Academy Session
Overview
We’re excited to introduce the Browser Extension for Employee Center—a new way to surface helpful content, communications, and tools directly within third-party work applications like Workday, Concur, or Fidelity.
This extension solves a common problem: employees constantly switching between systems to find information and help. Now, they can access exactly what they need in the moment from any browser tab and without leaving their current work application.
This improves productivity for employees by reducing context switching and enables organizations to deliver support and resources more efficiently, right within the flow of work.
The extension opens as a lightweight, draggable pop-up on top of any configured web app, delivering a site-specific experience that adapts to the page employees are on.
With one click, employees can access:
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Targeted communications like banners and announcements, scoped to the exact site or subdomain
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Quick links to featured articles and request types
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Popular topics, news, and events relevant to the current workflow, team, or location
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Related apps that align with the task they’re performing
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Experience feedback widget to capture continuous in-the-moment feedback from employees on their experience on the extension
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Built-in AI-powered search and portal notifications—keeping users informed without breaking focus
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For customers entitled to Now Assist, the experience is elevated to a conversational interface, offering a more interactive and intuitive way to engage with search results, right within the browser extension.
Admins have complete control over the extension experience—what content appears, where it appears, and how it looks—all managed through the Browser Extension for Employee Center portal, a dedicated configuration space separate from the main Employee Center.
From this portal, admins can:
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Define websites and subdomains where the extension is enabled
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Select content types—such as banners, quick links, topics, news, events, and apps—based on each site’s needs
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Customize the look and feel, aligning the extension with your organization’s branding
Note: Content shown in the extension must be explicitly associated with a specific website, ensuring a focused and context-aware experience tailored to each app or workflow. This design keeps the experience purposeful, delivering only what’s relevant, without replicating the full Employee Center interface.
We’ve also added a few exciting touches to improve usability:
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Highlight + Right-click to instantly search selected text in Employee Center
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Omnibox Search lets users search Employee Center directly from the browser address bar
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OS-level notifications (Mac/Windows) ensure updates are never missed—even outside the portal
How to get access?
License & family release compatibility – The Browser Extension for Employee Center functionality is available for all Employee Center customers and backward compatible with Xanadu patch 7, Yokohama patch 1, and Zurich family release.
Plugins required – This capability is available by downloading the new Browser Extension for Employee Center plugin (version 1.0.0) and the Employee Center plugin (version 38.0.5).
Technical details – The extension is available on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. To enable access, enterprise administrators must configure browser policies based on the supported browser. Once configured, Browser Extension admins (ecbe_admin) or manager (ecbe_manager) must add the desired websites where the extension will be used. Without this configuration, accessing the extension on unsupported sites will show an empty state.
To get started, follow these three basic steps: Step 1: Download the ServiceNow Plugin
Step 2: Install the Browser Extension
Step 3: Configure Browser Policies & Sites
Tip: After setup, admins can customize branding and assign relevant content (banners, quick links, topics, apps, etc.) for each configured site.
Refer to Browser Extension for Employee Center product documentation for additional details.
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FAQs
General Overview
Q: What is the Browser Extension for Employee Center?
The Browser Extension surfaces helpful content, tools, and communications directly within third-party applications like Workday, Concur, or Fidelity—without requiring employees to switch systems.
Q: How does the extension improve employee productivity?
It reduces context switching by delivering targeted information, quick links, and resources directly in the flow of work, so employees can stay focused.
Q: How does the extension appear on screen?
It opens as a lightweight, draggable pop-up on top of the configured web app and adapts to the page employees are on, offering a site-specific experience.
Features for Employees
Q: What types of content can employees access with the extension?
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Targeted communications (banners, announcements)
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Quick links to articles and request types
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Popular topics, news, and events relevant to their workflow or location
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Related apps aligned with their tasks
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Experience feedback widget
-
AI-powered search and portal notifications
Q: What usability features are included?
