Setting the Foundations: Plugins, Tools, and Roles for ITSM

[Brad Tilton]

Setting the Foundations: Plugins, Tools, and Roles for ITSM

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Enable AI Search
• Install and Update Store Applications
• Australia Patch 5
• AI Readiness Evaluator
• Otto Panel
• Activating Skills
• Optional: Manage Model Providers
• AI Agent Studio

Guide Link

sn.works/AIAgentE2EGuide

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Overview

This comprehensive guide walks through the complete setup and activation of ServiceNow's Otto AI capabilities, including AI Agents and agentic workflows. The process requires proper roles, platform updates, plugin installations, and configuration steps to enable advanced AI-powered automation within your ServiceNow instance.

This implementation guide is designed for administrators who want to leverage Otto Panel and AI Agent Studio to enhance IT Service Management operations. The setup includes installing necessary plugins and enabling Otto. By following these steps, you'll establish the foundation for deploying agentic workflows that can automate service desk tasks.

Before beginning, ensure you have both the 'admin' and 'sn_aia.admin' roles assigned. You may also create separate scopes and update sets to track your configuration changes throughout this implementation process.

Recommended Family Release: Australia Patch 5 

Roles Required: admin, sn_aia.admin

(Updated August 2026)

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Quick Tip

Ensure your instance is on the correct patch! You can confirm this by

navigating to https://INSTANCENAME .service-now.com/stats.do.

Enable AI Search

1. Using the Filter Navigator on the top left, Search "AI Search Status".

2. Confirm whether AI Search is ready. If it is not ready, click the "Request AI Search" button at the bottom. 

 

Install and Update Store Applications

1. Navigate to the Application Manager by typing "plugins" in to the Filter Navigator on the top left.

 

 

2. Click Sync Now. We suggest you do this regardless of the "Last Sync with store" date displayed, as sometimes it may be inaccurate. Search for "ServiceNow Otto for IT Service Management".

3. Install or Update the plugins listed below. Ensure you are on the latest available version and that your store app status says "Up to date" by following the instructions below.

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Quick Tip

Note: If this is the first time you are installing these applications, make sure to check under both "Available for you" and "Updates" to find the application. If they are not in either tab, please try to resync to the store. Also, installing these plugins will automatically turn on some Now Assist skills. You can find more information here: Now Assist Skills on by Default

Australia Patch 5

Note: You should have a Pro Plus or AI SKU. A "Prime" SKU is required to create new AI Agents; this will not be covered in the guide.

These are the required plugins and the versions you should update them to. We suggest upgrading in the order displayed below:

• ServiceNow Otto for IT Service Management, version 17.0.9. This includes Now Assist Suite version 29.5.2026+. 
• ServiceNow Otto AI Agents, version 8.3.3 
• Generative AI Controller, version 14.2.3
• AI Admin Center (formerly AI Admin console), version 5.1.9 
• Platform AI Agents and Skills, version 13.2.9
• AI Readiness Evaluation, version 1.5.0

AI Readiness Evaluation

The AI Readiness Evaluation determines your instance's readiness for Agentic AI. For example, have you updated your plugins correctly, and do you have enough knowledge base articles and Incidents for your Agentic workflows to use.

1. Navigate to the AI Admin Center.

2. Scroll down to the AI Readiness section to see the readiness scores. Click "View assessment" to see the details, or click on the "AI Readiness Assessment" button on the left panel. 

3. A scheduled job automatically runs the assessment. In the IT Service Management section, click "View assessment" to see areas that are passing or in need of improvement. To re-run the assessment, click "Re-run assessment" on the top right.

4. In the IT Service Management assessment, you can also click the drop-down to focus on "Agentic AI". Review the readiness tasks, and consider which tasks can be improved and which may be acceptable to move forward in activating agentic AI.

 

Otto Panel

Now that you have installed the plugins, we can enable the Otto Panel. It should be on by default, but if not here are the steps you can follow to enable it:

1. Using the Filter Navigator, type in "AI Admin Center". Then navigate to "Settings"

2. In "AI Experiences", select "ServiceNow Otto Panel".

3. On the right side, click "Turn on" (if it's already turned on, you'll see Turn off). You'll also need to activate the experience in Assistant Designer, which we'll navigate to below under "Settings" and "Visit Assistant Designer." Or you can navigate to Assistant Designer from the Navigator.

4. In Assistant Designer, see the "ServiceNow Otto Panel - Platform (default)" record, and then click on "Review display experiences".

5. For the Unified Navigation app shell, click the pencil icon on the far-right. Then select Premium chat for the latest AI chat experience. Click "Save", and then click "Save" again on the top right.

ServiceNow Otto Panel is now enabled for your instance! Click the "Otto" icon on the top-right to open it. 

📌 Note

To give users access to the Now Assist Panel, give them the "now_assist_panel_user" role. If "Premium chat" is not available, "Enhanced chat" is still usable. 

Activating Skills

1. ServiceNow AI skills are defaulted to 'Active' for immediate use. To review the configuration, navigate back to the AI Admin Center, and then click on the "Asset inventory" button on the left panel. 

2. Click on the "Skills" tab on the top to review the list of available AI skills. Filter on "Technology" skills in the drop-down.

3. You can search using keywords, or scroll down the list, and locate the two skills we will be using in this guide: "Resolution notes generation" and "KB generation".

4. For each of them, ensure that they are "Active" by default.

If you need to manually activate the skills, click into each skill name and click "Edit configuration. You will be led through a series of steps. Follow the prompts, there are no necessary changes in these steps unless desired. When you get to the "Select display" or "Choose where to display" section, toggle on the display button for both In-product desktop and Otto Panel experiences. Then click "Save and Continue" and then "Activate".

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Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues activating the plugins, ensure you are in the "ServiceNow Otto for IT Service Management" application by clicking on the globe icon in the top right corner.

OPTIONAL: Manage Model Providers

If you are unable to use Azure OpenAI as your LLM, consider using Now LLM. Note: some Agentic workflows may not work with Now LLM at this time.

1. In the AI Admin Center, navigate to "Settings" and then to "Model Providers".

2. Select the "Model providers" Tab in the center of the screen to review the current models used for which skills and skill groups. For the "AI Agents" skill group, ensure the Current model provider is set to "Azure OpenAI". If not, you can change the model provider by clicking "Edit model provider" on the top right.

3. Click on "Customize", and then click on "Edit provider for skill groups". In the drop-down, select AI Agents. Then select the desired model provider, and then click "Save" on the top-right. Optional: You can also modify the model used for the entire instance.

We’re now ready to activate our agentic workflows!

AI Agent Studio

In the Filter Navigator, type in "AI Agent Studio" and select "Create and manage".

Feel free to explore AI Agent Studio and see what you can learn! For now we will walk you through activating three Agentic workflows. After this guide, take a look around and activate the Agentic workflows that best fit your business needs. 

🚀 Time to Activate Your Agentic Flows!

Conclusion

Congratulations! 🎉 You have now completed the comprehensive setup of AI capabilities on your ServiceNow instance. Your platform is updated, plugins are installed and configured, AI Search is enabled, and the Otto Panel is ready for use with premium chat functionality. 

The next phase involves activating specific agentic workflows from the AI Agent Studio based on your organization's requirements. These agentic workflows will leverage the foundation you've established to automate complex service desk operations, generate knowledge base articles, and enhance resolution note documentation. Continue to monitor your AI Readiness Evaluator dashboard to ensure your instance maintains optimal technical and data readiness for AI-powered automation. Click to the Next Article below to continue.

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[Peinadov]

This was Great, Thank You Brad and Victor!