---
sourceDocument: Xanadu ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/xanadu/servicenow-platform
Release :
- xanadu
ft:locale :
- en-US
ft:publication_title :
- Xanadu ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities
ft:clusterId :
- platcap
bundleId :
- platcap
workflow :
- Platform
---
# Create a knowledge article
# Create a knowledge article {#ariaid-title1}
* Release version: Xanadu
*
* Updated August 1, 2024
*
*  9 minutes to read
Knowledge contributors can create and edit knowledge articles within a knowledge base
to share information across your organization.
## Before you begin
To view an article template, you must activate the article templates feature and
enable the desired templates.
Role required: knowledge, knowledge_manager, knowledge_admin, knowledge_coach,
knowledge_domain_expert, knowledge_group_member, admin. You must have contribute
access to at least one active knowledge base.
## About this task
Users with at least one role can create and edit knowledge articles. These users are known as knowledge contributors. Users without any role can read articles and submit feedback, but can't create or edit articles.
Some
knowledge bases may allow only certain users to contribute. For example, a member of the IT department can create knowledge articles in the IT knowledge base, such as desktop support information or articles describing company IT
processes.
## Procedure
1. There are three ways of creating knowledge articles.
* Navigate to Self-ServiceKnowledge and select the Create an Article icon.
* Navigate to KnowledgeArticlesCreate New.
* From the Knowledge Management homepage, select the more icon (![More icon]()) and then select Create Article.
{#create-knowledge-article__choices_edz_bc3_4gb}
2. On the Create new article page, select a knowledge base.
The list of article templates to select in the next step is filtered according to the article templates available for the selected knowledge base.
Note:
On the Create new article page, you can select to Switch to older version of this page or Switch to updated version of this page (recommended).
3. Select an article template.
4. Select Next.
The Knowledge form is displayed based on the article template selected.
5. On the Knowledge form, fill in the fields.
{#create-knowledge-article__table_fdt_qgf_1r__entry__2}
| Field | Description |
|-|-|
| Number | Number of the article. This field is automatically set to a number. For more information, see [Duplicate knowledge article numbers](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ZD5c1L45jjNzPoXK8eeB8A "Importing knowledge articles into an instance can create articles with duplicate numbers."). |
| Knowledge Base | The knowledge base selected for this article. Note: An article can only be associated with one knowledge base. You can change the knowledge base, but only if the selected article template is available in the knowledge base. |
| Category | The category for this article. Select a Knowledge Base before you can select a category. Articles without a category appear on the knowledge homepage in the (empty) category. |
| Ownership Group | The ownership group for this knowledge article. An ownership group is a group of members and a manager who are responsible for approvals, ensuring article quality, and feedback tasks. Ownership groups can publish, edit, and retire knowledge articles that they're associated with. Note: If no ownership group is assigned, the article automatically goes to the knowledge administrator and knowledge manager for approval. |
| Language | Language in which you're creating the article. The list is populated based on the languages enabled for the selected knowledge base. |
| Schedule publish date | Date in future when the article is published automatically. If approvals are enabled, the approval process must be completed before this date. |
| Valid to | The date this knowledge article expires. Articles don't appear in search results after the Valid to date or if the Valid to date is empty. The default value of the Valid to field is derived from the Article Validity field configured for the knowledge base (see [Create a knowledge base](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/_4~9fiefvPTETtRs1AT7PA "Create a knowledge base to provide a self-service platform for users to store, share, and manage content. Configure knowledge bases into product or service categories and manage user access based on permissions. Customize workflows for publishing and retiring articles in the knowledge base.")). The Valid to date starts from the date that the article was created until the number of days specified in the Article Validity field. If the Article Validity field is empty, the default date in the Valid to field for the knowledge article is set to January 1, 2100. An article author or editor can select whether to keep or change the default Valid to date. For more information, see [Validity of a knowledge article](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/PLnvpkxKq1WMlkZWK2yhnQ "Knowledge article validity is the date a knowledge article expires. Articles do not appear in search results after the Valid to date or if the Valid to date is blank."). On the first day of each month, the application sends an email notification to a list of authorized recipients to remind them about articles that are expire in the next month. The recipient can then extend the Valid to date to continue using the article. For more information, see [Managing email notifications in Knowledge Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/EDaAmMr0gCVa5XGKoKjcrw "Reminders enable relevant users to review knowledge articles and complete tasks associated with them."). Note: If the system date format or user preferences is set to use yy year format, you might face issues when the Valid to date is set to the default date. Contact your administrator or modify the user preferences to use a date format with the yyyy year format. For more information, see [Global date and time field format](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=r_FormatDateAndTimeFields&version=xanadu&pubname=xanadu-platform-administration&ft:locale=en-US) and [Personalize the system date format](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=t_PersonalizeTheSystemDateFormat&version=xanadu&pubname=xanadu-platform-administration&ft:locale=en-US) topics. |
| Confidence | Maturity of an article based on its completeness and reusability. |
