Chat Feature

The AI in a Box Chat widget brings conversational AI directly to your ServiceNow forms. Agents can ask questions, get summaries, and interact with record data using natural language.

⚠️ Classic UI Only: The chat widget currently only works on ServiceNow Classic UI forms (Incident, Problem, Change, etc.). It does not appear in Workspace or Next Experience UI.

Features

🤖 Conversational AI

  • Ask questions about the current record
  • Get AI-generated summaries and insights
  • Multi-turn conversations with context
  • Automatic record context injection (number, description, state, etc.)

🔧 Tool Calling

  • AI can call tools to fetch data (search incidents, query CMDB, etc.)
  • Tools panel shows available tools: 🔧(3/12) indicates 3 of 12 tools enabled
  • Enable/disable individual tools before sending messages
  • View tool call history in the conversation

💬 Smart UI

The chat widget adapts its interface based on context:

  • [Send] - Blue button when you have text ready to send
  • [Close] - Red button when input is empty (closes chat)
  • [Stop] - Yellow button during AI response (stops generation)

📜 Conversation History

  • Previous chats are saved per record
  • Access history via the 📜 button
  • Resume conversations where you left off

How It Works

When you open a task form (Incident, Problem, Change, etc.):

  1. A floating "Chat" button appears in the bottom-right corner
  2. Click to open the chat panel
  3. The AI automatically receives context about the current record
  4. Type your question and hit Enter or click Send
  5. The AI responds with streaming text in real-time

Configuration

Enable Chat

Set these system properties:

ai_in_a_box.feature.chat.enabled = true
ai_in_a_box.feature.chat.roles = itil,admin (optional - restricts by role)

Customize System Prompt

Set a custom system prompt to guide AI behavior:

ai_in_a_box.feature.chat.system_prompt = "You are a helpful ServiceNow assistant..."

Using Tools

Tools allow the AI to fetch live data from ServiceNow during conversations:

  1. Click the 🔧(X/Y) button to open the tools panel
  2. Enable/disable tools by checking/unchecking them
  3. Click the ▶ arrow next to a tool name to see its description
  4. Your selections persist for the conversation

Available tools depend on your installation. Common tools include:

  • get_incident - Search and retrieve incident data
  • search_knowledge - Query knowledge base articles
  • search_catalog - Find service catalog items

See Tools & ACL Security for details on creating custom tools.

Limitations

Workspace/Next Experience Not Supported

The chat widget uses a Client Script that injects into Classic UI forms. It will not appear in:

  • ServiceNow Workspace
  • Next Experience UI
  • Mobile interface
  • List views (only form views)

Supported Tables: The chat widget appears on the task table and all tables that extend it (incident, problem, change_request, etc.).

Troubleshooting

Chat Button Doesn't Appear

  • Verify ai_in_a_box.feature.chat.enabled is set to true
  • Check if your user has the required roles (if configured)
  • Ensure you're on a Classic UI form view, not Workspace
  • Clear browser cache and reload

AI Doesn't Respond

  • Check the Command Center for server status
  • Verify your AI server URL and API key are configured
  • Check browser console for JavaScript errors
  • Ensure the inference record is being created (AI in a Box > Inferences)

Tools Not Working

  • Verify tools are enabled in the tools panel
  • Check that the tool scripts are active in ServiceNow
  • Review tool execution permissions (ACLs)

Next Steps