Quick start for Virtual Agent

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 4 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Quick start for Virtual Agent

    This guide helps ServiceNow customers quickly activate, configure, and start using Virtual Agent on their portals using the Conversational Interfaces console. It supports both the full Virtual Agent (licensed) and Virtual Agent Lite (preinstalled). The quick start covers installation, portal integration, branding customization, and topic recommendations to enable meaningful ITSM conversational experiences.

    Show full answer Show less

    Initial Activation and Plugin Installation

    Activate Virtual Agent by navigating to All > Conversational Interfaces > Home. If not installed, use the “Get Virtual Agent plugin” option to install it and required plugins such as the ITSM Virtual Agent Conversations plugin. Licensed customers should select “Install/Update All” and opt-in to plugins from the ServiceNow Store to enable full capabilities.

    Adding Virtual Agent to Portals

    Add Virtual Agent chat to your portal menu via the Conversational Interfaces console by selecting “Add to portal.” Configure the portal(s) and the order of the chat entry. Note that you cannot simultaneously use Now Assist in Virtual Agent and Virtual Agent with NLU discovery on the same portal. This step ensures users can access Virtual Agent conversations from the portal interface.

    Customizing Look and Feel

    Personalize the Virtual Agent experience by configuring branding such as colors, logos, and bot icons. Branding settings are accessible from the Conversational Interfaces console. Customers utilizing Now Assist in Virtual Agent can also customize appearance during assistant setup. These customizations enhance user engagement and align the bot with corporate identity.

    Getting Recommended Topics

    Use the Topic Recommendations app to identify common use cases Virtual Agent can address, helping optimize topic creation. This supports both keyword-based and NLU topic discovery approaches. Access this from the Conversational Interfaces console and follow the Quick start for Topic Recommendations to tailor topics based on your company’s data.

    Next Steps and Expansion

    • Configure Now Assist in Virtual Agent for generative AI capabilities.
    • Set up enhanced chat experiences for users.
    • Create and manage new Virtual Agent topics for specific organizational needs.
    • Modify system messages for Virtual Agent and Agent Chat for better communication.
    • Enable AI Search integration and implement Natural Language Understanding (NLU) for improved interaction quality.
    • Integrate Virtual Agent with live agents for seamless escalation.
    • Utilize language detection and dynamic machine translation for multilingual support.
    • Localize Virtual Agent topics to support diverse user bases.

    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 assistants overview.

    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 assistants overview.

    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 assistants overview.

    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: