on - edited by
JenifferH
Step-by-step setup guide for administrators and implementation teams.
|
Store Release Version |
Platform Requirement |
|
September 2026 |
Australia Patch 6 (AP6) |
|
August 2026 |
Zurich Patch 10 (ZP10), or Australia Patch 3 (AP3) |
|
July 2026 |
Zurich Patch 10 (ZP10), or Australia Patch 3 (AP3) |
|
June 2026 |
Zurich Patch 10 (ZP10), or Australia Patch 3 (AP3) |
|
May 2026 |
Zurich Patch 9 (ZP9) |
Overview
This guide has been updated as of the September 2026 monthly store release for ServiceNow EmployeeWorks Web App plugin. It walks through the end-to-end configuration of EmployeeWorks Web App powered by Moveworks — the recommended path for all customers. Moveworks delivers the richest EmployeeWorks Web App experience: full conversational AI, enterprise search across 100+ business systems, and World Knowledge.
Prerequisites
Ensure all the following are in place before beginning configuration.
- Platform version: ServiceNow instance on Zurich Patch 9 (ZP9), Zurich Patch 10 (ZP10), Australia Patch 3 (AP3), or Australia Patch 6 (AP6). This is a hard requirement; EmployeeWorks Web App will not function on earlier patch levels.
- Moveworks license: Moveworks is licensed
- Configured Moveworks Instance: Moveworks must be configured to allow the EmployeeWorks Web App configuration to work as intended. If you have not configured your Moveworks instance, please do so following the steps outlined in this guide.
- System Administrator role: Required to install applications and access the Admin Console.
- Employee Center (Pro) portal (optional): Organizations already running Employee Center will inherit existing configurations for Unified Inbox, Taxonomy, Employee Profile, and Org Chart automatically. No migration work is required.
Additional license requirements:
- AI-powered widget creation (AIUX Widget Creation / Updation): Requires Now Assist for Creator.
Implementation Steps at a Glance
|
Step |
Title |
Key Actions |
|
1 |
Download the Applications |
Install EmployeeWorks Web App + EmployeeWorks Web App Extended from the ServiceNow Store |
|
2 |
Configure Moveworks Conversational Assistant |
SSO via JWT Auth, create new bot (unified-frontdoor surface), configure suggested prompts, optional assistant branding |
|
3 |
Configure the EmployeeWorks web app within Admin Console |
Set Appearance, connect Moveworks assistant URL, homepage, Tasks & Requests, configure Canvas + widget library, Notifications, review Documentation module, package/export update set |
|
4 |
Adding Taxonomy for Browse Experience |
Configure taxonomy categories and widget instance options for topic pages |
|
5 |
Org Chart and Employee Profile |
Validate Org chart and Employee Profile configs inherited from Employee Center (existing customers) or configure new employee definition and UI elements |
|
6 |
Build Announcements |
Requires EmployeeWorks Web App Extended; create and publish from Content Library with audience targeting |
|
7 |
[Optional] Configure AIX URL Rewrite Rule for knowledge article split view |
Only needed if the customer organization has custom knowledge configurations |
|
8 |
Widget Configuration |
Configure Featured Apps, Holiday Calendar, Communication Banners, Quick Links, Popular Content |
| Step 1 | Download the Applications |
Install the following applications from the ServiceNow Store before proceeding. Navigate to
System Applications > All and search for "EmployeeWorks Web App" to install. Check "Load Demo Data" during installation.
- EmployeeWorks Web App (sn_ex_emp_hub_mw)
- EmployeeWorks Web App Extended (sn_ex_emp_hub_adv) — required for Announcements and App Launcher
|
EmployeeWorks Web App Extended is required for Employee Communications (Announcements) and the App Launcher. Confirm your SKU includes it before proceeding. |
| Step 2 | Configure Moveworks Conversational Assistant |
All Moveworks assistant configuration is performed within Moveworks Setup on your Moveworks instance. Search source configuration, Enterprise Search, and Notifications are also handled here as part of this setup.
2a. Configure SSO via JWT Auth
- In Moveworks Setup, navigate to Employee Slate under Chat Platforms and create a JWT Auth connection. Select both: (A) Connector and (B) Trusted Issuer to establish SSO between ServiceNow and Moveworks.
