Playbook capabilities
The capabilities provided by playbooks enable agents to quickly resolve customer issues. These capabilities work together to provide agents with a better overall experience when using playbooks to resolve customer issues.
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Capability |
Description |
|---|---|
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Create a record using a playbook |
Customer service agents can create a record using a playbook instead of a record form. Creating a record using a playbook opens the playbook and initiates the first activity. The agent completes this activity as part of the record creation. For example, an agent can create a case and gather the necessary information about the customer and the issue as the first activity in the playbook. For more information about configuring this feature, see Playbook record generator. |
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See the entire end-to-end workflow using the stage picker and activity picker |
The stage picker and activity picker enable agents to see the following information:
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Use the contextual side panel to view additional information |
Playbooks can display the following information in the contextual side panel:
For more information, see: |
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Use the contextual side panel to display dynamic related records |
Display records in the contextual side panel that dynamically change based on the context of the current record or playbook activity. For more information, see Dynamic related records. |
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Use a playbook in compact mode |
Compact mode displays the playbook in the contextual side panel. Agents can complete playbook activities in the contextual side panel while viewing other information on the record page. |
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View the SLA widget on playbook activity cards |
Activity cards in the playbook activity viewer can display an SLA widget in the upper right corner. The widget appears on the activity card when the playbook activity has an SLA. This includes activities in the following stages:
The color of the widget indicates the time remaining for the SLA:
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--- title: Playbook capabilities description: The capabilities provided by playbooks enable agents to quickly resolve customer issues. These capabilities work together to provide agents with a better overall experience when using playbooks to resolve customer issues. locale: en-US canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/customer-service-management/customer-service-case-playbooks.html release: australia topic_type: concept last_updated: "2026-09-10" reading_time_minutes: 2 breadcrumb: [Playbooks in Customer Service Management, Agent tools, Organize agent workspaces, Configure, Customer Service Management] --- # Playbook capabilities The capabilities provided by playbooks enable agents to quickly resolve customer issues. These capabilities work together to provide agents with a better overall experience when using playbooks to resolve customer issues. <table id="table_nkn_cy4_ypb"><thead><tr><th> Capability </th><th> Description </th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td> Create a record using a playbook </td><td> Customer service agents can create a record using a playbook instead of a record form. Creating a record using a playbook opens the playbook and initiates the first activity. The agent completes this activity as part of the record creation. For example, an agent can create a case and gather the necessary information about the customer and the issue as the first activity in the playbook. For more information about configuring this feature, see [Playbook record generator](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/build-workflows/playbook-record-generator-overview.md). </td></tr><tr><td> See the entire end-to-end workflow using the stage picker and activity picker </td><td> The stage picker and activity picker enable agents to see the following information: - The end-to-end workflow. - The stages in the playbook. - The activities in the current stage. - Stage and activity progress indicators. - Details of the current activity displayed in the activity viewer. </td></tr><tr><td> Use the contextual side panel to view additional information </td><td> Playbooks can display the following information in the contextual side panel: - Activity stream - Ribbon information such as the case overview, customer details, timeline, and SLAs - Dynamic related records \(see below for more information\) - Related Items tab For more information, see: - [Using the activity stream in the contextual side panel](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/customer-service-management/csm-playbooks-using-activity-stream.md) - [Viewing ribbon information in the contextual side panel](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/customer-service-management/csm-playbooks-viewing-ribbon-info.md) - [Viewing related records in the contextual side panel](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/customer-service-management/csm-playbooks-viewing-rel-records.md) - [Related Items](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/customer-service-management/csm-playbook-related-items-component.md) - [Administering Activity stream for Configurable Workspace](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/platform-user-interface/administer-activity-stream-configurable-workspace.md) </td></tr><tr><td> Use the contextual side panel to display dynamic related records </td><td> Display records in the contextual side panel that dynamically change based on the context of the current record or playbook activity. For more information, see [Dynamic related records](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/customer-service-management/csm-contextual-related-records.md). </td></tr><tr><td> Use a playbook in compact mode </td><td> Compact mode displays the playbook in the contextual side panel. Agents can complete playbook activities in the contextual side panel while viewing other information on the record page. </td></tr><tr><td> View the SLA widget on playbook activity cards </td><td> Activity cards in the playbook activity viewer can display an SLA widget in the upper right corner. The widget appears on the activity card when the playbook activity has an SLA. This includes activities in the following stages: - Triage - Research - Respond The color of the widget indicates the time remaining for the SLA: - Green: 0–50% - Yellow: 50–75% - Orange: 75–99% - Red: 100% or breached </td></tr></tbody> </table>
| title | Playbook capabilities |
| description | The capabilities provided by playbooks enable agents to quickly resolve customer issues. These capabilities work together to provide agents with a better overall experience when using playbooks to resolve customer issues. |
| locale | en-US |
| canonical_url | https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/customer-service-management/customer-service-case-playbooks.html |
| release | australia |
| topic_type | concept |
| last_updated | 2026-09-10 |
| reading_time_minutes | 2 |
| breadcrumb | Playbooks in Customer Service ManagementAgent toolsOrganize agent workspacesConfigureCustomer Service Management |