How to Leverage OOTB ‘Define Availability’ of the Now Assist Skills

[Yogesh Shinde]

This post explains how to use the out-of-the-box Define Availability feature in ServiceNow’s Now Assist Skills to conditionally activate skills based on custom logic. The example focuses on the Incident Summarization Skill, but the approach can be adapted for other skills and use cases. By creating custom dictionary fields and using a business rule, you can control when a skill becomes available—such as only when the combined word count of comments and work notes exceeds a threshold.

Use Case

To optimize the use of the Incident Summarization Skill, we want it to activate only when the combined word count of Comments and Work Notes exceeds 200 words.

Challenge

The dropdown in “Define Availability” of the Now Assist Skills only shows fields that are defined in the dictionary for the selected table (incident in this example). And are marked as active and available for condition evaluation. Note that the Fields like work_notes and comments are activity stream entries, not standard dictionary fields on the incident table. 

Solution: This can be achieved in various ways. Here’s an example -

1. Go to System Definition > Dictionary. And Create Custom Dictionary Fields e.g. u_combined_notes

   and u_summarization_eligibility
2. 
3. Business Rule on Incident Table
4. 

   <(function executeRule(current, previous /*null when async*/) {
   
       // Ensure both fields exist and are not null
       var comments = current.comments || "";
       var workNotes = current.work_notes || "";
       var existingNotes = current.u_combined_notes || "";
   
       // Calculate word count of existing notes
       var wordCount = existingNotes.trim().split(/\s+/).length;
   
       if (wordCount >= 200) {
           // If word count is 200 or more, mark as eligible
           current.u_summarization_eligibility = "Yes";
       } else {
           // If word count is less than 200, append new notes and mark as not eligible
           var newEntry = comments + "\n" + workNotes;
           current.u_combined_notes = existingNotes + "\n" + newEntry;
           current.u_summarization_eligibility = "No";
       }
   
   })(current, previous);
   

5. Test output: 

6. Configure in Now Assist Admin Console

   • Navigate to: Now Assist Skills > ITSM
   • Use u_summarization_eligibility in the “Define Availability” condition.
   • 

7. Outcome

   • Summarization is available only when the combined notes exceed 200 words.
   • Ensures meaningful summarization and avoids triggering on sparse content.

#NowAssist, #IncidentSummarization, #DefineAvailability, #BusinessRules, #CustomFields, #ITSM, #OOTB, #ServiceNowTips