- The Connector represents the ServiceNow instance(s) you initially configured for User Identity, Search, and Ticketing within the Built-In Connectors Module when setting up Moveworks.
- The Trusted Issuer is the URL of your ServiceNow instance IE https://my-instance.service-now.com
- In Moveworks Setup, configure up to 4 Suggested Prompts for the EmployeeWorks Web App home page search bar — each with a Display Text (max 16 characters) and an Utterance (max 130 characters) — to guide employees toward your organization's most common and high-value actions from the moment they arrive.
Creating the JWT Auth connection with Identity and Trusted Issuer connectors in Moveworks Setup
2b. Create a New Bot for EmployeeWorks Web App
- In Moveworks Setup, create a new Bot (ChatVar) and set its surface to unified-frontdoor.
- Do not modify the surface of the existing mwa bot. A dedicated net-new bot is required for EmployeeWorks Web App.
|
The unified-frontdoor surface connects the Moveworks conversational assistant to the EmployeeWorks Web App home page experience. Reusing or modifying the existing mwa bot will break the integration. |
Bot naming convention: {org name}-employeeworks-webchat (the name of the bot must end in -webchat due to validation on the moveworks side)
Bot Friendly Name: Should match the current display name used across your organization.
Surface: unified-frontdoor (required — do not use embedded or assistant)
Creating a new bot with unified-frontdoor surface in Moveworks Set
2c. Configure Assistant Branding (Optional)
- Navigate to Display Configuration > Display Settings > Bot Setup to update the Assistant Name
Navigate to Tenant Settings > General Information > AI Assistant Preferences to update the Avatar & Brand Logo
|
Search, Enterprise Search, and Notifications Search source configuration (where data with ACLs is mirrored, indexed, and searched to generate summaries), Enterprise Search across connected systems, and Notifications are all configured as part of the Moveworks setup. No additional ServiceNow-side configuration is needed for these capabilities. |
| Step 3 | Configure the Product Configuration within Admin Console |
All configuration in this step is performed from the Admin Console, which organizes setup into discrete modules and tracks progress. You can leave and resume configuration at any time.
3a. Access the Product Configuration Console
- Navigate to Admin > Admin Home from the top navigation or from the platform administrator home page, locate the EmployeeWorks Web App card under ‘Manage your Products’ section, and select View product overview.
- The Product Hub opens and lists all plugins associated with EmployeeWorks Web App implementation.
- Optional — Upload Batch: If you are promoting configurations from another environment (e.g., staging to production), use Upload Batch to load a prepared XML update set. Skip this step for a fresh configuration.
- Select Configure to open the Admin Console. The configuration summary lists all available modules and the completion status of each.
Accessing the EmployeeWorks Web App Product Hub and opening the Admin Console
3b. Configure Appearance
- In the Appearance module, set the portal name and URL suffix.
- Upload light mode and dark mode logos, plus a favicon.
- Set the primary, accent, and neutral palette colors.
Configuring portal name, logos, colors, and mode preview in the Appearance module
Configure the Home Page Background
On this page, scroll to the Homepage Background section to configure your home page background.
Choose a background type
Select from three options, each configurable independently for light and dark mode:
|
Type |
How it works |
|
Solid |
Pick a color from the color picker or enter a hex code. |
|
Gradient |
Auto-generated from your accent color; WCAG-compliant by default. Override with a custom CSS value if needed. |
|
Image |
Upload a PNG up to 1MB. Set behavior to Fill or Repeat Pattern, then apply an overlay (None, Light, or Dark) to maintain text readability. |
Customize text and logo display
Choose light or dark text and logo to ensure brand consistency across both display modes.
Verify accessibility- A real-time confirmation message indicates whether your background meets text contrast standards. No separate accessibility tool required.
- Use the preview panel to verify the experience across desktop and mobile, and in both light and dark modes, before saving.
- Save the changes and mark the module as configured to advance your progress in the configuration summary.
