--- sourceDocument: Australia Build workflows sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/build-workflows Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia Build workflows ft:clusterId : - crworkflow bundleId : - crworkflow workflow : - Creator --- # Explore # Exploring Agentic Playbooks {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated March 12, 2026 ![](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 Exploring Agentic Playbooks Agentic Playbooks integrate AI agents into ServiceNow workflows to automate and enhance business processes with adaptability and transparency. They resemble traditional playbooks but delegate specific activities---such as incident analysis and remediation---to AI agents. These agents can either assist service desk personnel by generating responses for review or complete tasks autonomously without human intervention. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Automation and Efficiency:** AI agents automate repetitive manual tasks, improving process efficiency and ensuring compliant outcomes across workflows. * **Context-Aware AI Interactions:** Agents use contextual data to perform tasks intelligently within the workflow. * **Playbook Activity Assist Workflow:** This workflow powers Agentic Playbooks, containing various AI agents categorized by their functional roles. * **Playbook Data Gathering Agent:** This agent fetches and searches for data using multiple scripts, including: * Knowledge Graph queries, including custom schemas * AI-driven knowledge article retrieval * AI Search to identify and query relevant tables * Retrieval and summarization of attachments like PDFs and images * Web search integration using Google or Bing for troubleshooting * **Playbook Activity Context Agent:** Assists in completing ServiceNow forms by fetching relevant fields, auto-populating data, prompting for missing information, and maintaining activity summaries. ## User Guidance * **Playbook Authors:** Can configure activities to be performed by AI agents to tailor automation within their workflows. * **Agents Running Playbooks:** Can utilize AI-generated assistance or review AI-completed activities as part of their task workflow. This capability allows ServiceNow customers to streamline incident management and other processes by leveraging AI to reduce manual effort, speed resolution, and maintain oversight with options for human review or full automation. Integrate AI agents into your workflows, and enable automation, adaptability, and transparency across your business processes. ## Agentic Playbooks overview {#agentic-playbooks__section_knt_1sw_ngc} An agentic playbook consists of the same components as a regular (deterministic) playbook, except that AI agents are configured to perform certain activities of the playbook. For example, consider an incident management playbook that includes three activities: Finding related incidents, conducting root cause analysis, and identifying remedial actions for an incident. In a traditional setup, the service desk personnel must gather all the necessary information to complete these activities. However, when AI agents are enabled and configured for the playbook, they can perform each activity on behalf of the service desk personnel. The service desk personnel can review, approve, or edit the AI-generated responses to complete the playbook. Alternatively, you can configure AI agents to complete activities without any human intervention. ## Agentic Playbooks benefits {#agentic-playbooks__section_xxl_sd4_xgc} Agentic Playbooks bring the following benefits: * Makes the processes efficient * Automates the tedious manual tasks * Provides compliant outcomes across workflows * Uses context-aware interactions through AI {#agentic-playbooks__ul_h3d_2g4_xgc} ## AI agents and their skills {#agentic-playbooks__section_evx_mdv_xgc} Agentic Playbooks are powered by the Playbook Activity Assist agentic workflow (See: [Agentic workflows](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=sn-aia-use-cases-list&version=australia&pubname=australia-intelligent-experiences&ft:locale=en-US)). The workflow contains a range of AI agents designed to enhance user experience and productivity. These agents are categorized based on their functionality and the tasks they perform. Playbook data gathering agent : The Playbook Data Gathering Agent handles user objectives that require fetching or searching for data. It intelligently determines the appropriate method for data retrieval based on the input.{#agentic-playbooks__table_j21_lwx_ygc__entry__2} | Script name | Description | |-|-| | Knowledge Graph TextToResult API Crawler | Gathers data by using ServiceNow Knowledge Graph. You can also use a custom knowledge graph schema for the agent. To know more about knowledge graphs, see [Exploring Knowledge Graph](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=exploring-knowledge-graph&version=australia&pubname=australia-intelligent-experiences&ft:locale=en-US) | | Knowledge articles retriever tool | Retrieves knowledge articles using AI-search capabilities. | | AI Search Data Retriever | Uses AI Search to deliver relevant results by identifying and searching the most relevant tables related to the objective. | | Retrieve attachments of a Glide record | Returns a list of attachments for a Glide record, including file names and sys_ids. | | Summarize attachments | Summarizes image attachments or image attachments on a record upon user request. This script is best suited for objectives that involve retrieving information from files such as PDFs and images, | | Use web search | Uses web search tools to assist users in resolving issues by analyzing problems and generating resolution steps. It is designed for troubleshooting and resolving both technical and non-technical issues. You can leverage Google search or Bing search by using this agent. | [Table 1. Scripts utilized by playbook data gathering agent] {#agentic-playbooks__table_j21_lwx_ygc} Playbook activity context agent : The Playbook activity context agent assists users in completing ServiceNow forms by: 1. Fetching relevant form fields 2. Automatically populating fields with available data 3. Prompting users for required information that is missing {#agentic-playbooks__ol_ekg_zw3_fhc}This agent also maintains a summary of its activities.{#agentic-playbooks__table_xb2_cx3_fhc__entry__2} | Script name | Description | |-|-| | Playbook slot filling script | Fetches the relevant schema required to understand and execute the playbook based on the playbook activity context ID and saves the agent response back to the activity context using the activity context ID. It also consolidates activity form fields and UI visible fields under the schema. | [Table 2. Script utilized by playbook activity context agent] {#agentic-playbooks__table_xb2_cx3_fhc} For more information about Now Assist AI agents and their capabilities, refer to [AI Agent Studio (legacy)](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=na-ai-agents&version=australia&pubname=australia-intelligent-experiences&ft:locale=en-US). ## User personas {#agentic-playbooks__section_apf_1hv_4gc} If you're a playbook author and want to configure activities to be performed by AI agents, see [Configuring Agentic Playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/pO3tdU98ecnfc9rfkfLmOg "As a playbook author in Workflow Studio, configure AI Agents to perform a playbook activity."). If you're an agent running a playbook, see [Using Agentic Playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/WJ9iACFVC~eHVSYSHMvQdQ "Monitor and complete agentic activities as needed.").