--- sourceDocument: Yokohama Build workflows sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/yokohama/build-workflows Release : - yokohama ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Yokohama Build workflows ft:clusterId : - crworkflow bundleId : - crworkflow workflow : - Creator --- # Exploring playbooks # Exploring playbooks {#ariaid-title1} * Release version: Yokohama * * Updated January 30, 2025 * * ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of Exploring playbooks Workflow Studio playbooks enable process owners to author and manage cross-enterprise workflows as unified, end-to-end business processes. Playbooks consolidate multiple flows, subflows, and actions into a single digitized process that guides agents and fulfillers through complex tasks, improving customer experience and task resolution. As of the Yokohama release, playbooks are integrated within Workflow Studio, providing a centralized environment for authoring, configuring, and monitoring workflows and related automation components. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Unified Process Design:** Connect multiple flows and actions into comprehensive business workflows that span enterprise functions. * **Reuse of Existing Content:** Leverage existing Workflow Studio flows, subflows, and actions to automate playbook activities efficiently. * **Digitized Task Boards and Diagrams:** Organize playbook activities visually to enhance clarity and usability for end users. * **Guided Execution:** Help agents and fulfillers navigate complex playbooks step-by-step, ensuring consistent task completion. * **Cross-Platform Embedding:** Design playbook experiences that can be embedded in legacy workspace, UI Builder, mobile platforms, and Service Portal. * **Process Control and Visualization:** Define record life cycles, control activity order and conditions, pass data between stages, and manage workflows visually. * **Playbook Generation:** Use Now Assist and Playbook Assist to generate playbooks from textual or image inputs, accelerating process creation. * **Domain Separation Support:** Maintain data and process segregation across domains, controlling access and visibility appropriately. ## Components of Playbooks * **Playbooks:** Represent cross-enterprise business processes with ownership responsibility for creation and maintenance. * **Triggers:** Define when playbooks start based on specific conditions or record types. * **Stages:** Logical groupings of activities that structure the process flow. * **Activities:** Workflow Studio content that powers automation and user interactions within the playbook. ## Getting Started ServiceNow customers should first understand flows, subflows, and actions within the ServiceNow AI Platform before building playbooks. Playbook owners can learn to digitize processes by accessing foundational resources on process design and automation. Administrators can customize playbooks by configuring triggers, process definitions, and activity definitions. ## When to Use Playbooks vs. Flows Use playbooks when you need to consolidate multiple automated workflows into an end-to-end process with guided task execution and visual management. Use flows for simpler, linear automation tasks that do not require complex cross-functional orchestration. ## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers * Streamline complex business processes into manageable, automated playbooks that improve operational efficiency. * Enhance user experience by providing clear guidance through task sequences and stages. * Reuse existing automation assets to accelerate playbook development and reduce redundancy. * Maintain data security and separation in multi-domain environments. * Leverage AI-powered tools to quickly generate playbooks from natural language inputs. Workflow Studio playbooks enable process owners to author cross-enterprise workflows and create a single, unified process. Build the underlying processes for playbooks that Playbook Experience agents and fulfillers use. Note: Starting in the Xanadu release, the following updates were made: * Playbooks is now part of [Workflow Studio](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ZJjsnzRZCfpo4dljIj8kKA "Integrate workflow authoring, configuring, and monitoring into a single page experience. Consolidate playbooks, flows, actions, decision tables, and integrations into one design environment."). Workflow Studio gives you a streamlined way to author, configure, and monitor playbooks, flows, subflows, actions, and decision tables in one place. * Processes are now called Playbooks, though Playbook Experience remains a separate application that is not accessible from within Workflow Studio yet. * The core Playbooks builder in Workflow Studio is available with the ServiceNow AI Platform® by default, but the latest updates are available for download through the application in the ServiceNow® Store. {#process-automation-designer__ul_xjq_bgd_xhc} ## Playbooks benefits {#process-automation-designer__section_ors_tk3_pkb} Workflow Studio Playbooks enables you, as a business playbook owner, to organize Workflow Studio content into unified and digitized cross-enterprise processes. With Playbooks, you gain these benefits: * Connect multiple flows and actions into an end-to-end business workflow. * Reuse existing Workflow Studio flows, subflows, or actions to automate playbook activities. * Organize playbook activities in a digitized task board or diagram interface. * Guide agents and fulfillers through complicated playbooks from start to finish, improving customer experience and task resolution. Build your playbooks in Workflow Studio, and then design and embed your Playbook Experience in legacy workspace, UI Builder, ServiceNow Mobile Platform, Service Portal, and more. * Consolidate separate business processes across the organization. * Define a consistent record life cycle from creation to completion. * Pass data between the activities and stages of a business process. * Specify the conditions and the order in which activities and stages run. * Visualize and manage the activities and stages of your process. {#process-automation-designer__ul_tnx_lq3_pkb} ## Creating a well-designed playbook {#process-automation-designer__section_omb_qm3_pkb} The automated business processes that you design guide your end users and help them focus on the tasks and information that matter to them. A well-designed playbook can do these things: * Start up, or trigger, automatically for the types of records that your end users care about * Reuse activities from existing [Workflow Studio](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ZJjsnzRZCfpo4dljIj8kKA "Integrate workflow authoring, configuring, and monitoring into a single page experience. Consolidate playbooks, flows, actions, decision tables, and integrations into one design environment.") content * Has well-defined stages that