--- title: Activating Virtual Agent and getting started description: Using the Conversational Interfaces console, you can quickly add Virtual Agent to a portal, configure branding, personalize the greeting, and begin to use pre-built ITSM Virtual Agent conversations. locale: en-US canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/va-quick-start.html release: australia product: Virtual Agent classification: virtual-agent topic_type: concept last_updated: "2026-03-12" reading_time_minutes: 5 keywords: [Virtual Agent, Conversational Interfaces, Now Assist, quick start] breadcrumb: [Virtual Agent, Conversational Interfaces] --- # Activating Virtual Agent and getting started Using the Conversational Interfaces console, you can quickly add Virtual Agent to a portal, configure branding, personalize the greeting, and begin to use pre-built ITSM Virtual Agent conversations. If you have a license for a ServiceNow Otto product, you can also quickly deploy ServiceNow Otto skills in Virtual Agent in a matter of minutes. For details, see [Configuring assistants overview](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/now-assist-in-virtual-agent/configure-now-assist-va.md). ## Before you begin If you have a license for Virtual Agent, the following sections will help you get started and create conversations for your organization quickly. If you do not have a license for Virtual Agent, you can try Virtual Agent Lite, which comes preinstalled. For information about getting started with Virtual Agent Lite, see [Quick start for Virtual Agent Lite](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/quick-start-va-lite.md). ## Get started with Virtual Agent 1. [Activate Virtual Agent](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/activate-virtual-agent.md) You can activate the Glide Virtual Agent plugin \(com.glide.cs.chatbot\) if you have the admin role. This plugin automatically activates other necessary plugins if they are not already active. 2. [Install Virtual Agent plugins](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/activate-va-plugins.md) Install predefined conversations for your business applications, NLU tools, and the Conversational Analytics dashboard. 3. [Add your bot to a portal](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/ac-configure-bot-portal.md) Add a chat entry to the menu of your web portal. You can add Virtual Agent to additional portals later. For conversations based on generative AI large language models \(LLMs\), you can quickly set up ServiceNow Otto in Virtual Agent and add it to a portal. For information about adding ServiceNow Otto in Virtual Agent to a portal, see [Configuring assistants overview](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/now-assist-in-virtual-agent/configure-now-assist-va.md). 4. [Set up your Virtual Agent bot's branding](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/ac-configure-chat-branding.md). Change the way Virtual Agent looks to the end user. You can change the colors, add your company logo, and change the icon that represents your bot. If you're using ServiceNow Otto in Virtual Agent, you can customize the look and feel during the configuration process. For more information, see [Configuring assistants overview](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/now-assist-in-virtual-agent/configure-now-assist-va.md). 5. [Get recommended topics for your instance](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/getting-started-topic-recommendations.md) Use the Topic Recommendations app to identify prebuilt Virtual Agent topics that can be quickly implemented in your organization. ## Explore further As you work with Virtual Agent, you can expand its capabilities by implementing other features. For example, you can do the following: - [Configure Now Assist in Virtual Agent](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/now-assist-in-virtual-agent/configure-now-assist-va.md) - [Set up chat experiences for Virtual Agent users](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/va-conversation-settings.md) - [Create new Virtual Agent topics](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/create-virtual-agent-topic.md) - [Change Virtual Agent and Agent Chat system messages](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/ac-change-system-messages.md) - [Enable AI Search](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/va-ai-search.md) - [Implement Natural Language Understanding \(NLU\)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/advantages-nlu.md) - [Use Virtual Agent with a live agent](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/using-va-agent-chat.md) - [Use language detection and dynamic machine translation in Virtual Agent](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/multi-language-options-va.md) - [Localize Virtual Agent topics](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/conversational-interfaces/virtual-agent/localize-va-topic.md)