Microsoft SharePoint Online external content connector

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated August 4, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Microsoft SharePoint Online external content connector

    The Microsoft SharePoint Online external content connector enables ServiceNow customers to retrieve pages and metadata from Microsoft SharePoint Online sites, making this content searchable within AI Search applications. The connector supports scheduled or on-demand content and user permission crawls to update indexed content and security principals. Retrieved data is stored in a connector-specific indexed source, which search administrators can link to search profiles for use in AI Search.

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    Key Features

    • Content Retrieval: The connector fetches static page content primarily from the CanvasContent1 and WikiFields metadata fields of SharePoint's Site Pages library. Dynamic content from web parts may be partially or not at all retrieved, as it requires authenticated user rendering which the connector cannot impersonate.
    • Metadata Access: Alongside page content, the connector captures metadata such as title, author, and modification date via the SharePoint REST API.
    • Crawling Capabilities: Administrators can configure crawl scope, including site selection and file extension filters, to control the documents and pages indexed.
    • Security and Permissions: User permission crawls update security principals, and site-specific FullControl permissions must be granted to the registered OAuth 2.0 app in Microsoft Entra to allow crawling.
    • Authentication Setup: Requires registration of an OAuth 2.0 app in Microsoft Entra and generation of a public/private key pair. The public key is used to configure API access for secure integration.

    Practical Use and Configuration

    To effectively use the connector, customers should:

    • Estimate the document volume in their SharePoint Online environment to define appropriate crawl scopes.
    • Register and configure an OAuth 2.0 application in Microsoft Entra with necessary permissions to enable the connector to access SharePoint sites.
    • Create and configure the SharePoint Online external content connector within AI Search, specifying crawl settings and filters as needed.
    • Understand limitations around dynamic content retrieval and use the SharePoint REST API to view the portion of page content that can be indexed.

    Outcome

    By implementing this connector, ServiceNow customers can integrate SharePoint Online content into their AI Search applications, enhancing search capabilities by including relevant SharePoint pages and metadata. This integration supports more comprehensive, secure, and up-to-date search results derived from their SharePoint Online content repositories.

    The Microsoft SharePoint Online external content connector retrieves pages from sites in your Microsoft SharePoint Online source system and makes their content and metadata searchable in AI Search applications.

    Connector administrators can run or schedule content crawls to retrieve updated content and access permissions from your source system, or user permission crawls to retrieve updated security principals from your source system. Both types of crawl feed their data to AI Search for indexing.

    The indexed content and metadata are stored as records in a connector-specific indexed source. Search administrators can create search sources from this indexed source and link them to search profiles to make the indexed records searchable in AI Search applications.

    Microsoft SharePoint Online static and dynamic page content

    Microsoft SharePoint Online pages built primarily with static text content authored in the Microsoft SharePoint Online editor produce searchable content that more closely matches what users see in a web browser. By contrast, pages that rely on dynamic web parts may not contain all of the content that users see in a web browser.

    Microsoft SharePoint Online pages are stored as .aspx files in a site's Site Pages library. These files can include static content in their CanvasContent1 and WikiFields metadata fields, but they can also include scripts that call a server-side engine to dynamically render viewable content at request time. The exact content rendered depends on user context, permissions, and web parts loaded as part of the page request.

    Rendering a page's full viewable content requires an authenticated user session. The Microsoft SharePoint Online connector can't impersonate a user to trigger this rendering process. As a result, the connector cannot capture the final HTML output that a web browser would display.

    For each page retrieved, the Microsoft SharePoint Online connector queries the SharePoint REST API's _api/web/lists('<list-id>')/items(<item-id>) endpoint to access the page's underlying list item. Via this API endpoint, the connector retrieves content primarily from the page's CanvasContent1 and WikiFields metadata fields, and also captures the page's other metadata fields such as title, author, and modification date where available. Page content stored exclusively in dynamic web parts may be retrieved only partially or not at all, since that content doesn't exist in the list item metadata.

    To learn how to view the portion of a page's content that can be retrieved using the Microsoft SharePoint Online connector, see View retrievable page content using the Microsoft SharePoint Online REST API.