--- sourceDocument: australia Combined Product Files sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/delta-zurich-australia Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - australia Combined Product Files ft:clusterId : - delta3az bundleId : - delta3az --- # Combined Next Experience release notes for upgrades from Zurich to Australia # Combined Next Experience release notes for upgrades from Zurich to Australia {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated October 8, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 7 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 Combined Next Experience release notes for upgrades from Zurich to Australia This consolidated guide provides ServiceNow customers with comprehensive release notes for upgrading the Next Experience platform from Zurich to Australia releases. It outlines new features, changes, deprecations, activation instructions, and accessibility improvements designed to enhance user experience, performance, and interface modernization. Show full answer Show less ## New Features * **Zurich Release:** * Lazy loading for Workspace pages reduces load times by dynamically loading content; users can control this via a new user preference. * Now Assist menu can be viewed in a wide mode to minimize scrolling and content truncation. * New accessibility preferences for keeping page alerts visible. * Usage Analytics utility menu provides analytic data for applications and web pages, accessible by users with the analyticsviewer role. * OpenFrame phone icon now displays the number of active calls via a badge. * **Australia Release:** * In-Product Surveys enable collection of user feedback directly within Next Experience, with admin control to disable at the instance level. * New accessibility preference to auto-focus on page alerts, improving keyboard and screen reader navigation. * All-menu editing allows admins to create and modify application menus and modules (Record, List, Dashboard, Custom pages) directly within the Next Experience UI. ## Changes * **ServiceNow Otto® AI Platform:** The conversational AI platform integrated into ServiceNow workflows continues evolving, supporting multimodal interactions and autonomous orchestration across channels. * **Coral Theme Updates:** * Coral theme is the default for new portals, web, and mobile experiences using Next Experience or Core UI. * Australia release enhances Coral with improved color gradients, softer outlines, rounded components, a better dark mode with reduced eye strain, AI gradient styles, subtle animations, and improved focus behavior to reduce visual clutter. * **User Menu Update:** The "Works with ServiceNow" badge now appears in the user menu for custom-branded accounts on web and mobile, applied automatically without affecting other branding settings. ## Deprecations Starting with the Australia release, the legacy UIs known as UI11 and UI15 are deprecated. These interfaces will no longer receive enhancements or defect fixes and are unsupported. Customers are encouraged to use Next Experience for a modern, accessible, and unified interface. ## Activation Information * Next Experience is enabled by default on both Zurich and Australia releases. * If issues are anticipated during upgrade, an opt-out system property can be set prior to upgrading to disable Next Experience activation. * Theme Builder is included and active by default to manage themes such as Coral. ## Browser Requirements * Internet Explorer 11 and the iOS version of Firefox are not supported in Zurich and Australia releases. ## Accessibility Enhancements * **Zurich:** * Coral theme includes a dark mode option to reduce eye strain. * New preferences allow users to keep page alerts visible until manually dismissed and to disable lazy loading for workspace pages, improving screen reader compatibility. * **Australia:** * Added accessibility preference to auto-focus keyboard and screen reader on page alerts ensuring critical messages are not missed. * Guided tours are available to help users customize navigation, keyboard behavior, and visual themes within Next Experience. ## Practical Impact for ServiceNow Customers Upgrading to the Australia release with Next Experience enables customers to leverage enhanced user interface customization, improved accessibility features, and integrated analytics tools. The modernized Coral theme and AI-driven Now Assist improve usability and engagement. Deprecation of legacy UIs emphasizes the importance of transitioning to Next Experience for ongoing support and feature enhancements. Admins should review new menu editing capabilities and survey options to optimize user feedback collection and interface management. Ensuring browser compatibility and completing pre/post-upgrade tasks will facilitate a smooth transition. Consolidated page of all release notes for Next Experience from Zurich to Australia. ## How to use this page To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Next Experience release notes onto one page. Read this summary of the new features, changes, and updated information for your product from Zurich to Australia. Tip: If there were no updates for a release notes section in a certain family release, we included a short note for your reference. For example, if a product did not have any updates in Tokyo, the row says "No updates for this release." ## Important information for upgrading Next Experience to Australia Before you upgrade to Australia, review these pre- and post-upgrade tasks and complete the tasks as needed. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__2} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | No updates for this release. | | Australia | No updates for this release. | [ ] ## New features Between your current release family and Australia, new features were introduced for Next Experience. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__8} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | [Lazy loading of Workspace pages user preference available](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=next-experience-workspace-preferences&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) : Control how your Workspace pages are loaded, either all at once or as needed, by using the new Workspace lazy load user preference. Lazy loading is enabled by default and displays content dynamically, reducing page load times. See the Accessibility information section for additional details. [Use the menu toggle to view the Now Assist menu in wide mode](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=using-the-next-experience-global-header&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) : View the Now Assist menu in wide mode to reduce the need for scrolling and truncating content. [Configure accessibility preferences](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=next-experience-accessibility-preferences&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) : Use a new accessibility preference to keep page alerts visible. See the Accessibility information section for additional details. [Usage Analytics utility menu available](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=using-the-next-experience-global-header&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) : Obtain usage analytic data for your applications and web pages with the Usage Analytics utility menu. The Usage Analytics menu appears for those users with the analytics_viewer role. [View the number of active calls from the OpenFrame phone icon](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=using-the-next-experience-global-header&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) : View the number of active calls from the numbered badge on the OpenFrame phone icon. | | Australia | [In-Product Surveys](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=in-product-surveys-overview&family=australia&ft:locale=en-US) : Collect feedback from users as they work in Next Experience. Admins can turn off surveys at the instance level. [Enable auto-focus on page alerts new accessibility preference](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=enable-auto-focus-on-page-alerts&family=australia&ft:locale=en-US) : Turn on the Enable auto-focus on page alerts preference to automatically move focus to the page alert. See the Accessibility section for details. [Next experience all menu editing](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=next-experience-all-menu-editing&family=australia&ft:locale=en-US) : Create and edit application menus and modules directly from the Next Experience UI. Admins can configure Record, List, Dashboard, and Custom page modules from a centralized, platform-native interface. | [ ] ## Changes Between your current release family and Australia, some changes were made to existing Next Experience features. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__14} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | [Now Assist \> ServiceNow Otto® announcement](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=sn-ai-implementation-landing&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) : ServiceNow Otto introduced AI on the platform. As that experience has evolved, there's a new name for the experience. ServiceNow Otto® is the conversational AI platform integrated into ServiceNow workflows. It provides agentic capabilities, supports multimodal interactions across web, mobile, and messaging channels, and enables autonomous orchestration for cross-system workflows. Coral theme : Coral is now the default theme for new portal, web, and mobile experiences with Next Experience or Core UI enabled. This theme provides a fresh look and feel, featuring brand-neutral illustrations to enhance your user experience. A dark theme option is available for web and mobile experiences. For existing customers who upgrade to Zurich, use [Theme Builder to publish Coral theme to your instance](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=tb-apply-theme&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) or [add Coral theme to the Next Experience UX Parent App Theme table](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=configure-presentation-order-of-themes&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US). Once enabled by a system administrator, Coral is available for [selection in the user's Theme preference](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=select-a-theme-in-next-experience&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US). | | Australia | [Now Assist \> ServiceNow Otto® announcement](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=sn-ai-implementation-landing&family=australia&ft:locale=en-US) : ServiceNow Otto introduced AI on the platform. As that experience has evolved, there's a new name for the experience. ServiceNow Otto® is the conversational AI platform integrated into ServiceNow workflows. It provides agentic capabilities, supports multimodal interactions across web, mobile, and messaging channels, and enables autonomous orchestration for cross-system workflows. [Updated Coral theme](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=next-experience-theming&family=australia&ft:locale=en-US) : The Coral theme has been improved to enhance usability across web, mobile, and portal experiences that use Next Experience and Core UI: * A fully overhauled color system for smoother gradients and better contrast. * Softer outlines and more rounded components for a modern, accessible look. * A significantly improved dark mode with deeper blue tones for reduced eye strain. * New AI gradient styles and subtle animations to highlight intelligent features. * Smarter focus behavior that reduces visual clutter for mouse users. New Works with ServiceNow badge added to user menu : The Works with ServiceNow badge now appears in the user menu for custom-branded accounts. This applies to web and mobile experiences with Next Experience or Core UI enabled. All other branding and theme settings remain unchanged. This update applies automatically. | [ ] ## Removed Between your current release family and Australia, some Next Experience features or functionality were removed. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__20} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | No updates for this release. | | Australia | No updates for this release. | [ ] ## Deprecations Between your current release family and Australia, some Next Experience features or functionality were deprecated. