Exploring Enterprise Architecture query agent

The Enterprise Architecture query agent answers natural language questions about your enterprise architecture portfolio, returning AI-generated answers grounded into their Enterprise Architecture data.

Note:

Depending on your license, you will have access to certain application features, generative AI skills, agentic workflows, and AI agents. For more information, see ServiceNow product tiers.

Important:

This generative AI skill is turned on by default. The skill will be automatically available to appropriate role users for the application. For more information, see Now Assist skills, agents, and agentic workflows on by default.

The Enterprise Architecture Explorer Query Agent is a ServiceNow Otto agent for Enterprise Architecture. It lets architects and portfolio managers query their EA data using natural language, without navigating dashboards or building reports manually.

The agent interprets the structure of your EA portfolio, including business applications, capabilities, value streams, technology standards (TRM), and information objects. It returns structured answers based on your data. When processing a question, the agent searches for relevant data and actions before generating a response. After answering, the agent may display suggestions for related questions to help you explore further. Responses are generated by the large language model (LLM) that your organization has subscribed to on the ServiceNow® platform. The responses may also differ depending on the selected LLM.

You can ask questions about individual records, apply multiple filter conditions, compare trends across fiscal periods, or model impact scenarios such as decommissioning an application.

Note:

The Enterprise Architecture query agent is read-only. It retrieves and analyzes your EA data but does not create, modify, or delete any records in your instance.

When a response references a specific record, such as a business application or a capability, the record name appears as linked text. Select the linked text to navigate directly to that record in Enterprise Architecture Workspace.

What you can ask about

The Enterprise Architecture Explorer Query Agent answers questions across the following EA data domains:

Table 1. EA data domains supported by the Enterprise Architecture Explorer Query Agent

Domain	Example queries
Business applications	Ownership, lifecycle phase, application category, CSAT and technical risk scores, retirement candidates
Business capabilities	Hierarchy, scores, capability-to-application coverage
App capability relationships	Applications supporting a capability, applications with no capability assignments
Trends	Score comparisons for one or more applications
TRM and technology	Software versions, lifecycle phase
Information objects	Producing and consuming applications, orphaned objects
Impact analysis	Capability and information object impact of decommissioning an application
Technical debt	Applications flagged for technical debt

Important information to derive the best results

To get the most accurate responses from the agent, remember the following:

• The agent works best for questions involving one or two relationship types. For queries with three or more relationships, it's recommended to check the results against your source records for completeness. Example of a query with three or more relationships, List all child capabilities, their providing applications, the information objects those applications use, and the services they consume.
• Large-scale aggregations — For counts and percentages across large data sets, treat results as indicative figures. For precise values, verify against your source records.
• The agent queries your enterprise architecture data using the Knowledge Graph, which is updated through scheduled jobs. If new relationship types, tables, or custom fields are added to your instance, the Knowledge Graph does a scheduled refresh to generate updated descriptions. Some specialized or less common data points may not be fully represented yet, which could lead to partial responses for certain queries.
• For questions about a specific record, include the record name or identifier in your query to help the agent return the most relevant response. For example, Is Order Management a leaf capability?

Access

The Enterprise Architecture query agent is available through the ServiceNow Otto panel across Enterprise Architecture Workspace. Select the ServiceNow Otto icon to open the panel and start a conversation with the agent directly.

ServiceNow Knowledge Graph dependency

The Enterprise Architecture query agent uses the ServiceNow Knowledge Graph to answer questions about CMDB relationships and infrastructure data. An administrator must enable the required Knowledge Graph system properties before the agent can access this data.

After the system properties are enabled, Knowledge Graph runs scheduled jobs to process your CMDB data. The time required for initial processing varies by the volume of data in your instance and may take several days or longer. During this period, responses that rely on CMDB relationship data may be incomplete. Results improve progressively as processing continues. If the Knowledge Graph data processing is in progress, the Knowledge Graph Designer displays a notification. This means that the scheduled jobs required to set up the enterprise graph are still running. The Enterprise Architecture query agent is not available until this process is complete and the notification is no longer displayed. To speed up the process, you can import enterprise graph descriptions from a sub-production instance where setup has already completed. For more information, see Initial setup for Enterprise Graph schema in production instance.

For enable the Knowledge Graph system properties, see Enable Knowledge Graph system properties for the Enterprise Architecture query agent.

All data displayed by the Enterprise Architecture query agent is sourced directly from the ServiceNow® Knowledge Graph, which is built from and continuously updated by your instance's CMDB data. When you submit a question, the agent queries the Knowledge Graph to identify relevant records, relationships, and attributes before generating a response.

This means the agent does not draw on general knowledge or external sources. Every answer is grounded in the data that exists in your instance — such as CI relationships, application ownership, capability mappings, and lifecycle information stored in your CMDB. If a record does not exist in your CMDB, the agent will not surface it.

Note:

The accuracy and completeness of the agent's responses depend on the quality and completeness of your CMDB data. Keeping your CMDB up to date ensures the most reliable answers.

For information on the ServiceNow Knowledge Graph see the links.

• Exploring Knowledge Graph
• Setting up Enterprise graph in sub-production instance
• Configuration item relationships and Knowledge Graph

Related concepts

• Working with AI agent agentic workflow in ServiceNow Otto for Enterprise Architecture (EA)

Related tasks

• Working with Enterprise Architecture query agent
• Enable Knowledge Graph system properties for the Enterprise Architecture query agent

Related topics

• Activate the Now Assist panel standard chat