Interacting with users on Live Chat

In Smart IT Universal Client, as an IT agent with ESChat_Agent permissions, you can use Live Chat to resolve user queries. When you receive a new chat request from a self-service user or a BMC Helix Virtual Agent user from a web client, you can view the chat and join the session. You can view customer information and use resources to help resolve the user's queries. From a chat session, you can also create an incident or a work order in Smart IT.

For more information about interacting with users on Live Chat, see Interacting with chat users  (Live Chat documentation).

Before you begin

• Ensure that you have the IT Agent role in Smart IT.
  For more information about roles and permissions in Smart IT, see Smart IT roles and permissions.
• Ensure that you have the ESChat_Agent permissions to use Live Chat. 
• Ensure that the Smart IT administrator has modified the CCS parameter settings for Live Chat. 
  For more information about the settings, see Integrating Smart IT with Live Chat.

Agent console UI elements

When you click Live Chat > Agent's Console, the following page appears:

You can see incoming chat requests from users and accept a chat session by clicking the chat request in the Queue or Transferred chat queues. You are also notified of incoming chats or messages. For more information, see  Receiving notifications for incoming chats or messages  (Live Chat documentation). 

The Live Chat page has the following UI elements:

Overview of chat sessions 

As a support agent, you can accept multiple chat sessions by selecting the issue description or question provided by the user. Each chat session opens in the center pane, and you can switch between chats as needed. You can also access the end user's desktop through a remote-control screen sharing session from Live Chat to resolve the issue raised by the user.

You can accept two types of chat sessions:

• New chat sessions
  When a user initiates a fresh chat session, the session is displayed on the Queue tab.
• Transferred chat sessions
  When a support agent transfers a sessions, it is displayed on the Transferred tab. The Transferred tab is displayed only when a support agent transfers a chat session to another agent.
  You can see transferred chat sessions belonging to your support queue only.

To accept chat sessions

1. From the Smart IT home page, click Live Chat > Agent's Console.

2. To accept a chat session, click one of the following options:

   • Queue—To accept fresh chat sessions initiated by the users.

   • Transferred—To accept chat sessions transferred by other agents.
     The chat history is displayed. If you are accepting a chat that is transferred, the chat history along with notes of the agent who handled this case previously is displayed. The user receives notification that you are online. 
     The Customer Information tab displays the customer contact and site information, company name, tickets, and assets. 
     The Resources tab shows outages, templates, and knowledge articles to support an agent during the chat.

3. Click Accept.
   My chats displays the chats that you have accepted. 
4. In the chat pane, type your response and press Enter or click the icon.

For more information about accepting and transferring chat sessions, see  Accepting, transferring, and closing chat sessions (Live Chat documentation).

To share knowledge articles

1. On the Resources tab, to search for knowledge articles, enter a term in the Search field. 
2. Select an article from the results and click the Share icon.
   The article is shared with the user and is shown in the conversation. The shared knowledge article link is shown in the Activity log of the associated ticket.
   
   
3. To flag a knowledge article with the ticket, use the pin  icon.

To create incidents or work orders from a chat without a template

In an active chat session, click Create Ticket.

• To create an incident, click Create Incident.
• To create a work order, click Create Work Order.
  

An incident or work order is created and the chat transcript is added to the description. You can view the incident or work order details from the Resources tab.

To create incidents or work orders from a chat using a template

When an agent is having a conversation with a user, the agent can create an incident or work order if it does not already exist by selecting a template.

1. In an active chat session, on the Resources tab, enter a search term.
   If any templates are available, these templates are displayed.
2. Select a template, and click Create Incident or Create Work Order.
   
   
3. If any required fields are blank, the incident or work order opens in the edit mode.
4. Add any other details, if needed, and click Confirm + Save.

An incident or work order is created, and the chat transcript is added to the description. You can view the incident or work order from the Resources tab.

For more information, see  Creating incidents or work orders from a chat  (Live Chat documentation).

To close a chat session

Support agents can close a chat session in the following scenarios:

• When the chat ends.
• When an end user cancels the live chat request. 
  End users can cancel their request for live chat at any point during the chat. After the request is cancelled, the following message is displayed for the agent:

End user has cancelled chat.

If the end user cancels a chat that is assigned to an agent, the chat status remains in the Assigned state. The assigned canceled chats continue to appear on the agent console. 

If the end user cancels a chat that is not assigned to an agent, it is marked as closed.

The support agent can use any of the following appropriate actions to close the chat session: