--- 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 Playbook {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated March 12, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 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 Playbook Playbooks in ServiceNow enable process owners to design and manage cross-enterprise workflows that unify multiple business processes into a single, streamlined experience. Built within Workflow Studio, Playbooks allow you to automate and orchestrate complex workflows by connecting flows, subflows, and actions while providing guided task boards or diagram interfaces for agents and fulfillers. This consolidation improves customer experience, task resolution, and operational consistency by defining clear record lifecycles and automating the flow of data between process stages. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Unified Workflow Management:** Connect multiple workflows and automate tasks across enterprise functions. * **Reusability:** Leverage existing Workflow Studio components like flows and actions to build or extend playbooks. * **Guided Experiences:** Provide agents and fulfillers with clear, stage-based task guidance through the Playbook Experience. * **Cross-Platform Embedding:** Design playbook experiences that can be embedded in legacy workspace, UI Builder, ServiceNow Mobile, Service Portal, and more. * **Process Visualization and Control:** Visualize, manage, and specify the order and conditions of activities and stages within a process. * **Domain Separation:** Support logical separation of data and processes to control access and maintain data integrity across domains. ## Playbook Components * **Playbooks:** Representations of cross-enterprise business processes maintained by playbook owners. * **Triggers:** Define when a playbook execution starts based on record conditions. * **Stages:** Logical groupings of activities within a playbook that guide the process flow. * **Activities:** Workflow Studio content that automates tasks and defines user-facing experiences. ## Practical Guidance for ServiceNow Customers To effectively use Playbooks, customers should first familiarize themselves with ServiceNow Process Automation features such as flows, subflows, and actions. Playbook owners can then design digitized, automated processes that start automatically based on record types, reuse existing workflow content, and clearly guide users through record lifecycles. Administrators can customize triggers and activity definitions to tailor playbooks to organizational needs. ## Integration and Industry Applications Playbooks are integrated across various ServiceNow products and industry-specific solutions, including Customer Service Management, Field Service Management, HR Service Delivery, Software Asset Management, Healthcare, Financial Services, Public Sector, IT Operations, Security Operations, Procurement, and Governance, Risk, and Compliance. They can also be built via App Engine Studio and Creator Studio, supporting both no-code and low-code app creation. ## Next Steps * Build and configure playbooks using Workflow Studio's Playbook builder. * Design the Playbook Experience for end users to enhance agent guidance and task completion. * Leverage AI-powered capabilities to generate and optimize playbooks and enable autonomous execution. * Implement domain separation to manage data access and maintain security across organizational units. Playbook enable process owners to author cross-enterprise workflows and create a single, unified process. Build the underlying processes for playbooks that Playbook Experience agents and fulfillers use. ## Playbooks benefits {#process-automation-designer__section_ors_tk3_pkb} Workflow Studio Playbooks enables you, as a business playbook owner, to organize Workflow Studio content into unified and digitized cross-enterprise processes. With Playbooks, you gain these benefits: * Connect multiple flows and actions into an end-to-end business workflow. * Reuse existing Workflow Studio flows, subflows, or actions to automate playbook activities. * Organize playbook activities in a digitized task board or diagram interface. * Guide agents and fulfillers through complicated playbooks from start to finish, improving customer experience and task resolution. Build your playbooks in Workflow Studio, and then design and embed your Playbook Experience in legacy workspace, UI Builder, ServiceNow Mobile Platform, Service Portal, and more. * Consolidate separate business processes across the organization. * Define a consistent record life cycle from creation to completion. * Pass data between the activities and stages of a business process. * Specify the conditions and the order in which activities and stages run. * Visualize and manage the activities and stages of your process. {#process-automation-designer__ul_tnx_lq3_pkb} ## Creating a well-designed playbook {#process-automation-designer__section_omb_qm3_pkb} The automated business processes that you design guide your end users and help them focus on the tasks and information that matter to them. A well-designed playbook can do these things: * Start up, or trigger, automatically for the types of records that your end users care about * Reuse activities from existing [Workflow Studio](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/FypeCDxQnf_wU7zBi1LBjQ "Integrate workflow authoring, configuring, and monitoring into a single page experience. Consolidate playbooks, flows, actions, decision tables, and