How to give knowledge Articles access to external users (public)

[pramodkumar]

Hi All,

can we give Knowledge articles access to public users to access without login to ServiceNow. Do we need to make widgets and pages public? Is this possible?

Thanks!

[Pradeep Thipani]

Hi @pramodkumar ,

Below ServiceNow doc might help you in finding the solution,

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/yokohama-servicenow-platform/page/product/knowledge-managemen...

Thanks,

Pradeep

[Community Alums]

1. Update user criteria / canRead:
Make sure the Knowledge Base and the articles you want to share have user criteria that allow public access (meaning the canRead criteria includes “public” or is empty).

2. Make the Service Portal pages and widgets public:
By default, Service Portal pages require login. To allow public access:

• Go to the portal page (for example, /kb or your custom page).

• Remove any roles from the page so it’s publicly accessible.

• Do the same for the widgets used to display the articles (make sure they don’t have role restrictions).

3. ACLs (Access Control Lists):
You also need to check ACLs on kb_knowledge and related tables to make sure they allow read access to the public (users without roles). Sometimes you’ll need to add a read ACL with no role, or adjust an existing one.

[Bhimashankar H]

Hi @pramodkumar ,

To give knowledge articles access to external users (public) in ServiceNow, follow these steps for a clear and secure setup: 

1. Navigate to Knowledge > Administration > Knowledge Bases.
2. Select the knowledge base you want to make public.
3. Go to the Can Read section or tab and remove any entries from the list. 
   Everyone gets read permission on all articles in that knowledge base.
4. In the Application Navigator's Filter navigator field, enter sys_public.list and press enter or return.
5. In the Page column, look for page named kb_find.
6. For kb_find, change the value in the Active column to true.
7. In the Page column, look for page named kb_view.
8. For kb_view, change the value in the Active column to true.
9. As a public user, try <instance>/kb_find.do.

Publish Articles

• Place the articles you want public in this new knowledge base and publish them as usual.
• Test by sharing the URL (e.g., <instance>/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0012345) with external users to ensure they can access without logging in

You may refer to this link  to make knowledge base public.

Thanks,

Bhimashankar

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