Multi-theme Experiences
To support multiple brands or divisions within a single deployment, use Multi-theme Experience to associate additional conditional themes with your EmployeeWorks Web App instance. For each theme, define distinct logos, colors, and branding, then configure routing rules based on attributes like role, department, location, or user group to control which employees see it. Navigate to the Appearance section of the EmployeeWorks Web App Admin Console to create, preview, and prioritize your themes.
3c. Connect Moveworks AI Assistant
- In the Conversational Assistant module, enter the Moveworks AI Assistant instance URL and save.
- You can find your Moveworks URL by navigating to your Moveworks instance and copying the base URL up to the first single slash (for example, https://my-moveworks-instance.moveworks.com/ or https://my-moveworks-instance.prod3.us.moveworks.com/) depending on your hosted Data Center RegionThe module provides a direct link to the Moveworks Setup experience where you can configure AI Assistant sources and behaviors. For detailed instructions, see Step 2.
Reference: Configure the Moveworks chat bot for EmployeeWorks Web App
Entering the Moveworks AI Assistant instance URL in the Conversational Assistant module
3d. Configure the Homepage Widgets
Configure the EmployeeWorks Web App home page widgets directly from the Admin Console.
Configuring Home Page Widgets
- In the Admin Console, navigate to the home page configuration view. You will see a list of all configurable out-of-the-box widgets alongside a live preview on the right.
Configuring Quick Links
- Click the edit icon next to the Quick Links widget to open its configuration page.
- Add quick links by searching and selecting from the dropdown.
- To reorder links, drag and drop them into the desired order. The preview updates in real time.
- To remove a link, click the delete option next to it.
- You can configure up to 10 quick links. The option to add more is disabled once this limit is reached.
- Links marked with a User criteria applied indicator have audience conditions configured — their visibility may vary by employee.
- To make advanced edits to a quick link, use the direct link to its platform record available on the configuration page.
- If you have unsaved changes and click Cancel, a discard confirmation prompt will appear to prevent accidental loss of configuration.
Configuring Homepage Announcements and Upcoming Holiday Widgets
- For the Announcements and Holiday Calendar widgets, please refer to the widget configuration section for details.
- Once a widget is configured, use the Mark as Configured option in the Admin Console to track its completion status.
3e. Configure the Canvas Widget Library
The Widget Library controls which widgets employees can add to their personal Canvas. In the Canvas module, select Canvas Editor to configure the default canvas dashboard.
- Toggle widget visibility in the widget library to control what appears in each employee's "available widgets" list.
- Out-of-the-box widgets at launch: My Requests, My Calendar, and Activity Hub. App Launcher requires EmployeeWorks Web App Extended.
- Edit or create new widgets from within the library. Administrators with Now Assist for Creator can use AI-powered AIUX Widget Creation for natural language authoring with live preview.
Reference: Configure the default canvas dashboard
Enabling widgets for the canvas layout in Widget Library
Configure Default Canvas Experience
- Set the default Canvas subtitle message shown to all employees.
- Define the default widget layout for the Canvas. Employees can personalize from this baseline.
There are additional two admin capabilities for managing canvas updates across a large or diverse workforce.
- Preview by Role or User: Select any role or individual from the Admin Canvas to trigger a live, read-only preview that reflects the employee's actual personalized view. Exiting returns the admin to their edit state with no changes lost.
- Push Updates Without Overwriting Personalization: Canvas updates use additive-only logic — new widgets appear in default positions, but anything an employee has configured or repositioned remains untouched. Updates are confirmed, warned if non-additive, and logged in the audit trail.
|
Important: Home page layout is fixed in the May 2026 release. Organizations cannot add widgets to or change the layout of the home page. Admins configure home page content (branding, quick links, popular content) but not its structure. Employee-level widget personalization is available exclusively through My Canvas. |
Setting the default canvas widget arrangement for employees
3f. Validate Tasks & Requests
Configure Tasks and Requests settings, including AI behavior, from the Admin Console.
- Standard task types (approvals, campaigns, journey lifecycle, learning, and more) are supported out of the box based on your existing Business Unit licenses.
- Standard request types (Service Catalog Requests, Incidents, HR Cases, and more) are also preconfigured with no additional setup needed.
