---
sourceDocument: Zurich ServiceNow AI Platform Administration
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/platform-administration

 Release :

    - zurich

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Zurich ServiceNow AI Platform Administration

ft:clusterId :

    - platadm

bundleId :

    - platadm

workflow :

    - Platform


---

# Email digests

# Email digests {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Zurich
* 
* Updated July 31, 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 Email digests

Email digests in ServiceNow provide a consolidated email summarizing the activity for selected notifications and their target records over a defined time interval.
This feature helps users reduce the volume of individual email notifications when frequent updates occur within a short period.
Email digests apply solely to email notifications and are not supported for SMS, push notifications, or activity streams.
Show full answer Show less  
The Email digest plugin is activated by default in new and upgraded instances using the Core UI interface. Admins configure which notifications support digests, define the digest content, and set interval options (e.g., hourly, daily). Users then enable digests and select their preferred interval in their notification preferences.

## How Email Digests Work

* The system stores digest configurations per notification and temporarily accumulates notification content for each user.
* An email digest job runs every 15 minutes to determine if digests are ready to send based on the user-selected interval starting from the first notification trigger.
* Once the interval elapses, the system sends a single digest email summarizing all notifications during that period.

For example, if a user sets an hourly digest and the first notification arrives at 08:15, a digest email will be sent approximately at 09:15.

## Setup and Configuration

### For Administrators

* Review and customize base digest intervals, which include one hour, four hours, one day (24 hours), and seven days (weekly).
* Determine which notifications can be delivered via digests and configure their digest content accordingly.
* Consider the urgency and content of notifications when selecting suitable digest intervals to provide an optimal user experience.

### For Users

* Enable email digests for eligible notifications in the Notifications tab of System Settings.
* Select the preferred interval over which notifications should be accumulated and summarized.

## Practical Guidance

* Admins can create or modify digest intervals to tailor how often digest emails are generated.
* Notification forms allow admins to configure or disable email digests for specific notifications, controlling availability in user preferences.
* Each digest email pertains to notifications for a single target record; digests for different records are sent separately.

## Why It Matters

Enabling email digests helps ServiceNow customers reduce notification overload, improving user experience by consolidating frequent updates into manageable summary emails. This facilitates easier tracking of notification activity and reduces inbox clutter without losing important information.  
An email digest is a single email that summarizes the activity for a selected notification and its target records during a specified
time interval. You can enable an email digest to reduce the number of notifications received when frequent updates to the associated records
occur within a short time period.  
Figure 1. Example email digest  
Note:  
Email digests apply to email notifications only and are not supported for SMS messages, push notifications, and activity streams.

## How email digests work {#email-digests__section_vrd_bqc_v1b}

In new and upgraded instances, the Email digest (com.glide.email_digest) plugin is activated by default. Your instance must use the Core UI interface, since the email digest feature involves setting [user notification
preferences](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/nWKPPSlctJsFWXM1lzd7Yw "You can set your own notification preferences, including personal subscriptions and channels for receiving them. All users can set these preferences through the Notifications tab of the System Settings window.").

Admins determine which notifications can be delivered in an email digest and configure the digest content for those notifications.
They also set the intervals for
digests. An interval is the length of time that notifications are collected for the digest, such as daily or hourly.

Users enable the digest and select the digest interval for a specific notification in their notification preferences. The system accumulates the notifications that normally would be sent during the specified interval and
summarizes them in the email digest.  
When processing an email digest, the system:

* Stores the digest configuration for the notification in the Notifications \[sysevent_email_action\] table.
* Temporarily stores the notification content accumulated for a user in the Email Digest Parts \[sys_email_digest_part\] table and the Email Digest Part Users \[sys_email_digest_part_user\] table.
* Runs an email digest job every 15 minutes to check when a digest is ready to be sent to a user. The system uses the digest interval to determine when the digest is ready to be sent. The digest interval begins when the
  first notification is triggered for the user and stops at the end of the interval time.

* Sends the email digest to the user soon after the selected digest interval ends.For example, if a user selects an hourly digest interval and the first notification is triggered at 08:15, the interval starts at 08:15.
  When the digest interval ends, the system generates the email digest approximately one hour later, at about 09:15 or shortly after, depending on when the email digest job ran.

{#email-digests__ul_jdd_rwc_v1b}

## Set up email digests {#email-digests__section_b33_gyc_v1b}

What to do --- admins
:
    1. Review the base system digest intervals and if needed, [create or modify intervals](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Tj_zHkJcKNsUrcj3cTDVXw "Admins can create or modify the email digest intervals (length of time) during which activity for a selected notification is accumulated in an email digest. Users select a digest interval when they enable an email digest in their notification preferences.").

