Multilingual support for ServiceNow generative AI products

[Ashley Snyder]

UPDATED: 11/24/2025

This article covers commonly asked multilingual questions when using Now Assist and AI Agents products.

How does Now Assist support translation across languages?

Now Assist offers integrated translation capabilities to provide multilingual experiences for AI-driven workflows:

•   Now Assist Native Translation: This feature leverages the multilingual capabilities of the Now LLM Service, Microsoft Azure OpenAI, Anthropic Claude on AWS, and Google Gemini to directly understand and generate content in multiple languages. It delivers high-quality translation for generative AI content such as summaries, resolution notes, and knowledge generation, and more.

Which languages are supported by Now Assist?

Languages are categorized by priority, with different translation methods applied.

• P1, P2, and P3 Languages: Now Assist Native Translation primarily supports these languages using the large language model's (LLM) native multilingual capabilities.
  • P1: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese.
  • P2: Canadian French, Japanese, Dutch. 
  • P3: Swedish, Finnish, Czech, Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Thai, Turkish, Arabic, Danish.

• In addition to P1, P2, and P3, Now Assist can support other languages, provided they are available from the model providers, such as Microsoft Azure OpenAI. Refer to the model provider model cards for more information.
  • If you need assistance with supporting a language that is not on the list of P1-P3 supported languages, please contact ServiceNow Support.
• Our recommendation is to use Microsoft Azure OpenAI as the selected model provider for your Now Assist skills or AI Agents when you require support for languages other than English.

However, specific model support varies:

• ServiceNow Large Language Model v1 (Llama 3.3 70B) currently only supports English natively.
• ServiceNow Large Language Model v2 (GPT-OSS) currently support English, French, German, Spanish and Italian natively.
• ServiceNow Small Language Model v1 (Mistral Nemo 12B) and v2 (Apriel) supports all P1 & P2 languages.
• Microsoft Azure OpenAI GPT-4.1/GPT-4.1-mini supports all P1, P2, & P3 languages.
• Google Gemini 2.5 Flash/2.5 Pro supports all P1, P2, & P3 languages, with the exception of French Canadian support natively.
• Anthropic Claude 4.0 Sonnet supports all P1, P2, & P3 languages, with the exception of French Canadian and Dutch support natively.

What if I need to translate static text such as forms or live Agent Chat outside of Now Assist usage?

For non-generative content on the platform, such as translating platform fields, knowledge articles, or live Agent Chat, you can use:

• Platform Dynamic Translation: This is a separately licensed capability that integrates your own translation provider (e.g., Microsoft Azure, Google, IBM) into the Now Platform. This option requires configuration and a customer-managed translation provider.
• Examples of when to use Platform Dynamic Translation:
  • Translating UI Elements: If you need to translate text on portals, forms, static fields, or other user interface components that are not part of a generative AI response.
  • Live Agent Chat: For real-time translation of conversations between agents and end-users in live chat sessions.
  • Knowledge Articles: To translate existing knowledge articles within the platform for non-generative AI use.
  • Email Notifications: To translate email notification templates.

Key Considerations:

• Customer Configuration: You must configure your own translation provider (e.g., Microsoft Azure, Google, IBM) to use this capability.

For more in-depth information on Platform Dynamic Translation, please refer to the product documentation and community articles:

Product documentation – Platform Dynamic Translation

In Platform Language Support Guide

Configure Localization Framework (LF) and Dynamic Translation (DT) on an instance

Need to translate a configurable workspace?

Need to translate a portal?

Can you provide a comparison of the different translation options?

Feature	Now Assist Native Translation	Platform Dynamic Translation
Use Case	Used across all Now Assist Skills and AI Agents for understanding and generarting content in multiple languages.	Used for non-generarive AI congent such as forms, portals, static fields, and live Agent Chat.
Language Scope	Supports P1, P2, and P3 languages, see the model provider support above.	Supports all platform-supported languages.
Provider Setup	No configuration required, toggle on and select language in Now Assist Admin console, leverages multilingual capabilities of Now LLM Service, Microsoft Azure OpenAI, Anthropic Claude on AWS, and Google Gemini.	Requires integration of your own translation provider (Microsoft Azure, Google, IBM).
Entitlement	Included in Now Assist, no additional entitlements, providers, or assists required.	Requires a separate customer-managed translation provider.

What does an end-to-end multilingual workflow in Now Assist look like?

We recommend using Now Assist Native Translation with an appropriate model provider for organizations aiming to provide seamless language support across self-service and AI skills.

Here's an example:

The requester starts in your portal(s):

• A requestor uses Now Assist Virtual Agent to ask a question in Spanish.
• Now Assist Native Translation processes the request and generates a synthesized response in Spanish using the configured model provider's native mutlilingual capabilities. 

Scenario: Cross-lingual Q&A with Now Assist If the user asks a question in Spanish, for example, "¿Por qué el servidor MID no se inicia después de la instalación?", the system will:

1. Detect the language: The system first detects the user's language based on their language & region settings or the content of the query itself.
2. Retrieve relevant content: It then attempts to retrieve the most relevant content using Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) in the user's language (Spanish).
3. Language Fallback: If relevant Spanish Knowledge Base articles are not found, the system will apply language fallback, searching for content in other configured fallback languages, such as English.
4. LLM Generation: The configured model provider (such as Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, or Now LLM) then processes the retrieved content (in Spanish or English) and generates an answer directly in the user's preferred language (Spanish) using it's native multilingual capabilities.