| Version | Version of the article. This field appears only when the article versioning feature is enabled. For more information, see [Article versioning](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/iPdeDBydantEsY7eAba2bg "Use the Knowledge Management article versioning feature to create and maintain multiple versions of a knowledge article."). |
| Parent | Number of the article that represents the base language article. This setting keeps translations of the same article related to each other. Consider choosing the same language consistently for the parent article. This field appears only when the I18N:Knowledge Management Internationalization Plugin v2 plugin (com.glideapp.knowledge.i18n2) is activated. For more information, see [I18N - Knowledge internationalization](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/rRTdmqRtxOKwq9rjcHmtsQ "The optional knowledge internationalization features enable knowledge users to view articles in multiple languages."). Note: The Parent field contains the first version of the parent article only. This field is used by the translation management feature to maintain the relationship between the source article and its translations. |
| Article type | The type of article, either HTML or wiki. Note: This field is only visible in the standard template. |
| Workflow | \[Read-Only\] The publication state of the article, such as Draft, In Review, or Published. When inserting a new article from an existing article, the state of the new article is reset to Draft. |
| Source | The task this knowledge article was created in response to, if any. This field is set automatically when you create the knowledge article from a task record. |
| Attachment link | Option for downloading an attached file automatically when a user accesses the article, instead of opening the article view. Add one or more attachments to the article to use this option. Note: You may attach multiple files, but most web browsers permit users to download only the first one. To ensure download of all the files, bundle them into an archive, such as with WinZip, and attach the archive. The Attachment link option applies to articles accessed from search links only. Articles accessed as links within other knowledge articles won't replicate this behavior. |
| Display attachments | Option for displaying attachments to users viewing this knowledge article. Attachments appear below the article text. Add one or more attachments to the article to use this option. |
| Governance | An attribute of an article that enables you to control sensitive, critical, or regulated information. Not all articles have the same requirement for compliance reviews. Some articles are based on the collective experience of the people who use the articles (experience-based). Other articles have policy or legal information that require tight control (compliance-based). |
| Short description | The title of the article. This title appears when browsing and searching for a knowledge article, and at the top of the article. You can enter up to 100 characters in this field. Note: If contextual search is enabled, the knowledge articles similar to the entered short description text appear in the Knowledge results section. |
| Article body | Content for the article. A preview of the content appears when browsing and searching for a knowledge article. Use the editing functions in the HTML editor to create content. For more information, see [Editing functions for knowledge articles in the HTML editor](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/kLviPuvZ3f0yYHHYkvqiag "Improve the readability and usefulness of knowledge articles by formatting the article text using the HTML editor."). |
| Meta | Tags for optimizing search from external search engines. Separate multiple entries by commas. You may need to configure the form to add this field. For more information, see [Configuring the form layout](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=configure-form-layout&version=xanadu&pubname=xanadu-platform-administration&ft:locale=en-US). Note: If AI Search is enabled for the Knowledge Management Service Portal, the tags you add to the Meta field aren't indexed. To fine-tune AI Search results, your administrator can configure result improvement rules. For more information, see [AI Search in Service Portal](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=ai-search&version=xanadu&pubname=xanadu-platform-user-interface&ft:locale=en-US). |
[Table 1. Knowledge form]
{#create-knowledge-article__table_fdt_qgf_1r}
Note:
The Confidence and Governance fields appear when the Knowledge Management KCS Capabilities plugin (com.snc.knowledge_kcs_capabilities) is activated. For more information, see [Managing KCS article states](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/umgw4qu_f2R4_a_W96prpw "Manage the readiness of KCS articles and comply with regulated information using KCS article states.").
6. **Optional:** To search for similar articles, enter the text in the Related Search field or continue with the default text in the Knowledge results section.
If the Knowledge results section isn't displayed on the Knowledge form, an administrator can configure the form layout to add the Contextual Search Results field to the form.
* To find knowledge articles that have high text similarity with the entered search text, choose Similar Articles (ML).
Note:
This option is available only when the Predictive Intelligence feature is enabled and your administrator has trained the similarity solution for Knowledge Management. For more information, see [Train the similarity solution for Knowledge Management to find related articles](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/TqWdmy_vd04HyHqu34LDGA "Train the Knowledge Similar Articles solution definition included within the Predictive Intelligence for Knowledge Management capability to find related knowledge articles when creating or viewing a knowledge article.").
* To find knowledge articles that match the entered search text, choose Search Articles.
{#create-knowledge-article__choices_jtf_gjc_rhb}
7. **Optional:** To view the entire article in a pop-up window, select the link to the article title.
8. Select Submit to create the article.
9. **Optional:** Select Search for Duplicates for any redundant content in existing articles.
10. **Optional:** Select the link in the For SEO suggestions on this article, click here message, if available, to review suggestions for improving your article.
Suggestions are provided to help you improve the search engine optimization and accessibility of your article, such as removing multiple Heading 1 or `