       The base system digest intervals are one day (24 hours), one hour, every four hours, and seven days (weekly).
    2. Determine the email notifications that can be delivered in a digest and [configure the email digest content](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/~csOf8Z3f~IoGPOOzHi3mQ "Use the Notification form to create or modify the content of an email digest for a notification. You can also disable the email digest for a notification so that it isn’t available in the notification preferences of your users.") for those notifications.

       When determining which notifications are appropriate for an email digest, consider the notification content and
       intervals that your users can select. For example, digests that can be generated weekly might be better suited for notifications that are non-urgent.
    {#email-digests__ol_klk_nyc_v1b}

What to do --- all users

:   For a notification that can be delivered in an email digest, [enable the email digest in your notification preferences](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/dse5Ge77lCr22H10IJSBuw "Reduce the number of notifications you receive for a selected target record during a specified time interval by enabling an email digest. The digest is a single email that collects individual notifications for a targeted record generated during the specified interval. The email digest of two different target records will not be clubbed in a single email.") (Notifications tab in the System Settings window). You also specify the interval time that the
    notifications are accumulated.

Next step
:   If you are an admin, begin the digest setup process by reviewing the base system email digest intervals and [create or modify the intervals](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Tj_zHkJcKNsUrcj3cTDVXw "Admins can create or modify the email digest intervals (length of time) during which activity for a selected notification is accumulated in an email digest. Users select a digest interval when they enable an email digest in their notification preferences.").
* **[Create or modify email digest intervals](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Tj_zHkJcKNsUrcj3cTDVXw)**   
  Admins can create or modify the email digest intervals (length of time) during which activity for a selected notification is accumulated in an email digest. Users select a digest interval when they enable an email digest in their notification preferences.
* **[Configure email digests](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/~csOf8Z3f~IoGPOOzHi3mQ)**   
  Use the Notification form to create or modify the content of an email digest for a notification. You can also disable the email digest for a notification so that it isn't available in the notification preferences of your users.
* **[Enable email digest in Next Experience](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bVDMPpagDk2_ZqYTfEnfVw)**   
  Reduce the number of email notifications you receive by enabling email digest notifications. An email digest is a single email that summarizes the activity for a selected notification and its target record during a specified time interval.
* **[Enable an email digest in Core UI](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/dse5Ge77lCr22H10IJSBuw)**   
  Reduce the number of notifications you receive for a selected target record during a specified time interval by enabling an email digest. The digest is a single email that collects individual notifications for a targeted record generated during the specified interval. The email digest of two different target records will not be clubbed in a single email.

**Related concepts**   

* [Email notifications dashboard](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/g3Dcacjho9Ynr52tykaThA "The email notification dashboard provides visibility into key metrics and enables admins to configure the dashboard to enable access to other users.")
* [Email diagnostics dashboard](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/DGk9TINPzf9pzEgP~yIOjw "The email diagnostics dashboards provide visibility in to email delivery metrics that can help in improving the email health by identifying errors and areas that need deeper investigation.")
* [Email templates](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/n6j9VzVcw~AvpCCJhaLbCw "Email templates enable administrators to create reusable content for the subject line and message body of email notifications.")
* [Email layouts](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/GvryQ~1tF3SgkrMe1ZUfjg "Create reusable content for the message body of email templates.")
* [Email retention](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/4S~MW0dgibbUAlrUypRCXw "You can archive and eventually destroy email messages that you no longer need or if your Email table is excessively large.")
* [Watermarks on notification emails](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/kTwHRtaHawJF_Sz_AA_tnA "By default, a unique watermark label will be generated at the bottom of each notification email to allow matching incoming email to existing records.")
* [Domain separation and Notifications](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/0kdwbFiVtd42Sbo0cdn4Zw "Domain separation is supported in the Notifications application. 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.")
* [Email FAQs and troubleshooting notification emails](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/4r6nxSW0b2p4_GmWhw_7iQ "Logs and diagnostics are provided to help determine whether notification emails are being sent and received successfully, what any issues are, and who receives the email.")  
**Related tasks**   

* [Create notification categories](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/9g~5z26wId3k8o7CR2wImw "You can create notification categories to identify and group related notifications that are listed in the notification settings for your users.")
* [Create an email notification](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/arqcJvflekHKxKqf4TzPqg "Create an email notification specifying when to send it, who receives it, what it contains, and if it can be delivered in an email digest.")
* [Parse an email thread](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/SwVc01dyjGcmXs2aV8aQCQ "When an email is received, parse the most recent message in an email thread by creating Email Reply Separators using specified string or regular expressions.")