- Custom task types or external system tasks can be added on top of preconfigured defaults by navigating to existing Employee Center To-do configurations.
- Three experience paths are configurable per task type: natively in the Inbox, rendered from Employee Center, or linked out to an external URL.
Accessing Tasks and Requests Configuration
- In the Admin Console, navigate to Configuration Summary and select the Tasks and Requests section.
Reviewing Task and Request Configurations
- Click the Tasks tab to review existing task type configurations.
|
Note: Admins can now scope task configurations independently to Employee Center, EmployeeWorks Web App, or both — preventing unintended cross-experience changes.
To configure: 1. Navigate to All > Employee Center > Administration > To-dos Configurations 2. Select an existing to-dos configuration and open the Task Configuration related list 3. On a task configuration record, set the new Applies to field to Employee Center, EmployeeWorks Web App, or Both Existing records default to All post-upgrade, so no configurations break out of the box. |
- Click the Requests tab to review existing request type configurations.
Configuring AI Preferences
- Click the AI Preferences tab.
- Select a generation mode for task insights and request summaries:
- Auto-generate — summaries load automatically for employees.
- On-demand — employees trigger summaries manually.
- Set a daily usage limit for AI assists. The accepted range is 0–100,000; the default is 3,000.
- If you set the limit to 0, smart prioritization is disabled and the inbox reverts to due-date-based sorting.
Reference documentation: Configuring Employee Center To-Dos | Employee Center Requests Configuration | Unified Inbox Product Documentation
3g. Review the Email Notifications
EmployeeWorks Web App's 38 out-of-the-box email notifications are consolidated to 16, organized by persona (requester and fulfiller) and lifecycle stage. Every notification uses the Employee notification template, leads with an action-oriented subject line including the ticket number, and renders in AI-native ITSM branding (Lato font, ServiceNow color scheme, mobile-responsive). Resolution and completion notifications include an optional CSAT link. No legacy or duplicate notifications fire after consolidation.
Configuring Notifications in the Admin Console
A dedicated Notifications section provides a centralized view of all existing EmployeeWorks Web App email notifications. Admins can preview each notification or open the record for editing. To migrate legacy notifications, click Update to EmployeeWorks Web App — this replaces the current template across all notifications in one step.
3h. Review the Documentation Module
The Documentation module in the Admin Console provides direct links to the ServiceNow documentation site for all EmployeeWorks Web App features: home page, inbox, org chart, notifications, and employee profile. Use these links to complete feature-specific configurations that fall outside the Product Configuration console scope.
| Step 4 | Adding Taxonomy for Browse Experience |
The September 2026 release adds Browse and Topic Pages to EmployeeWorks Web App, giving employees a structured way to explore content by topic rather than relying solely on the AI assistant.
4a. [Required] Bind a taxonomy to Browse
- Navigate to All > AIUX Framework > AI Experiences
- Open the relevant AI Experience (e.g., EmployeeWorks Web App)
- Select the AI Experience Properties related list
- Select the Taxonomy property and update the value with the sys_id of the taxonomy you want to bind
- To find the sys_id: navigate to the relevant Taxonomy record, right-click the form header, and select Copy sys_id
4b. [Optional] Control topic visibility on the Explore page
Set the system property sn_ex_ai_portal.hide_topics_with_no_content to control which root topics appear:
- False (default): all root topics display regardless of content
- True: only topics with accessible content are shown
4c. [Optional] Assign a topic page template
- Open the relevant Topic record
- Navigate to the Experience Topic Template Mapping related list
- Assign the desired template, mapped to the topic and experience
- To apply the same template across a topic hierarchy, enable Apply to children on the parent topic
Topics without an assigned template fall back to the default, which can also be updated via experience properties.
4d. [Recommended] Add Ask Otto prompts to a topic page
- Open the relevant Topic record
- Create a new prompt or associate an existing one
- Save -- the Ask Otto widget appears on the topic page automatically once prompts are added
4e. [Optional] Inline admin configuration
Admins can now configure the Explore and topic pages directly from the page, without navigating to widget instance options separately.