integrations into one design environment.") content * Has well-defined stages that end users can follow for a record * Clearly show the next steps that end users must take to move through a record's life cycle {#process-automation-designer__ul_bnr_wm3_pkb} ## Playbooks content {#process-automation-designer__section_eth_lnb_blb} Playbooks has these components: Playbooks : A playbook is a ServiceNow AI Platform® representation of a cross-enterprise business process for your organization. A playbook owner is responsible for creating and maintaining a playbook. Triggers : A trigger specifies when to start running your playbook. Stages : A stage is a grouped sequence of activities in a playbook. A playbook owner creates a stage to specify a logical grouping of activities. A stage in your overall business process. Activities : An activity defines the [Workflow Studio](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/FypeCDxQnf_wU7zBi1LBjQ "Integrate workflow authoring, configuring, and monitoring into a single page experience. Consolidate playbooks, flows, actions, decision tables, and integrations into one design environment.") content that powers the playbook's automation. An activity can also specify the user-facing experience that the playbook produces when it runs. For more information about how to use and navigate the Playbooks user interface, see [Playbook builder](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/SG6l~MFlTYXsJfPQVx83ZQ "Playbooks is a component in Workflow Studio. Workflow Studio gives you a streamlined way to author, configure, and monitor playbooks, flows, subflows, actions, and decision tables in one place."). ## Playbook Experience {#process-automation-designer__section_zmd_rjl_rzb} Guide agents and fulfillers through complicated playbooks from start to finish, improving customer experience and task resolution. Build your playbooks in Workflow Studio, and then design and embed your Playbook Experience in legacy workspace, UI Builder, ServiceNow Mobile Platform, Service Portal, and more. To learn about designing Playbook Experience, see [Designing Playbook Experience](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/KPHzjMAnm3lVDi8Q~vl4Zg "After building playbooks in Workflow Studio, Playbook Experience administrators can configure the layouts and further customize playbook functions during runtime."). ## Getting started {#process-automation-designer__section_ds5_3v3_pkb} Before you get started with Playbooks, Familiarize yourself with any features that your business uses to automate operations on the ServiceNow AI Platform, such as [flows](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/T7a3fbA__W0AFqe1fCEYZg "Flows automate a repeatable multi-step process. When the flow trigger conditions are met, the flow runs a sequence of reusable actions and flow logic to complete the process."), [subflows](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/M2XroYqkCUFUODPSLYrWig "Subflows automate a repeatable multi-step process that also produces an output needed by another process. When a playbook, flow, or script calls a subflow, the subflow runs a sequence of reusable actions and flow logic to complete the process and produce output values."), and [actions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/aRtKLipkGq~lyA53_ilLhA "Actions automate a repeatable task or operation within a flow. Flows run actions by passing them data as inputs. Actions run a sequence of steps to complete the task, and pass data to the flow as outputs."). If you're a playbook owner who wants to learn the basics of digitizing your business process, check out the following resources: * [Get started with ServiceNow® Process Automation](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/v5RsuesN6xCYnHqC6vZcPw "Learn how process automation applications can help you use the ServiceNow AI Platform to transform your manual business processes into digitized, automated workflows.") * [Get started with Playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/z2dBjO8zwZqyKe3fg9XTDA "Learn the basics of designing an automated process for your organization. Get an overview of how Workflow Studio Playbooks work in the ServiceNow AI Platform.") * [Design your first automated process](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/owHMJBg5o6XDX9thzofjKQ "Create a sample playbook to standardize and automate how Service Desk agents handle chat interactions with VIP users.") * [View your process executions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ZnzpkPQ4dPi6FDMx3FA28w "A process execution is a single, runtime instance of a playbook. Process execution records provide runtime information about playbooks, such as the current state and input record.") {#process-automation-designer__ul_dh4_mlm_tlb} If you're a ServiceNow Process Automation administrator who wants to set up and customize Playbooks, check out the following resources: * [Triggers](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/2Uh~KF5S9ju2go8rl82EIw "Triggers specify when to start running your playbook.") * [Activity definitions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/aEvbv54ObgcCjjhXabvx8w "Activity definitions describe how the activities in your playbook get the data that they need when your playbook runs.") {#process-automation-designer__ul_oyv_wlm_tlb} ## Playbook across ServiceNow AI Platform® {#process-automation-designer__section_uvr_s1j_k3c} Playbook capabilities are available in other ServiceNow® products and for specific