Falco, the IT Services chatbot, is here to help with your IT questions. It can help out with finding information, requesting something from the catalogue or checking your current tickets.
What can Falco help me with?
Falco is part of the service we provide, so it can give you information about:
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IT services and facilities;
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help you complete specific tasks, such as connecting to eduroam and setting up Duo; and
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help you log and update your IT tickets.
We will be adding new features to Falco over time to make it quicker and easier to answer your queries and provide additional services.
Please note that, as Falco is part of the IT service, it will only be able to assist with IT-related topics - if your query is something you would call the IT Service Desk about, or use our website for, then Falco is an alternative option to try.
If Falco can't answer your query for any reason, we recommend that you log a ticket for a member of IT staff to respond to you.
Why is Falco important?
As an automated chatbot, Falco can help direct you to the support that you need at any time of day. This helps to guide you towards the help you need quickly, when you need it.
It also helps reduce the volume of tickets our Service Desk receive, allowing them to respond to critical issues more efficiently.
Where do I find Falco?
Falco is available on both the IT website and within Microsoft Teams. See below for more information on each.
Falco on the IT website
Start chatting with Falco using the Open chat window button in the bottom right hand corner on every page of this site.
Falco in Microsoft Teams
Falco can be accessed as an application that sits on your toolbar, by searching for “Falco – IT Support” in your apps.
Alternatively, Falco can be accessed by searching for “Falco – IT Support” in the chat options as you would with any other new chat.
The first time you use Falco it should automatically start a conversation with you, or you can type 'hi' to start a new conversation.
See below for short video demonstrations on how to get started with Falco and how to pin and unpin Falco.
Why not try asking Falco:
"Are there any services down right now?"
“I need help getting connected to wifi.”
“Where is the IT service desk on campus?”
Falco is on a journey to becoming as helpful as possible. Whilst there are loads of questions that Falco can help you with right now, we will be updating its capabilities in the future, so keep an eye out for these.
Give Falco a try today!
FAQ
Can I pin Falco to my Teams toolbar?
Yes, you certainly can. In fact, we would recommend it so that you always have IT support to hand. Right-click on the icon to pin the Falco application to the toolbar.
How do I delete/unpin Falco?
Like all applications in Teams, Falco can be pinned and unpinned on the left-hand toolbar. Right click on the icon to pin or unpin. You will not be able to uninstall Falco. We are rolling the application out to all Microsoft Teams accounts, and it will be applied across the organisation, so anyone can use Falco to access IT information and support. You do not have to use Falco if you prefer not to, you can still contact the IT Service Desk through the IT website or via telephone. We wanted to make it as quick and easy as possible for those who prefer to use this channel to access Falco directly in Teams.
Is Falco reading my messages - what data does it have access to via Teams. What data does it keep?
Falco is an extension of the University’s IT Service Management Platform (ServiceNow). Falco can read the messages you send to it but it cannot read any messages or content sent to anyone else or any other Teams or Channels. Falco can read data we hold about your University account in ServiceNow, such as your username, display name and the Faculty you are in, and it can read data in any tickets you have raised with IT and information about University equipment assigned to you. We have a privacy policy for ServiceNow.
Do I still have 15 chat pins?
Yes, pinned chats are separate to pinned applications. There is no limit on the number of pinned applications. If you have more pinned than can be visibly shown on the bar in Teams, these will appear under the ‘More added apps’ button.
Accessibility
The Falco chatbot is not fully accessible. People who use assistive technologies, such as screen readers or voice navigation software, may find Falco difficult to use.
The chatbot is an alternative route to accessing the information already on the IT site, so we recommend people who use assistive technologies consider using the IT site as normal or call the Service Desk on +44 (0)113 343 3333.
We will be working to improve the accessibility issues that we can control and continue dialogue with the product supplier to establish and encourage full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. Details of non-compliances and how to report an accessibility issue with the chatbot will be available via the Falco accessibility statement.