AI Brings Virtual Agent to ManageEngine IT Service Software

Cloud-based ServiceDesk Plus includes Zoho’s AI assistant for voice and chat.

ManageEngine’s new cloud version of its IT service management application includes Zia, the parent company Zoho Corp’s AI assistant, in the role of a virtual IT support agent.

New capabilities have enabled users and techs to chat with Zia or by voice to access out-of-the-box and custom actions. The new functionality helps IT service desks:

• Reduce response times
• Increase technician efficiency
• Perform service desk operations
• Answer simple questions
• Interact with third-party apps

Increasing Service Desk Flexibility

“While business end users want on-demand access to IT service desk personnel, IT support staff prefer to focus on higher priority activities and do away with attending to Level 1 support,” says Rajesh Ganesan, ManageENgine’s VP of Product Management.

Zia offers an alternative option for providing end users the same quality of support they’d receive from a technician. Support staff can focus on other tasks not easily accomplished by AI. Ultimately the company envisions that ZI will involve into a smart AI-powered personal assistance that elevates user experience and assists every user organization-wide.

Currently, service desk teams can customize their own scripts for Zia, enable her to answer questions, and initiate activities in external tools integrated with ServiceDesk Plus. Zia’s functionality includes:

• Providing answers to straightforward questions
• Pulling up service desk data to answer more complex questions
• Triggering service desk operations through a tree-structured interaction
• Sharing relevant knowledge base articles based on end users’ inputs
• Automatically handing off user requests to technicians via live chat or creating new requests

Use of Zia as a virtual support agent lays the groundwork for enhancing service delivery and service desk efficiency with AI. The firm plans to add predictive analytics and intelligent automation to Zia, so customers won’t need to write manual rules.