Now Assist Skill Kit release notes

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 5 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    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 Now Assist Skill Kit release notes

    The ServiceNow® Now Assist Skill Kit enables AI developers to build and customize skills, enhancing flexibility with Now Assist's generative AI capabilities. The Yokohama release brings significant enhancements, including new deployment options, data import/export features, and improved skill customization tools. This release is aimed at helping ServiceNow customers tailor AI-powered skills to their specific business needs with greater ease and control.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Skill Deployment via UI Builder: Skills can now be deployed using the UI Builder, streamlining the deployment process within the ServiceNow platform.
    • Data Management Enhancements: Import datasets via CSV files, create synthetic data with a custom data generator, and select the language for generated data to better suit use cases.
    • AI-assisted Ground Truth Creation: Use AI assistance to efficiently generate ground truth data for training and validation purposes.
    • Visual Tools Editor: Manage and add tools with decision branching visually, allowing conditional execution within custom skills for more dynamic workflows.
    • Skill Customization: Clone eligible ServiceNow-provided skills to edit prompts or switch AI service providers, enabling tailored LLM responses and better alignment with business requirements.
    • Changes to UI: The function to add and edit tools has moved from the Prompt editor tab to the new Tools editor tab for improved usability.
    • Usage Measurement Updates: Transition from a 365-day look-back to a burn-down model resetting usage at contract anniversary, affecting how usage is tracked and managed.
    • Default Skill Activation: Certain Now Assist skills, agents, and workflows are activated by default for new installations and previously unconfigured skills during upgrades.
    • Access Control for AI Agents: Configure ACLs to control who can discover and trigger AI agents and workflows, including options for dynamic or AI user behavior and public accessibility.
    • Voice Input and Accessibility: Admins can enable voice input mode for the Now Assist panel to support voice interactions, enhancing accessibility.

    Activation and Requirements

    • Now Assist Skill Kit and its features are activated through plugins available in the ServiceNow Store across multiple domains such as ITSM, HRSD, CSM, and more.
    • The Next Experience UI Framework must be enabled to use the Now Assist panel.
    • Supported browsers include Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge; Internet Explorer is not supported.
    • Localization support includes Dynamic Translation for the Yokohama release.

    Upgrade and Configuration Considerations

    • Customers who have customized UI actions or related components should update their custom code to align with new skill releases to avoid functionality issues.
    • Refer to the knowledge base article KB1637452 for troubleshooting upgrade-related issues.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    This release empowers ServiceNow customers to create more sophisticated, customizable AI skills that integrate seamlessly into workflows using intuitive tools and data management options. Default activation of select skills and improved access controls simplify deployment and governance. Enhanced measurement models provide clearer insights into AI usage. Overall, Yokohama’s updates enable customers to better leverage generative AI capabilities to optimize service delivery and operational efficiency.

    The ServiceNow® Now Assist Skill Kit application enables AI developers to create custom skills and to have greater flexibility with Now Assist's generative AI capabilities. Now Assist Skill Kit was enhanced and updated in the Yokohama release.

    Now Assist Skill Kit highlights for the Yokohama release

    Yokohama Patch 11
    • Review changes to Now Assist usage measurement.
    • Some Now Assist skills, agents, and agentic workflows are on by default.
    • Additional role configuration is required for agentic workflows and AI agents included with Now Assist applications.
    Yokohama Patch 6
    • Use UI Builder to deploy custom skills.
    • Import data into Now Assist Skill Kit with a CSV file.
    • Use AI to create ground truth for your data.
    • Use a custom data generator to create synthetic datasets.
    • Users can create synthetic data in Now Assist Data Kit.
    • Generated synthetic data can be saved as a dataset.
    • Add and manage tools of a custom skill, visually in the new Tools editor, including conditional execution of tools.
    • Customize ServiceNow skills with new prompts or providers in Now Assist Skill Kit to suit your specific business needs.

    See Now Assist Skill Kit for more information.

    Important:
    Now Assist Skill Kit is available in the ServiceNow Store. For details, see the "Activation information" section of these release notes.

    Important information for upgrading Now Assist Skill Kit to Yokohama

    If you customized UI actions or other items that are associated with Now Assist skills, ensure that your customized code is updated with the new skill releases. Otherwise, certain functions may not work as expected.

    If you run into issues when you're upgrading a Now Assist product, see KB1637452: Issues and mitigation for Now Assist (Generative AI) Applications and Plugin updates. You may need to log in to view the article.

    New in the Yokohama release

    Yokohama Patch 6
    New skill deployment option
    Deploy skills using UI Builder.
    Choose a language for data generation
    When you create synthetic data, you can select what language you want to receive the data in.
    AI-assisted ground truth
    Use AI to assist creating ground truth for your data.
    Import data with a CSV file
    Import data from a CSV file to create a dataset.
    Create a custom data generator
    Create and use a custom data generator to create synthetic data.
    Customize ServiceNow skills in Now Assist Skill Kit to tailor skills to meet your specific business requirements.
    Eligible skills provided in ServiceNow Now Assist applications can be cloned in Now Assist Skill Kit so that you can edit the prompt or change the AI service provider. Editing the prompt enables you to arrange the formatting and content of the large language model (LLM) response. After the skill is edited, activate the edited skill in the Now Assist Admin console to enable it.
    Add and manage tools visually in the new Tools editor, including decision branching, to execute different tools for your skill.
    Adding decision branches between tools enables you to define the conditions that must be met for a tool to run. If no conditions are met, the default branch's step is executed.

    UI changes

    Now Assist Skill Kit add tools function moved to Tool editor tab.
    The ability to add and edit tools for Now Assist Skill Kit previously appeared on the Prompt editor tab. It now appears on the Tool editor tab.

    Changed in this release

    Yokohama Patch 11
    Changes to Now Assist usage measurement
    Starting with Yokohama Patch 5, Now Assist usage measurement is transitioning from a 365-day look-back model to a 365-day burn-down model, with usage resetting at the contract anniversary date. For more information, refer to KB KB2704710: Now Assist Usage - Overview & New Measurement Logic.
    Some Now Assist skills are turned on by default
    The new default behavior works as follows:
    • New customers: When you install a Now Assist product, designated skills are turned on automatically.
    • Existing customers who are upgrading (starting with Yokohama Patch 11): Any previously unconfigured skill is turned on automatically (the skill was never configured and turned on, then turned off again). Previously configured skills that were turned on, then off, remain inactive.
    Configure ACLs for AI agents and agentic workflows
    Configure the access control lists for who can discover and trigger AI agents and agentic workflows in their guided setups in AI Agent Studio. You can determine whether an AI agent or agentic workflow behaves as a dynamic user or as an AI user. You can also specify if an AI agent or agentic workflow can be available to all authenticated users or publicly available.

    Activation information

    Now Assist features are available with activation of any Now Assist plugin from the ServiceNow Store. The following plugins are available:

    Additional requirements

    The Next Experience UI Framework must be enabled to use the Now Assist panel.

    Browser requirements

    Now Assist supports various browsers, including Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Now Assist isn’t supported in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

    Accessibility information

    Admins can enable an optional Voice Input setting for the Now Assist panel that enables users to interact with the panel using their voice or in voice assist mode.

    Localization information

    Now Assist supports Dynamic Translation for Yokohama.