---
sourceDocument: Xanadu Employee Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/xanadu/employee-service-management

 Release :

    - xanadu

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Xanadu Employee Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - emplsm

bundleId :

    - emplsm

workflow :

    - Employee


---

# Set up Virtual Agent for Universal Request

# Set up Virtual Agent for Universal Request {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Xanadu
* 
* Updated August 1, 2024
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read

Use Virtual Agent (VA) capabilities to provide a better user
experience for your chat channel using the ServiceNow®
Natural Language Understanding (NLU) model. Publish and use the
default Virtual Agent topics for Universal Request.

## Before you begin

To use VA capabilities, you must activate the following plugins:

* Activate the Universal Request: Virtual Agent Conversations plugin (com.snc.universal_request.va) to set up and use Virtual Agent in Universal Request. This plugin installs the Virtual Agent topics that must be made active. By default, the topics are set to inactive.
* Activate the Universal Request: NLU Model for Virtual Agent Conversations plugin (com.snc.universal_request.nlu) to set up and use the NLU model for Virtual Agent conversations.
{#ur-virtual-agent-setup__ul_pdv_rrq_xlb}Role required: admin

## About this task

Activate the Virtual Agent topics for Universal Request.

You can also copy and modify the default topics or create your own topics to use during the chatbot conversations. For more information on creating a topic, see [Create a Virtual Agent topic](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=create-virtual-agent-topic&version=xanadu&pubname=xanadu-conversational-interfaces&ft:locale=en-US).

## Procedure

1. Navigate to AllConversational InterfacesVirtual AgentDesigner.
2. Enter <kbd class="ph userinput">Universal Request</kbd> in the Category field.  
   The following topics and topic blocks are displayed:
   * Employee Help Request (Template)
   * Track Universal Request Status (Template)
   * Update UR (Template)
   {#ur-virtual-agent-setup__ul_gzn_ybd_vpb}
3. Select the Employee Help Request (Template) topic to open it.
4. On the header section, select Publish.  
   The topic is made available and active in the chat window.
5. Repeat this procedure to open and publish the Track Universal Request Status (Template) and Update UR (Template) topics.
* **[Enable Natural Language Understanding model for Universal Request topic](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/z0f5IuM6fTTmIzMV3LTbXQ)**   
  Apply the Natural Language Understanding vocabulary in the Universal Request application to help the system to understand human-expressed language.

*[\>]: and then