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IntegrityBit: Virtual Agent Topics – Virtual Agent

Virtual Agent Topics | Virtual Agent
By: Ethan B. 
Overview

In ServiceNow Virtual Agent, topics are what define the dialogue flow in the conversation between the Virtual Agent bot and the user. In order to ensure that the bot prints information and accomplishes tasks that match what the user expects, the bot employs topics in response to the user’s input.

Each standard topic is designed to accomplish a specific goal or resolve an issue. In order to create a Virtual Agent experience that feels authentic, ServiceNow offers two other types of topics, each with a different focus:

  • Setup topics: Common conversational elements, such as a greeting (“What can I help you with?”) or a conversation end (such as a feedback survey).
  • Small talk topics: Responses to non-specific questions that could be asked during any time in a conversation, such as “What time is it?”

Virtual Agent includes several pre-built topic conversations that respond to common requests and assist users with common tasks.

Designing Custom Topics 

If pre-built topic conversations do not meet the requirements of a Virtual Agent implementation, developers can create custom topics to meet their needs. Topics can be created in the Virtual Agent Designer, which is accessed through the All menu (Conversational Interfaces > Virtual Agent > Designer). Developers can either duplicate existing topics and edit them or build a new topic from scratch.

Once a topic is open for editing, drag nodes from the Flow tab to construct the conversation’s flow. There are three types of components: requests for user input, bot responses, and utilities, which perform certain actions or provide flow control. Each node has a set of configurable properties that control how the node behaves.

Here are some considerations when creating and designing topics:

  • Each topic should be designed to answer a specific request from the user. Design your topics to handle a single issue to prevent them from overlapping with other topics or becoming too long.
  • Use personalized greetings in your topics to create a more positive experience for the user.
  • If your organization is developing topics for multiple different VA bots, ServiceNow recommends that you manage the topics for each bot in different application scopes.
  • Design a fallback topic that the bot presents in the event that a user’s request could not be fulfilled or understood.

Sources from ServiceNow Documentation:

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