What it is (plain English)
A chatbot that handles common requests and questions in a conversation — resetting a password, checking a ticket, answering a policy question — through the portal, Teams, or Slack. It deflects routine work from agents and gives users instant, 24/7 self-service.
Problems it solves
- Agents spending time on repetitive, simple requests.
- Users waiting for help that a bot could resolve instantly.
- Self-service portals people won't use because search is clunky.
- After-hours requests with nobody to answer.
What must exist first
Platform Core Setup and the underlying process to serve (e.g., Incident Management, CSM Case Management, HR Service Delivery (HRSD)); usually surfaced via Employee Center or a customer portal.
What the customer needs to provide
- Your highest-volume, most-automatable request types.
- Existing knowledge content the bot can draw on.
- Channels to deploy on (portal, Teams, Slack).
- Tone/branding and escalation-to-human rules.
Where it can go next
Now Assist (Generative AI) adds generative AI for far more natural conversations and drafting; topic coverage expands over time; pairs with AI Search and knowledge for deflection.