- Open the Explore or topic page you want to configure
- Select Admin Editor in the bottom-right corner to enter edit mode
- Click the edit icon on any widget to open its configuration panel
- Update the relevant fields -- page headings, welcome label text, hero banner content, or topic page descriptions
- Changes apply immediately; select Reset to default at any time to revert
Migrating from Employee Center
This release delivers full browse parity for organizations migrating from Employee Center. Existing taxonomy structures, content permissions, and Connected Content configurations carry over with no re-setup required.
| Step 5 | Configure Org Chart and Employee Profile |
Employee Profile and Org Chart automatically reuse existing Employee Center configurations. Organizations migrating from Employee Center do not need to rebuild anything from scratch.
For organizations that have not yet deployed the Employee Center (Pro) portal:
- Opt in to the Employee Profile feature to enable the new employee details and design.
- Create an active employee definition and generate employee profiles.
- Configure UI elements for the Employee Profile and Org Chart per your organizational preferences.
|
With Moveworks: Employees can search for people conversationally and receive interactive profile cards directly in chat. Clicking any card opens the full Org Chart in split view alongside the conversation. |
Reference documentation: Employee Profile | Org Chart | Employee Center Academy: Unified Employee Profile
| Step 6 | Set Up Communication Banners |
Content Managers and Admins can create and publish targeted announcements directly from within EmployeeWorks Web App. Requires EmployeeWorks Web App Extended. The role required is sn_cd.content_manager.
- Navigate to Profile Options and select Communications.
- Create a new announcement banner from the Content Library.
- Edit the banner content, image, and publishing plan. Set an image focal point, configure audience targeting and scheduling window.
- Check the live preview and click Publish when ready.
|
Audience targeting for announcements derives from existing Knowledge Base and Catalog user criteria. No separate audience configuration is required. |
Reference documentation: Employee Communications
Creating an announcement banner and setting audience, schedule, and publishing details
| Step 7 | [Optional] Configure AIX URL Rewrite Rule for knowledge article split view |
Here are the steps to configure the AIX URL Rewrite Rule for knowledge article split view:
Why this is needed
Out-of-box ServiceNow includes a rewrite rule for standard KB articles, but customers with custom knowledge configurations need this additional rule. Without it, the portal doesn't know to open knowledge article links in split view when surfaced through the Moveworks chat.
What we are configuring
A URL rewrite rule that maps knowledge article links from the Moveworks chat to open correctly in the EmployeeWorks Web App split view. This applies to any portal record that has a corresponding page in the AIUX portal — catalog items, ticket status, knowledge articles, etc.
Navigate to the AIX URL Rewrite Rule table
Go to sys_aix_url_rewrite_rule_list.do and click New to create a new rule.
How to identify your values
When Moveworks generates a link and a user clicks it, the portal redirects to a URL like:
instance.service-now.com/myCustomPortal?id=<custom_kb_table>&<custom_sys_id_field>=12345678
Use this URL to determine your field values below.
Fill in the rule fields
- Source type: Portal Page
- Portal page: <custom_kb_table> — the id parameter from your portal URL
- To AIUX Page: /knowledge/:sys_id
- Experience: Select the EmployeeWorks Web App/EmployeeWorks experience
- Order: 100
- Parameter mapping:
- Key: <custom_sys_id_field> — the field name used in the portal URL to reference the record
- Value: sys_id — must match the parameter referenced in the To AIUX Page field
Example
If Moveworks generates a link that redirects to:
instance.service-now.com/myCustomPortal?id=my_kb_table&my_sys_id_field=12345678
Then configure the rule as:
- Portal page: my_kb_table
- To AIUX Page: /knowledge/:sys_id
- Parameter mapping:
- Key: my_sys_id_field
- Value: sys_id
Save and verify
Save the record, then refresh the Employee Center portal page. Click a knowledge article link from the Moveworks chat — it should now open correctly in split view.
