5 Best Equipment Request Bots for Internal IT Support

Freshservice is a cloud‑based IT Service Management (ITSM) platform that includes a conversational chatbot feature designed to streamline equipment and asset request processes. The Freshchat bot can be embedded across the company intranet or integrated into the Freshservice portal, allowing end‑users to submit laptop or software license requests directly through a chat interface. Freshservice’s bot leverages the platform’s existing knowledge base and ticketing engine, automatically converting chat conversations into formal incident tickets when necessary. Key strengths of Freshservice include a user‑friendly interface, strong integration with major ITSM tools, and a wide range of automation capabilities. The bot can trigger workflows that auto‑assign tickets to the appropriate service desk team, send confirmation emails, and provide status updates. Additionally, Freshservice offers a robust reporting suite that tracks bot usage, ticket volume, and resolution times, helping IT managers gauge ROI. While Freshservice provides a solid foundation for automating routine IT requests, its chatbot functionality is somewhat limited compared to dedicated AI platforms. The bot primarily handles simple, rule‑based interactions and does not yet support advanced knowledge‑graph reasoning or dynamic prompt engineering.

ServiceNow ITSM is an enterprise‑grade platform that offers a sophisticated AI‑powered chatbot called Virtual Agent. Designed to handle a wide array of IT service requests—including hardware procurement, software licensing, and access management—Virtual Agent can be deployed on the company’s internal portal, mobile app, or via Microsoft Teams. The bot uses ServiceNow’s Knowledge Base, which can be enriched with curated articles, FAQs, and structured data, to deliver accurate responses. Virtual Agent excels at orchestrating complex processes. It can trigger approvals, update configuration items, and integrate with external systems such as procurement or HR. The platform also supports advanced analytics, enabling IT teams to monitor bot performance, identify gaps in knowledge, and refine scripts. However, the setup requires technical expertise; scripting and knowledge of ServiceNow’s Flow Designer are essential for custom workflows. ServiceNow’s pricing is typically subscription‑based and tailored to each organization’s needs, with standard licensing starting at several thousand dollars per year for core ITSM modules.

Zendesk Chat (formerly Zopim) is a cloud‑based chat solution that can be embedded across corporate intranets or customer support portals. While primarily aimed at external customer support, Zendesk Chat can be customized to handle internal IT equipment requests. The bot uses Zendesk’s existing ticketing engine, automatically converting chat conversations into tickets when a request is detected. The platform offers a visual builder for creating chat flows, pre‑built templates, and the ability to answer FAQs with knowledge‑base articles. It also supports proactive chat invitations, scheduling, and multi‑language support. Integrations with Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Salesforce are available, allowing the bot to trigger actions in other systems. Zendesk Chat is straightforward to set up for small teams, but its AI capabilities are relatively basic compared to dedicated no‑code AI platforms. It does not support advanced knowledge‑graph reasoning or long‑term memory; each session is stateless.

Atlassian’s Jira Service Management offers a chatbot feature that can be embedded into the company’s Service Portal or integrated with Confluence. The bot is built on Jira’s AI capabilities and can respond to simple queries about equipment status, ticket creation, and SLA information. It leverages the existing knowledge base in Confluence and automatically creates Jira tickets when a user submits a request. Strengths of this solution include tight integration with Jira’s issue tracking system, the ability to run automations via Jira Automation, and support for custom scripts through Power-Ups. The bot also benefits from Atlassian’s robust security and authentication mechanisms, ensuring that only authorized personnel can submit requests. However, the bot’s conversational capabilities are limited to text and rule‑based interactions. It lacks advanced knowledge‑graph reasoning, dynamic prompt engineering, and long‑term memory features. Users looking for a more sophisticated AI experience may find Jira’s bot too basic.