chrisreddington
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2 hours ago
Build EmployeeWorks plugins with ToolSmith
Have you ever needed to get something done at work, but had to ask a colleague which system to use or how the process works? We’ve all been there.
Employees shouldn’t need to know which system handles their request, jump between portals, or learn how every application works to get something done. EmployeeWorks gives them one place to ask for what they need and work across connected enterprise systems.
For us as developers, that experience is more than just connecting to an API. A useful plugin maps the request to valid inputs, calls the right systems and respects business rules. It might sound like a lot of work, but ToolSmith can help us plan and build a plugin from scratch. We’ll do exactly that in this series.
Table of contents
- Introduction
- What is EmployeeWorks?
- EmployeeWorks tools: when to use plugins, MCP servers, or Enterprise Search (coming soon)
- How do we build a plugin in Tool Studio? (coming soon)
- What is Purple Suite, and how does it help us test plugins? (coming soon)
- Build a plugin with ToolSmith (coming soon)
- Adding guardrails and business rules to your plugin (coming soon)
- How do you write a useful ToolSmith prompt? (coming soon)
- Frequently asked questions
- Where to go next
Introduction
I’m Chris Reddington, a Senior Staff Developer Advocate at ServiceNow. This series is about introducing you to EmployeeWorks and how you can build well-governed plugins for your AI Assistants.
Why now? AI has gone mainstream but making it useful at enterprise scale typically requires more guardrails and controls. EmployeeWorks gives us a place to ask for help across connected systems. Plugins let us connect the assistant to external systems with the steps and controls a task needs. ToolSmith can help us plan, build, and edit those plugins after we approve its plan.
What will you learn? We’ll start with EmployeeWorks, the enterprise AI front door where employees can search and act across business systems. Then we’ll compare Enterprise Search, MCP servers and plugins, and use ToolSmith to plan, build, review, and test our first plugin.
What will you need? If you are just following along and don’t plan to build, then you’re all set! But if you want to build with ToolSmith, you’ll need:
- EmployeeWorks Tool Studio access with the Developer role.
- Access to the AI Assistant in the EmployeeWorks WebApp for conversational testing.
- ToolSmith access. It is currently an early-access capability; request access through the ToolSmith page.
- A Purple Suite instance and credentials for our mock travel API example. We’ll create those in a later section.
What is EmployeeWorks?
- EmployeeWorks is the enterprise AI front door for employees. Instead of starting with the system or process they think might handle it, they can start with an outcome, such as “I need to cancel a travel booking.”
- It brings your organization’s knowledge and connected systems into one place, so employees can ask for an answer or help with a task in natural language.
WITHOUT EMPLOYEEWORKS WITH EMPLOYEEWORKS
Employee Employee
│ │ "I need to cancel a
├──> HR portal ........ ? │ travel booking."
├──> IT service desk .. ? v
├──> Travel booking ... ? ┌─────────────────┐
├──> Expenses ......... ? │ EmployeeWorks │
└──> Policy library ... ? └────────┬────────┘
├──> HR portal
"Where do I look?" ├──> IT service desk
"Which app owns this task?" ├──> Travel booking
"How do I complete it?" ├──> Expenses
└──> Policy library
BEHIND THE CONVERSATION
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ EMPLOYEE │
│ Asks to cancel a booking │
└─────────────────┬────────────────┘
│ asks in natural language
v
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ AI ASSISTANT │
│ Selects the right tool │
└─────────────────┬────────────────┘
│ selects the travel plugin
v
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ TRAVEL PLUGIN │
│ Defines the task │
└─────────────────┬────────────────┘
│ runs the connected task
v
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ TRAVEL SYSTEM │
│ Purple Expense (Purple Suite) │
└─────────────────┬────────────────┘
│
└──> RESULT returned to the employee
- For our travel example, the employee asks to cancel a booking. The AI Assistant decides which tool is the right fit, runs it and returns the result.
- That plugin is where we define one focused capability: what it does, what it needs, and how it connects to the system behind the request.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ TRAVEL PLUGIN │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ WHAT IT CAN DO │
│ Cancel a confirmed travel booking │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ INFORMATION IT NEEDS │
│ 1. Employee email │
│ 2. Selected booking │
│ 3. Confirmation ──> only then: cancel the booking │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ HOW IT CONNECTS │
│ Travel system (Purple Expense, Purple Suite) │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- As developers, we decide which tools to provide the AI assistant. We can connect company knowledge through Enterprise Search, use tools exposed by an MCP server, or build a plugin when a task needs its own steps and controls.
- The next section explains when each approach fits.
- You can access EmployeeWorks through several configured surfaces, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, and the EmployeeWorks Web App.
- We’ll use the EmployeeWorks Web App throughout the guide.
┌─────────────────┐
│ EmployeeWorks │
└────────┬────────┘
┌─────────────────┼─────────────────┐
│ │ │
┌──────┴──────┐ ┌──────┴──────┐ ┌──────┴──────┐
│ Slack │ │ Microsoft │ │ Web App │
│ │ │ Teams │ │ (our guide) │
└─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘
Frequently asked questions
We’ll add to these answers as the series continues.
Do I still need Tool Studio if I use ToolSmith?
Yes. ToolSmith proposes and builds from a reviewed plan; the developer still inspects the plugin’s connection, actions, inputs, process, and access in Tool Studio and tests the employee-facing result. See the ToolSmith overview.
Can I use an MCP server instead of building a plugin?
Sometimes. A trusted MCP server can be a good fit for a bounded live lookup or action. Use a plugin when you need to define an employee-facing sequence with record resolution, policy checks, and confirmation. Before using an MCP server, you should inspect the server’s own access and action controls. See the MCP Workspace overview and current limitations.
Where to go next
Next up: EmployeeWorks tools: when to use plugins, MCP servers, or Enterprise Search.
Planning to build along? ToolSmith is currently an early-access capability, so request access through the ToolSmith page now, ahead of the hands-on chapters. In the meantime, the ToolSmith overview explains what it can do.
Have a ToolSmith or EmployeeWorks plugin question this guide doesn’t answer? Share the task you were trying to complete and where you got stuck in the comments, so a future lesson can address that specific problem.
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