industries. You get the Playbook content when you subscribe to the ServiceNow AI Platform®. To learn about activating Playbook other applications, see [Activate Playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/UbHXbn7jEOkZaN4Wi8ylWw "Activate the Workflow Studio application to create flows, playbooks, and more for any of your use cases."). {#process-automation-designer__table_w5r_mbl_t1c__entry__2} | Integration | Content available | |-|-| | [App Engine Studio](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=aes-overview&version=australia&pubname=australia-application-development&ft:locale=en-US) | Build playbooks from App Engine Studio. | | [Creator Studio](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=creator-studio-landing&version=australia&pubname=australia-application-development&ft:locale=en-US) | Create basic request and fulfillment apps without code. | | [Playbooks in Customer Service Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=setting-up-csm-playbooks&version=australia&pubname=australia-customer-service-management&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for Customer Service Management. | | [Field Service Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=fsm-application-landing-page&version=australia&pubname=australia-field-service-management&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for Field Service Management. | | [HR Service Delivery Playbook](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=playbook-hr&version=australia&pubname=australia-employee-service-management&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for HR services. | | [Software Asset Management Guided Experiences](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=playbook-entitlementsetup-workspace&version=australia&pubname=australia-it-asset-management&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for Software Asset Management. | | [Healthcare and Life Sciences](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=hcls-overview&version=australia&pubname=australia-healthcare-life-sciences&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for Healthcare and Life Science processes. | | [Playbooks for Financial Services Operations applications](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=playbooks-fso-apps&version=australia&pubname=australia-financial-services-operations&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for Financial Services Operations. | | [Playbooks for Public Sector Digital Services](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=playbooks-psds-exploring&version=australia&pubname=australia-government-industry&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for Public Sector Digital Services. | | [Run actions to resolve alert issues in Service Operations Workspace for ITOM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=run-alert-remediation&version=australia&pubname=australia-it-operations-management&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for IT Operations Management. | | [Account onboarding](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=account-lifecycle-playbook-overview&version=australia&pubname=australia-acct-lifecycle-events&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for Account Lifecycle Events. | | [Onboard Jira to DevOps Change Velocity --- Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=create-jira-tool-dev-ops&version=australia&pubname=australia-it-service-management&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for IT Service Management. | | [Security Incident Response playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=cj-sir-about-flows&version=australia&pubname=australia-security-management&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for Security Operations. | | [Working with SPO playbooks in the Source-to-Pay Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=work-playbooks-spo&version=australia&pubname=australia-source-to-pay-operations&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for Procurement Service Management. | | [Complete publishing checklist and request policy approval](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=complete-publishing-checklist-redlining&version=australia&pubname=australia-governance-risk-compliance&ft:locale=en-US) | Create playbooks for Governance, Risk, and Compliance processes. | [ ] {#process-automation-designer__table_w5r_mbl_t1c} * **[Playbook builder](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/SG6l~MFlTYXsJfPQVx83ZQ)** Playbooks is a component in Workflow Studio. Workflow Studio gives you a streamlined way to author, configure, and monitor playbooks, flows, subflows, actions, and decision tables in one place. * **[Playbook Experience](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/twMBI5L5X3b_rBQ5~9zxWw)** Understand how Playbook work in the ServiceNow AI Platform® to automate cross-functional processes and consolidate them into task-oriented views for your end users. * **[AI capabilities in Playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/JUql9bnVS7Huv4n~h~PnDA)** Explore the AI-powered capabilities in Playbook, from generating and recommending playbooks to enabling autonomous, agentic execution. * **[Domain separation in Playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/gQCkLQ5kjCrMu2pQJRrn2g)** Data separation is supported for Playbooks. The domain value of the triggering input record determines the domain context. 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.