--- 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 --- # Updated playbooks for governing managed assets # Updated playbooks for governing managed assets {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated August 24, 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 Updated playbooks for governing managed assets The updated playbooks provide structured lifecycle workflows for managing AI assets, automating governance tasks, routing approvals, and tracking compliance across onboarding, maintenance, and retirement phases. These improvements address limitations of legacy playbooks by centralizing task creation, enhancing visibility into task status, and enabling risk-based task differentiation. The playbooks guide AI stewards and asset owners through comprehensive governance activities aligned with asset lifecycle stages, ensuring operational integration of risk and compliance requirements. Show full answer Show less ## How Playbooks Work Playbooks function as workflow templates triggered by lifecycle events, generating activities and tasks specific to each asset phase. Each activity groups related governance tasks---such as risk assessments or security reviews---that must be completed or approved before advancing. Tasks are assigned to appropriate roles depending on review type (e.g., AI stewards or security teams). This structured approach operationalizes governance and compliance as integral to the asset lifecycle. ## Key Benefits * Centralized task creation within the playbook, eliminating dependency on disparate integrations. * Unified visibility of all tasks and statuses (created, errored with messages, or skipped) in a single location. * Configurable task types and decision tables that respond to asset attributes like risk tier, phase, and use. * Playbooks are delivered as protected templates but can be cloned and customized to meet specific business needs. ## Lifecycle Tasks Tasks represent governance steps requiring human review, approval, or completion, such as impact assessments, architecture reviews, and security clearances. Task generation considers asset type, risk classification, and lifecycle phase, assigning responsibilities accordingly. Tasks are visible both on asset records and through the Activity Center, enabling filtering and management by AI stewards and reviewers. Overdue tasks or missing activities trigger recommendations to maintain governance rigor. ## Automated Triggering of Playbooks Playbooks can be configured to trigger automatically upon new AI asset creation, ensuring governance workflows start immediately and consistently. When automatic triggering is disabled, asset managers retain manual control to initiate playbooks as needed. Automatic triggering reduces manual effort, helps avoid governance gaps, and enforces policy uniformly across AI assets. Manage AI assets through structured lifecycle workflows using the updated playbooks that automate governance tasks, route approvals, and track compliance requirements across onboarding, maintenance, and retirement phases. ## Overview of the updated playbooks {#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__dynamic-playbooks-overview} The legacy playbooks experience inhibits flexible, risk-aware governance at scale. Tasks originate from disparate integrations rather than the playbook itself, removing context between stages and task origins. When tasks fail or don't appear, users don't have an easy way of determining whether the tasks skipped or encountered errors. Governance tasks apply uniformly across assets regardless of risk classification.{#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets-para-1} The updated playbooks improve on existing playbooks by introducing centralized task creation. This enables visibility into task lifecycle, providing a single source of truth for changes, allowing risk-based task differentiation, and improving discoverability through clearer navigation paths. The new playbooks provide structured workflows that guide AI stewards and asset owners through the complete lifecycle of AI assets. Playbooks automate governance tasks, assign responsibilities, and enforce compliance checkpoints as assets progress from initial onboarding through deployment, maintenance, and eventual retirement. ## How playbooks work {#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__how-playbooks-work} Playbooks operate as workflow templates that activate when specific lifecycle events occur. Each playbook defines a sequence of activities and tasks that must be completed before an asset can advance to the next lifecycle phase. When an AI asset enters a new lifecycle stage, the corresponding playbook generates a set of activities and tasks tailored to that stage. Each activity represents a logical grouping of related governance work, such as risk assessment, security review, or deployment approval. This approach ensures that governance, risk, and compliance requirements are addressed operationally as part of the asset lifecycle rather than as separate processes.{#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets-para-2} Tasks within each activity are assigned to appropriate roles based on the type of review required. For example, impact assessments might be assigned to AI stewards, while security clearances are routed to security teams. The asset cannot progress to the next activity until all required tasks for the current activity are completed or approved. To learn more about the playbooks offered, see [AI Control Tower playbooks](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/0qm~Y_sLu15y~lCUOXtpag "Drive the lifecycle and approval workflows for AI assets using playbooks in AI Control Tower.").{#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets-para-4} ## Key benefits of the updated playbook {#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__key-benefits} The updated playbook provides the following benefits: * Task creation is handled by the playbook and is not dependent on separate workstream integrations. * A consolidated overview of all tasks and their statuses are maintained in a single place. Tasks appear created, errored with a message, or skipped---all recorded in one place. * Each workstream reads its own decision table. Task types are added or changed by configuration, not code. * Asset attributes such as risk tier, phase, and use and purpose are considered before the tasks are assigned. * Playbooks are shipped as protected. However, they can be cloned with the workflow and then customized to suit business requirements. ## Lifecycle tasks {#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__lifecycle-tasks} Lifecycle tasks are units of governance work that playbooks generate as assets progress through their lifecycle. Each task corresponds to a step in a playbook activity that requires human review, approval, or completion. Tasks include impact assessments, architecture reviews, security clearances, value template approvals, and other reviews that must be completed before an asset can advance.{#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets-para-7} Playbooks generate tasks based on the asset type, risk classification, and lifecycle phase. Tasks are assigned to specific roles or individuals based on the type of review required. For example, a high-risk AI system might trigger additional security review tasks that are not required for lower-risk assets.{#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets-para-8} Tasks appear in multiple locations for visibility and action. Asset owners see tasks on the asset record within the playbook visualization. AI stewards and reviewers see assigned tasks in the Activity Center and can filter by task type, priority, or due date. Tasks can also generate recommendations when they become overdue or when activities have no associated tasks.{#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets-para-9} ## Automated triggering of playbooks {#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__playbook-automation} Playbooks can be configured to trigger automatically when specific conditions are met. When the Automatically trigger playbooks setting is active in Builder controls, approval playbooks run automatically when a new AI asset is added. This ensures that governance workflows begin immediately when assets enter the system.{#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets-para-10} When automatic triggering is inactive, asset managers can still initiate approval playbooks manually from the asset record. This provides flexibility for organizations that want to control when governance workflows begin or that have different approval requirements for different asset types.{#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets-para-11} Automatic triggering reduces manual overhead and helps prevent ungoverned assets from progressing through the lifecycle without required reviews. It also ensures consistent application of governance policies across all AI assets.{#dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets__dynamic-playbooks-for-governing-managed-assets-para-12} **Related tasks** * [Migrate to updated AI asset onboarding playbook](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/6GNhIvF3vSyjOxJXb5icng "Configure the new AI asset onboarding playbook to simplify AI asset management through structured lifecycle workflows. The migration also includes an opt-in to decide between moving to the new playbook or continuing in the existing playbook.")