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 Now Assist Store Applications
• Yokohama Patch 11
• Zurich Patch 5
• AI Readiness Evaluator
• Now Assist Panel
• Activating Skills
• Manage Model Providers
• Enhanced Chat UI
• 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 Now Assist 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 Now Assist Panel and AI Agent Studio to enhance IT Service Management operations. The setup includes installing necessary plugins, configuring AI Search, activating skills, and enabling enhanced chat interfaces. By following these sequential steps, you'll establish the foundation for deploying agentic workflows that can automate complex 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.

Family Release:  Yokohama Patch 11, Zurich Patch 5

Roles Required: admin, sn_aia.admin

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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 Now Assist 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.

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.

 

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.

Yokohama Patch 11

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

• Now Assist for IT Service Management, version 11.3.2. This includes Now Assist Suite version 27.11.2.
• Now Assist AI Agents, version 5.2.18
• Generative AI Controller, version 11.2.9
• Now Assist admin console, version 6.3.8
• Platform AI Agents and Skills, version 10.5.27
• Now Assist readiness evaluation, version 1.0.3

Zurich Patch 5

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

• Now Assist for IT Service Management, version 12.1.1. This includes Now Assist Suite version 28.5.2.
• Now Assist AI Agents, version 6.1.10
• Generative AI Controller, version 12.0.16
• Now Assist admin console, version 7.0.19
• Platform AI Agents and Skills, version 11.5.4
• Now Assist readiness evaluation, version 1.0.5

AI Readiness Evaluator

The AI Readiness Evaluator will help you determine 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. In the Filter Navigator, type "Scheduled jobs" and find the item below "System Definition".

2. In the Name search field, type "GenAI/AgenticAI Assessment".

3. Select the "GenAI/AgenticAI Assessment" record to open the form view.

 

4. Inside the form view, on the top right corner, click on "Execute Now". This job will take a couple of minutes.

5. Once the job is complete, use the Filter Navigator to search for "Readiness" and select "Now Assist Readiness Evaluation".

  

6. Navigate through the reports and tabs on the left-hand side to see the readiness of your instance for Agentic AI. 

 

Now Assist Panel

Now that you have installed the plugins, we can enable the Now Assist 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 "Now Assist Admin".

2. Select "Experiences".

3. On the right side, click "Turn on".

 

Activating Skills

1. Navigate to the top bar and click on "Now Assist Skills".

2. In the left menu, select "ITSM" below the "Technology" heading.

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, click the "Activate" button on the right if they are not already active.

For each skill activation, you will be led through a series of steps. Follow the prompts on the bottom right, 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 Now Assist 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 "Now Assist for IT Service Management" application by clicking on the globe icon in the top right corner.

Manage Model Providers

If for some reason you are unable to use Azure OpenAI, consider using Now LLM. However, some Agentic workflows may not work with Now LLM at this time.

1. Navigate to the top bar and click on "Settings".

2. In the left menu, select "Manage model providers" below "Manage AI models".

3. Select the "Model providers" Tab in the center of the screen.

   

4. 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.

  

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Quick Tip

To give users access to the Now Assist Panel, give them the "now_assist_panel_user" role.

Enhanced Chat UI

1. In the Filter Navigator, Type in "Conversational" to pull up the Conversational Interfaces menu items.

  

2. Select the "Assistant Designer" menu item.

3. Locate the "Now Assist Panel" card and click on the "Edit" button.

4. In the bottom center of the screen, select "Go to display experiences >".   

5. You should see a “Unified Navigation app shell” row. If not, click the “Add ServiceNow platform” drop-down on the right to add it.

 

6. Click "Save" in the top right corner. If it's not already active, select "Activate" as well.

7. Navigate back to the previous ServiceNow tab. You should see the sparkle icon on the top right corner.

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Quick Tip

The “Unified Navigation app shell” experience should be set to “Enhanced chat”. If it’s still set to Standard chat, click on the 3-dot menu on the far right and select the enhanced chat radio button.

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".

 

While we're on this step, 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 Now Assist AI capabilities on your ServiceNow instance. Your platform is updated, plugins are installed and configured, AI Search is enabled, and the Now Assist Panel is ready for use with enhanced chat functionality. Users with the appropriate roles can now access the Now Assist Panel through the sparkle icon in the interface.

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.

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