Configuring External Content Connectors

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated August 1, 2025
  • 5 minutes to read
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    Summary of Configuring External Content Connectors

    ServiceNow’s External Content Connectors enable you to integrate and index content from various external systems, making that content searchable within AI Search applications and ServiceNow portals. This capability allows your organization to unify access to diverse content sources, enhancing knowledge discovery and operational efficiency.

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    Configuration Process

    Setting up External Content Connectors involves several key steps:

    • Source System Preparation: Administrators must configure access permissions and security settings in the external source systems to allow indexing.
    • Connector Creation: ServiceNow AI Platform administrators create connectors for each external content source, enabling retrieval of documents, files, tasks, conversations, and other relevant content along with metadata.
    • Crawl Settings Configuration: AI Search administrators define crawl parameters to control what content is indexed and how frequently.
    • Content Crawling: Crawls can be scheduled or executed on demand to keep indexed content current and searchable.
    • Security and Permissions: User permission settings can be customized to ensure that search results respect source system access controls.
    • Integration with Search Profiles: Connectors’ search sources are linked to ServiceNow search profiles and Now Assist in Virtual Agent to surface external content seamlessly.
    • Ongoing Management: Connectors can be renamed, deactivated/reactivated to pause or resume crawling, deleted, or have connection and crawl settings edited to adapt to changing needs.

    Supported External Content Sources

    ServiceNow supports a broad range of external systems, including but not limited to:

    • Adobe Acrobat Sign, Adobe Experience Manager
    • Aha! Roadmaps, Amazon S3, Asana
    • Atlassian Confluence Cloud, Atlassian Jira Cloud
    • Box, Cornerstone LMS, Docusign, Dropbox
    • Fluid Topics, GitHub Enterprise Cloud, GitLab
    • Google Drive, HubSpot, Lucidchart, ManageEngine
    • Microsoft OneDrive, SharePoint Online, Teams, Viva Engage
    • Miro, monday.com, Notion, SAP DMS
    • ServiceNow instance and product documentation
    • Slack, Smartsheet, Trello, Webcrawler, WordPress
    • Workday, Workvivo, Zendesk Guide, Zoom

    Benefits and Outcomes

    • Unified Search Experience: Users gain seamless access to content spread across multiple external platforms directly through ServiceNow’s AI Search and Virtual Agent.
    • Improved Knowledge Accessibility: Indexing documents, tasks, conversations, and other content types enhances knowledge discovery and supports better decision-making.
    • Security Compliance: Configurable permission mappings ensure search results respect user access rights as defined in external systems.
    • Flexible Management: Administrators maintain control over connectors’ lifecycle, crawl scheduling, and content scope, adapting to organizational changes efficiently.

    Practical Considerations

    • Ensure source system permissions and connection settings are correctly configured and verified to prevent crawl failures or incomplete indexing.
    • Generate necessary public/private key pairs for connectors requiring secure authentication, such as Microsoft OneDrive, SharePoint Online, Box, and others.
    • Customize crawl and permission settings to optimize performance and relevance of indexed content.
    • Regularly monitor and manage connector activity to maintain up-to-date and accurate search results.

    Plan and configure your External Content Connectors implementation.

    External Content Connectors configuration overview

    Configuring retrieval and indexing of content from your external content source systems requires the following steps:

    Configuration step Description
    Source system administrator configures access settings for your external content source system
    ServiceNow AI Platform admin creates external content connectors
    AI Search administrator configures external content connector crawl settings for external content connectors
    AI Search administrator creates (and optionally schedules) crawls for external content connectors