|
Note: You may need to grant cross-scope access to resolve installation errors. Navigate to Application Restricted Caller Access in the Platform menu and allow any records where the Source Scope is EmployeeWorks Web App Core and the Operation is Read. Repeat as needed — additional records referencing other scopes, tables, or scripts may surface after each fix. |
|
Accessing EmployeeWorks Web App after setup is complete Navigate to: https://<instance-name>.service-now.com/aiux/employeeworks/home User Experience Analytics (UXA) is enabled automatically from the moment EmployeeWorks Web App goes live. No additional setup is needed. |
Package and Export the Update Set
Once configuration is complete within Admin Console, select Package and download to export all configuration changes as an XML update set. To promote configurations to another environment (e.g., from staging to production), upload the exported file from the Product Hub page of the target environment using the Upload Batch option.
|
This export/import flow is the recommended path for multi-environment deployments. Always export from lower environments and import to production — not the reverse. |
Widget Configuration Reference
Widget configuration is independent of the Admin Console setup in Step 3 and can be completed at any point after the core installation is done. Widgets fall into two categories: Canvas widgets (added by employees to their personal canvas) and Homepage widgets (displayed directly on the EmployeeWorks Web App home page for all users).
Homepage Widgets
|
Widget |
Holiday Calendar (Homepage) |
The Holiday Calendar widget displays upcoming holidays relevant to each employee based on their location. Holidays are configured centrally by admins and filtered per user using the country code on the user's profile record.
- Navigate to Employee Center > Holiday Calendar or navigate via Homepage configuration module within Admin Console
- Create a new holiday record for each upcoming holiday. Set the date, name, and Country.
- In the Country / Region field, select the applicable country or region. Employees will only see holidays whose country/region matches the country code field on their user profile. Do not set the default System (US) as the country for any holiday.
|
Country/region matching is driven by the country code on the user record. If employees are not seeing expected holidays, verify that their user profiles have the correct country code populated. |
Adding a holiday record and selecting the country/region for targeted visibility
|
Widget |
Communication Banners (Homepage) |
Communication Banners are admin-authored announcements displayed on the EmployeeWorks Web App home page. Configuration is covered in detail in Step 6: Set Up Communication Banners. Role required: sn_cd.content_manager.
In brief: navigate to Profile > Communications within EmployeeWorks Web App (visible to content managers only), create a banner from the Content Library, configure audience targeting and scheduling, and publish.
Creating and publishing a communication banner from the EmployeeWorks Web App Communications panel
|
Widget |
Quick Links (Homepage) |
This widget surfaces a curated set of links on the home page for quick employee access to frequently used resources. This can be set via the Admin Console homepage configuration module.
|
Widget |
Popular Content (Homepage) |
This widget surfaces trending knowledge articles and catalog items on the home page based on usage patterns across your organization.
Canvas Widgets
|
Widget |
Featured Apps (Canvas) |
The Featured Apps widget surfaces pre-configured web applications on an employee's personal canvas, providing one-click access to commonly used tools. Requires EmployeeWorks Web App Extended. Role required: System Administrator.
- Navigate to Employee Center > Web Applications.
- Create or open a web application record. For each application, configure the SSO connection following the guidance in the App Launcher product documentation.
- Set the User Criteria to control which audiences see the app. Use Available For and Not Available For fields to define inclusion and exclusion rules at the audience level.
- Check the Featured Apps checkbox on the web application record. This is what causes the app to appear in the Featured Apps widget on an employee's canvas. Applications without this checkbox will still appear in the full App Launcher but not in the Featured Apps widget.
|
SSO configuration varies by application. Refer to the App Launcher product documentation for step-by-step instructions for each supported app type. User Criteria matching follows the same logic as Employee Center portal audience targeting. |
Configuring a web application record and enabling the Featured Apps checkbox in Employee Center
Appendix
Localization and Accessibility
- Languages for EmployeeWorks Web App: French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified), Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French-Canada, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, and Turkish.
- Moveworks assistant: Supports over 100 languages.
- Accessibility: EmployeeWorks Web App has been designed for accessibility. AI-generated widgets (created via AIUX Widget Creation) automatically comply with WCAG 2.2 AA standards. Refer to the EmployeeWorks Web App Accessibility Compliance Report for full product-level accessibility details.
Related Documentation
- EmployeeWorks Web App Product Documentation
- EmployeeWorks Web App (ServiceNow Store)
- EmployeeWorks Web App for Now Assist (ServiceNow Store)
- EmployeeWorks Web App Extended (ServiceNow Store)