Escalating to a live agent:

• The requestor escalates to a live agent. At this point, Platform Dynamic Translation translates the conversation between the agent and requestor. This requires prior setup of a translation provider by the admin.
• The agent uses the Chat Summarization skill. If the language is supported by Now Assist Native Translation and configured, it is processed via the assigned model provider.

Recommendation for a seamless workflow: For this workflow to function seamlessly, customers should:

• Install the appropriate language packs for each translation target language, if applicable. For Now Assist use cases and languages that do not contain language packs contact ServiceNow Support for assistance.
• Select a model provider for the specified skill that meets your language requirements in the Now Assist Admin Console.
• Enable Now Assist Native Translation in the Now Assist Admin Console.
• Select all relevant P1, P2, and P3 languages needed by their users for the model provider(s).
• Enable Platform Dynamic Translation in their instance if they wish to translate live Agent Chat or other static UI elements.
• Bring and configure their own translation provider (e.g., Azure, Google, IBM) for Platform Dynamic Translation.

This configuration ensures uninterrupted language coverage across Virtual Agent, live agent handoffs, static content, and Now Assist generative workflows.

Relevant Documentation for End-to-End Workflow Configuration

To configure the various components that comprise the end-to-end multilingual workflow, customers should refer to the following official product documentation:

1. Language pack installation: Fundamental to all multilingual capabilities, ensuring the necessary language resources are available on your instance.

• What to configure: Install the required language packs for all languages you intend to support across any of the translation types.
• Where to find information: This is typically found in general ServiceNow platform administration documentation, often under "System Localization" or "Language Support."

2. General multilingual service configuration for Now Assist: This is the foundational step for enabling translation capabilities within Now Assist applications.

• What to configure: Enable Now Assist Native Translation and select the languages you wish to support. Choose a model provider that supports your required languages. (Microsoft Azure OpenAI is recommended for comprehensive multilingual support).
• Where to find information:
  • Multilingual service for Now Assist applications: This section within the Now Assist Admin console is where you manage these settings directly for both Now Assist Native Translation.
  • Translation for Now Assist product documentation: This product documentation covers the setup and management of both Native Translation for Now Assist applications.

3. Now Assist Virtual Agent multilingual configuration: This ensures your Virtual Agent can communicate and generate responses in multiple languages.

• What to configure: Configure Native Translation for languages with Now Assist Admin console, select the desired model provider for the AI Agents skill group in the Now Assist Admin console. This allows the Virtual Agent to leverage Now Assist's translation capabilities for user interactions and synthesized responses.

4. AI Search and Now Assist Q&A Multilingual Configuration This is crucial for cross-lingual search capabilities and translated Q&A responses.
   
   • What to configure: Configure language fallback settings to enable cross-lingual search when content in the user's preferred language is not available.
   • Translation for Now Assist product documentation: This document also covers aspects of how translation works with Now Assist skills, including Q&A.

5. Platform Dynamic Translation Configuration (for Live Agent Chat and Static UI) This enables translation for non-generative content and live interactions.

• What to configure: Integrate your chosen third-party translation provider (e.g., Microsoft Azure, Google) with the ServiceNow platform and configure it for use in areas like Agent Chat and static UI fields.
• Where to find information:
  • Configuring Dynamic Translation: This is the main documentation for setting up Platform Dynamic Translation across your instance.
  • Configuring Dynamic Translation for Agent Chat: This guide specifically details how to enable translation for live chat conversations.

By consulting these specific documentation resources, customers can effectively configure the various components that contribute to a seamless end-to-end multilingual workflow in ServiceNow.

How does multilingual support work with AI Search and Now Assist for AI Search?

Now Assist for AI Search supports multilingual interactions:

• Hybrid Search and Cross-lingual Search: This allows users to receive Now Assist responses in their preferred language, even if the content originates in a different language. The configured model provider uses its native multilingual capabilities to generate responses in the user's preferred language.

• Language Fallbacks: AI Search respects global and language fallback configurations. For instance, if a Spanish user queries in Spanish, and Spanish KB articles are not found, AI Search can look for relevant English KB articles (if English is set as a fallback) and the model provider will generate a response in the user's preferred language (Spanish).

How do I configure multilingual services for Now Assist?

1. Install Language Packs: Install the necessary language packs based on your needs.
2. Enable Now Assist Native Translation:
   • Navigate to the Now Assist Admin Console, specifically under Multilingual service > Native Translation.
   • Toggle "Native Translation" ON.
   • Click "Edit" and select the installed P1, P2, and P3 languages you want to use with Native Translation.
3. Contact ServiceNow Support for any languages that are not available, if supported by a ServiceNow-integrated model provider.

[Vivek Verma]

Hello @Ashley Snyde, I'm just curious if there is a guide to enable Native Dynamic Translation. It seems the SN document is not updated yet, but I heard Xanadu patch 3 can dynamically transition using native AI not MS OEM.


LINK: Translation for Now Assist

Note: We are already working on the Xanadu Patch 3 version. 

[Ashley Snyder]

@Vivek Verma It should be up to date now: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/xanadu-intelligent-experiences/page/administer/now-assist-adm... and we have an AI Academy on 12/10 covering this as well.

[Ricardo Reis]

Hello @Ashley Snyder,

We have an Knowledge Article in English and another with the same content in French.

How does Now Assist with Dynamic Translation work if I search for something in German that is related to both articles?

Will both articles be sent in the results?

Thank you in advance.