--- sourceDocument: Australia Enable AI sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/intelligent-experiences Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia Enable AI ft:clusterId : - platai bundleId : - platai workflow : - Platform --- # ServiceNow AI agents as secondary agents # ServiceNow AI agents as secondary agents {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated October 16, 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 ServiceNow AI agents as secondary agents ServiceNow AI agents can function as secondary agents, which are specialized AI agents designed to handle specific workflow tasks delegated by a primary agent or user. Using the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol, ServiceNow customers can connect their AI agents to other agentic AI model providers, enabling integration across different AI platforms. Show full answer Show less ## Enabling ServiceNow AI Agents as Secondary Agents * Enable third-party access by navigating to **AI Agent Studio \> Settings \> External AI agents** and toggling **Allow third party access to ServiceNow AI agents**. * Once created, the AI agent's execution endpoint URL (Agent Card URL) can be viewed and used by administrators for easy integration. * Authentication for both agent discovery and execution uses OAuth or API keys, streamlining secure connections. * For legacy support (v1 secondary agents), verify that specific system properties like `snnowassistva.showainativeexperience` are set to true and the A2A deployment record experience is set to AI native. * Execution plans can be monitored via the `snaiaexecutionplan` table, allowing admins to track conversations and agent activity. ## Agent-to-UI (A2UI) Protocol Support The A2UI protocol enhances interactions by enabling external systems to present advanced visual responses and UI workflows driven by ServiceNow AI agents. To use A2UI with secondary agents, customers must: * Enable the system property `snaia.externalagents.a2ui.enabled` (default is false). * Route A2A deployments through the off-glide (AI native) experience path, ensuring compatibility with A2UI responses. * Confirm relevant system properties like `snnowassistva.showainativeexperience` are set to true, and the deployment channel experience is AI native. * Ensure the calling client includes the `X-A2A-Extensions` header with the supported version (0.9) and requests appropriate content types to avoid rejection. Note: If off-glide experience is not configured correctly, the A2UI extension will not appear on the agent card, and errors will be logged without explicit warnings. ## Additional Considerations * For ServiceNow acting as the primary agent with A2UI, enable the premium chat feature on the relevant assistant. * Comprehensive documentation is available for setting up authentication, sample payloads, and further A2UI configuration to facilitate smooth integration and operation. Secondary agents are specialized AI agents that handle specific workflow tasks delegated by a primary agent or user. You can connect your ServiceNow agent to other agentic AI model providers using the Agent2Agent protocol. ## Enable ServiceNow AI agents as secondary agents {#a2a-secondary-agent__section_bwd_4g4_kkc} You can enable ServiceNow AI agents as secondary agents to use on other AI platforms. To do so, navigate to AI Agent StudioSettingsExternal AI agents and toggle Allow third party access to ServiceNow AI agents. ## Secondary agents overview {#a2a-secondary-agent__section_db3_kf4_kkc} After creating your AI agent in AI Agent Studio, you can point it to the Agent Card URL that is displayed for secondary agents. Admins can view, copy, and consume the URL for easy access. The execution endpoint for the AI agent uses this format: {{instance}}.service-now.com/api/sn_aia/a2a/v2/agent/id/{{agent-id}}. You can use the same OAuth or API key for authenticating the agent discovery and the agent execution. For more information, see [A2A API Key credential behavior](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/8EyQxFgADKH~uhdeCkwqWw "Starting in Now Assist AI Agents 7.1.x, the API Key credential record determines the header in each A2A request. The flow action no longer adds the header automatically."). If you want v1 of the secondary agent, then verify that the sn_nowassist_va.show_ai_native_experience system property is set to true and the A2A deployment record experience is set to AI native in the sys_now_assist_deployment_channel. To verify that your AI agent is running from the ServiceNow side, during a conversation with the AI agent, you can go to the Execution Plan \[sn_aia_execution_plan\] table. From the Execution Plan table, you can identify the execution plan based on the Objective field that contains the prompt from the conversation on the other platform. For more information about setting up instructions for your ServiceNow AI agents as secondary agents (acting as A2A server), refer to [Authentication for A2A - ServiceNow as Secondary Agent](https://www.servicenow.com/community/now-assist-articles/authentication-for-google-a2a-servicenow-as-secondary-agent/ta-p/3446091). For more information about sample payloads for A2A with ServiceNow AI agent as Secondary agent, see [Sample payloads for A2A](https://www.servicenow.com/community/now-assist-articles/sample-payloads-for-google-a2a-servicenow-as-secondary-agent/ta-p/3451904). ## Agent-to-UI (A2UI) protocol support for secondary agents {#a2a-secondary-agent__A2UI} The A2UI protocol lets external systems that connect to ServiceNow agents show more advanced visual responses. Agents can drive UI workflows and receive structured responses from the user interface. To enable the A2UI protocol, you must: * Turn on the sn_aia.external_agents.a2ui.enabled system property to true, whose default value is false. * Route the A2A deployment through off-glide experience. The A2UI responses can only be built on the off-glide path. Verify that the sn_nowassist_va.show_ai_native_experience system property is set to true and the A2A deployment record experience is set to AI native in the sys_now_assist_deployment_channel, as shown in the following image: * Check the agent card. When you enable the system properties mentioned earlier, the card adds the extension under capabilities.extensions. If the property is enabled but the off-glide experience isn't setup, then the extension is left off the card without any warning. The only sign is an error in the log. * Have the calling client request A2UI on each call. The client has to: * Send the header `X-A2A-Extensions`. For example, `https://a2ui.org/aa-extension/a2ui/v0.9`. Note: Only version 0.9 is supported. * Include `application/json+a2ui` or `application/json` if it sets the `configuration.accpetedOutputModes`. Without one of those, the requests are rejected with `InvalidAccpetedOutputModes`. To get v1 when ServiceNow acts as primary agent, the premium chat should be enabled in the respective assistant this agent is being executed from. Refer to the [Premium Chat experience](https://www.servicenow.com/community/servicenow-ai-platform-blog/premium-chat-101-meet-servicenow-s-newest-conversational/ba-p/3590724) article on how that can be enabled. For more information about A2UI, see [A2UI documentation](https://a2ui.org/). *[\>]: and then