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__26} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | No updates for this release. | | Australia | Starting with the Australia release, the legacy user interfaces commonly referred to as UI11 and UI15 are deprecated. These legacy UIs no longer receive enhancements, defect fixes, and will no longer be supported. Certain system features may continue to display through legacy rendering paths (for example, printer‑friendly views) and will be addressed case by case as part of ongoing platform improvements. Use the Next Experience for a modern, accessible, unified interface. For information activating Next Experience see [Activation considerations](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=next-experience-adoption-paths&family=australia&ft:locale=en-US). | [ ] ## Activation information Review information on how to activate Next Experience. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__32} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | Activation information : Next Experience is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default when the user loads or upgrades to the Zurich release. If there are known problems with turning on Next Experience on an instance, an opt-out system property can be created before upgrade. Theme Builder comes with the Next Experience and is active by default. | | Australia | Activation information : Next Experience is a ServiceNow AI Platform® feature that is active by default when the user loads or upgrades to the Australia release. If there are known problems with turning on Next Experience on an instance, an opt-out system property can be created before upgrade. Theme Builder comes with the Next Experience and is active by default. | [ ] ## Additional requirements If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Next Experience we have noted them here. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__38} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | No updates for this release. | | Australia | No updates for this release. | [ ] ## Browser requirements If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Next Experience we have noted them here. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__44} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | Browser requirements : The Zurich release doesn't support Internet Explorer 11. The iOS version of Firefox is also not supported. | | Australia | Browser requirements : The Australia release doesn't support Internet Explorer 11. The iOS version of Firefox is also not supported. | [ ] ## Accessibility information Review details on accessibility information for Next Experience, such as specific requirements or compliance levels. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__50} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | Accessibility information : Dark theme : The new Coral theme includes a dark theme option for web and mobile experiences. This option is commonly used to alleviate eye strain and improve readability. [New Accessibility preference added for page alerts](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=next-experience-accessibility-preferences&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) : Turn on the Do not auto-dismiss page alerts preference to keep page alerts visible until you manually close them. [New Workspace preference added to enhance screen reader output for your Workspace pages](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=next-experience-workspace-preferences&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) : A new Workspace preference lets you turn off lazy loading for workspace pages. When you turn off lazy loading, the entire page loads at once. This action improves compatibility with screen readers and provides a more consistent and reliable reading experience. | | Australia | Accessibility information : [Enable auto-focus on page alerts new accessibility preference](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=enable-auto-focus-on-page-alerts&family=australia&ft:locale=en-US) : When enabled, this preference automatically moves your keyboard focus to important alerts so you don't miss critical messages while navigating with a keyboard or screen reader. [Learn about accessibility preferences with a guided tour](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=next-experience-accessibility-preferences&family=australia&ft:locale=en-US) : Explore accessibility preferences with a guided tour that shows how to customize navigation, keyboard behavior, and visual themes in Next Experience. | [ ] ## Localization information If there are specific localization considerations for Next Experience we have noted them here. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__56} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | No updates for this release. | | Australia | No updates for this release. | [ ] ## Highlight information If there are specific highlight considerations for Next Experience we have noted them here. {#dfrn3-nextexperience-summary__entry__62} | Release | Release notes | |-|-| | Zurich | * Customize the visual experience of the Now Assist menu by using the new toggle to switch between standard or wide view. * Manage the visibility of page alerts with a new accessibility user preference. * Access usage analytic data for applications and web pages directly with the new Usage Analytics utility menu. See [Next Experience UI](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=next-experience-landing-page&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) for more information. | | Australia | * Manage the visibility of page alerts with a new accessibility user preference. * Explore a modernized Coral theme with better contrast, rounded UI elements, improved dark mode, and AI-focused enhancements. See [Next Experience UI](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=next-experience-landing-page&family=australia&ft:locale=en-US) for more information. | [ ]