent to the customer: the first states that the case has been closed and the second provides a link to a customer satisfaction survey.
    Note:
    If a customer accepts a solution or closes a case from the Customer Service Portal, they are automatically routed to the survey. They do not receive the survey email.

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

    Phone 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.

    Infographic displaying the process when a customer calls support to get an agent to submit a case and resolve an issue.
    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.
    Note:
    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.

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