end users can follow for a record * Clearly show the next steps that end users must take to move through a record's life cycle {#process-automation-designer__ul_bnr_wm3_pkb} ## Playbooks content {#process-automation-designer__section_eth_lnb_blb} Playbooks has these components: Playbooks : A playbook is a ServiceNow AI Platform® representation of a cross-enterprise business process for your organization. A playbook owner is responsible for creating and maintaining a playbook. Triggers : A trigger specifies when to start running your playbook. Stages : A stage is a grouped sequence of activities in a playbook. A playbook owner creates a stage to specify a logical grouping of activities. A stage in your overall business process. Activities : An activity defines the [Workflow Studio](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ZJjsnzRZCfpo4dljIj8kKA "Integrate workflow authoring, configuring, and monitoring into a single page experience. Consolidate playbooks, flows, actions, decision tables, and integrations into one design environment.") content that powers the playbook's automation. An activity can also specify the user-facing experience that the playbook produces when it runs. For more information about how to use and navigate the Playbooks user interface, see [Playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Tp6kWCT9EAj5bS75GAoAbA "Playbooks are a component in Workflow Studio. Workflow Studio gives you a streamlined way to author, configure, and monitor playbooks, flows, subflows, actions, and decision tables in one place."). ## Getting started {#process-automation-designer__section_ds5_3v3_pkb} Before you get started with Playbooks, familiarize yourself with any features that your business uses to automate operations on the ServiceNow AI Platform, such as [flows](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/MZ8lCO1cEtmajyF9Lm~DJA "Flows automate a repeatable multi-step process. When the flow trigger conditions are met, the flow runs a sequence of reusable actions and flow logic to complete the process."), [subflows](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/RuDk1UQNCznz2WVPyuKK7w "Subflows automate a repeatable multi-step process that also produces an output needed by another process. When a playbook, flow, or script calls a subflow, the subflow runs a sequence of reusable actions and flow logic to complete the process and produce output values."), and [actions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/h1Pr8891nD96A6Bu67wsaw "Actions automate a repeatable task or operation within a flow. Flows run actions by passing them data as inputs. Actions run a sequence of steps to complete the task, and pass data to the flow as outputs."). If you're a playbook owner who wants to learn the basics of digitizing your business process, check out the following resources: * [Get started with ServiceNow® Process Automation](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/nQsD7bvzN_P1NilfxA~gkg "Learn how Process Automation applications can help you use the ServiceNow AI Platform to transform your manual business processes into digitized, automated workflows.") * [Get started with processes](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/vwjGTxoCjlKm5l~Nu~mqFw "Learn the basics of designing an automated process for your organization. Get an overview of how Workflow Studio Playbooks work in the ServiceNow AI Platform.") * [Design your first automated process](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/OynyzdxYrLI2quKA_FNsJg "Create a sample playbook to standardize and automate how Service Desk agents handle chat interactions with VIP users.") * [View your process executions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/~CJjCYoBMOdYn1xv68pALA "A process execution is a single, runtime instance of a playbook. Process execution records provide runtime information about playbooks, such as the current state and input record.") {#process-automation-designer__ul_dh4_mlm_tlb} If you're a ServiceNow Process Automation administrator who wants to set up and customize Playbooks, check out the following resources: * [Triggers](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/CeFCVD8J4x0xHiX2bICh3Q "Triggers specify when to start running your playbook.") * [Process definitions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/_tVMu69Hbg~RfE91nyxawA "Playbooks are ServiceNow AI Platform representations of cross-enterprise processes for your organization. Create and activate a playbook to run your digitized business process on the ServiceNow AI Platform.") * [Activity definitions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r014Lhz_11xoMRZZRHOzcA "Activity definitions describe how the activities in your playbook get the data that they need when your playbook runs.") {#process-automation-designer__ul_oyv_wlm_tlb} * **[Playbooks User Experience](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Gg~G15WxNdRVZr4MJWUwnQ)** Understand how Workflow Studio Playbooks work in the ServiceNow AI Platform® to automate cross-functional processes and consolidate them into task-oriented views for your end users. * **[Playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Tp6kWCT9EAj5bS75GAoAbA)** Playbooks are a component in Workflow Studio. Workflow Studio gives you a streamlined way to author, configure, and monitor playbooks, flows, subflows, actions, and decision tables in one place. * **[Playbook generation](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/w9ytvovVKyiS0q2m7NBjjA)** Use Now Assist to generate playbooks from text directions or images. For example, you can enter directions to generate a playbook outline for managing customer support cases. Playbook Assist is part of the ServiceNow Otto for Creator application. * **[Getting started with Process Automation](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/nQsD7bvzN_P1NilfxA~gkg)** Learn how Process Automation applications can help you use the ServiceNow AI Platform® to transform your manual business processes into digitized, automated workflows. * **[Domain separation and Playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ctThuxo4EuJXLUNWtSTJMg)** Data separation is supported for Playbooks. The domain value of the triggering input record determines the domain context. Domain separation enables you to separate data, processes, and administrative tasks into logical groupings called domains. You can control several aspects of this separation, including which users can see and access data. * **[When to use flows and playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/OCOkeOgg3jM9QaJ6I5KSIQ)** Use these general guidelines to determine when to create a flow or a playbook. * **[Playbooks across ServiceNow AI Platform](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/~nmpCivqvLMVHMcrP4USPw)** Playbooks capabilities are available in other ServiceNow® products and for specific industries.