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Highlight + Right-click to instantly search selected text in Employee Center
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Omnibox search (directly from the browser address bar)
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OS-level notifications (Mac/Windows)
Q: Is the extension accessible with screen readers?
Yes, accessibility testing has been done with tools like VoiceOver.
Q: Can the width of the extension be resized?
No, the width is fixed at 375px, but you can drag it across the screen.
Q: Does the extension know about the page/website currently open?
Yes. Admins can configure relevant content for specific sites, and the extension will display that content in context.
Q: For websites without configured content, what happens?
An empty page will be shown.
Q: How does the extension handle translations and language settings?
It automatically uses the system language.
Widgets and Customization
Q: Can custom widgets be used with the extension?
Yes. You can add custom widgets, but they must be designed to be extension-friendly. Out-of-the-box widgets are already optimized for the extension.
Q: Are there limitations to which widgets can be used?
No. However, out-of-the-box widgets automatically adapt to context (e.g., which website is open), while custom widgets may not.
Q: Can the action button logo and background be updated?
Yes. The action button is set from Chrome policies, and the background can be changed in the portal record.
Q: Can admins customize branding?
Yes. Admins can configure the look and feel to align with organizational branding.
Authentication and User Access
Q: Does the user need to be signed in to ServiceNow to see extension content?
Yes. If you’re not logged in, the extension will redirect you to the login page. SSO is supported, with login completed in a browser tab before returning to the extension.
Q: Can the extension be limited to a pilot group of users?
This is difficult because it’s a Chrome extension. Once published and configured, it’s generally available to all users. Chrome store restrictions for targeted user criteria are limited.
Now Assist and Search Functionality
Q: Is the extension Now Assist enabled?
Yes, if you have a Now Assist license.
Q: Does Now Assist follow user criteria and permissions?
Yes, it respects the same access controls as the Employee Center portal.
Q: Can specific search profiles be created for the extension?
Yes, you can create and map custom search profiles to the Browser Extension portal.
Setup and Configuration
Q: Which browsers support the extension?
Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
Q: How is the extension installed?
To get started, follow these three basic steps:
Step 1: Download the ServiceNow Plugin
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Install the Browser Extension for Employee Center plugin from the ServiceNow Store.
Step 2: Install the Browser Extension
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Download and install the extension from your preferred browser’s extension store:
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[Download from Chrome Web Store – https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/servicenow-employee-cente/illbompmedmaapkjleambjaffceeemih?....]
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[Download from Microsoft Edge Add-ons Store – https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/servicenow-employee-cente/bddghmmfhfgplnapjkhhhajk...]
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Step 3: Configure Browser Policies & Sites
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Set up browser policies for your organization (Chrome or Edge).
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Define and configure the websites/subdomains where the extension should be available.
Tip: After setup, admins can customize branding and assign relevant content (banners, quick links, topics, apps, etc.) for each configured site.
Q: Can the browser extension be set up on a PDI?
Yes, it can be set up on a Personal Developer Instance.
Q: What plugins are required?
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Browser Extension for Employee Center plugin (v1.0.0)
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Employee Center plugin (v38.0.5)
Q: What are the license and compatibility requirements?
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Available for all Employee Center customers
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Compatible with Xanadu patch 7, Yokohama patch 1, and Zurich family release
Q: What configuration is required?
Enterprise administrators must configure browser policies. Then, Browser Extension admins (ecbe_admin) or managers (ecbe_manager) add supported websites. Unsupported sites will show an empty state.
Q: What control do admins have over the extension?
Through the Browser Extension portal, admins can:
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Define websites and subdomains where the extension is enabled
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Select content types (banners, quick links, topics, news, events, apps)
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Customize branding and appearance
Nice!
But the documentation doesn't tell how to setup and use!
I added some topics and quick links in the backend, but the front end insists is staying like this:
Forgot to mention, if I click the button "Open Employee Hub" it goes to a "undefined/esc" page.
