---
sourceDocument: Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Administration
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-administration
Release :
- australia
ft:locale :
- en-US
ft:publication_title :
- Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Administration
ft:clusterId :
- platadm
bundleId :
- platadm
workflow :
- Platform
---
# Lemma and Unicode normalization
# Lemma and Unicode normalization {#ariaid-title1}
Release version: Australia
Updated September 28, 2026
 2 minutes to read
Summarize
 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 Lemma and Unicode normalization
AI Search enhances search recall by automatically normalizing inflected words (lemma normalization) and Unicode glyphs during both indexing and query processing.
This enables users to find content containing variant forms of search terms without additional configuration.
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## Key Features
* **Lemma Normalization:** AI Search transforms inflected terms to their root forms (lemmas) to match variants such as plural nouns or conjugated verbs. For example, indexed terms like "selling" are expanded to include the lemma "sell," and search queries like "sold" are similarly expanded to improve matching accuracy.
* **Supported Languages:** Lemma normalization supports a broad range of languages including Arabic, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and others.
* **Decompounding:** For certain languages (Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål, Swedish), compound words are broken down into their components. For example, the German compound "Humanressourcen" is indexed as both the full compound and its parts "Human" and "ressourcen."
* **Unicode Normalization:** AI Search applies Unicode normalization (NFKD and NFKC forms) to indexed and query terms, allowing search for accented and non-accented variants interchangeably. For instance, "resumé" and "resume" are treated equivalently during search.
## Interaction with Other Search Features
* **Genius Results:** Terms added by lemma or Unicode normalization do not trigger Genius Result configurations that rely on term triggers.
* **Result Improvement Rules:** Normalized query terms can trigger these rules if they match the configured query triggers.
* **Stop Words:** Stop words in queries are removed before normalization and are not normalized.
* **Synonyms:** Synonym terms are exempt from normalization.
* **Typo Handling:** Lemma and Unicode normalization apply to auto-corrected search query terms, enhancing search robustness.
## Practical Impact for ServiceNow Customers
With lemma and Unicode normalization enabled by default, ServiceNow customers benefit from improved search accuracy and recall without needing to adjust settings. Searches return relevant results even when users input different inflections, conjugations, or Unicode variants of terms. Understanding how normalization interacts with other search features helps optimize search configurations and set appropriate expectations for behaviors like synonym handling and result triggers.
AI Search normalizes inflected words and Unicode glyphs during indexing and at search query time. Normalization improves search recall and enables users to find content with variant forms of their search query
terms.
Normalization features are automatically enabled and aren't configurable.
## Lemma normalization {#lemma-unicode-normalization-ais__section_igg_pc5_fnb}
Many languages include inflected forms of terms, such as plural nouns or verb tenses. AI Search normalizes inflected terms found in indexed content and search queries. Normalization enables matching based on a root form, such as the singular for a plural noun or the base form for a conjugated
verb. This root form is called a lemma, and this process is referred to as lemma normalization.
For example, when a source record includes the conjugated verb selling, AI Search expands the indexed term to include the lemma form sell in addition to selling. When a user searches for the past-tense conjugated form
sold, AI Search expands the search query term to include the lemma form sell as well as sold. Because the indexed term and the search query term include
matching forms, the user's search returns the selling record as a result.
AI Search supports language-specific lemma normalization for Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, French - Canada, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, and Turkish.
## Decompounding {#lemma-unicode-normalization-ais__section_cjq_4rg_4rb}
In addition to normalizing lemmas for Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian (Bokmål), and Swedish, AI Search indexes compound words and their individual component words. For example, when indexing a German record that contains the compound word Humanressourcen, AI Search indexes the component terms Human and ressourcen in addition to the compound term.
## Unicode normalization {#lemma-unicode-normalization-ais__section_udc_mcw_3nb}
AI Search performs Unicode normalization on indexed terms and search query terms. This normalization makes alphabetical Unicode glyphs searchable using their nearest equivalent characters.
For example, when indexing a record containing the term resumé, AI Search expands the term to also include the non-accented form resume. This record appears as a search result when users search for either resume or
resumé.
Unicode normalization includes NFKD (compatibility decomposition) and NFKC (compatibility composition) stages. For more information on these normalization forms, see the Unicode Standard Annex #15, .
## Interaction with other search features {#lemma-unicode-normalization-ais__section_p3f_wsy_2nb}
The following table describes interactions between normalization and other search features.
{#lemma-unicode-normalization-ais__table_vdr_yd5_fnb__entry__2}
| Feature | Interaction with lemma and Unicode normalization |
|-|-|
| [Genius Results](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/RKKGwiZmvlFBRZh43mRujg "Optionally display the best answers for a search query as actionable Genius Result cards included with search results.") | Search query terms added by lemma or Unicode normalization can't trigger Genius Result configurations with Term trigger conditions. |
| [Result improvement rules](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/TaR44fGFW48~JSklNGO62w "Define rules with configurable trigger conditions to boost, block, or promote search results for specific searches. You can also boost search results for documents matching elements of the user context, such as a user's country, OS, or device type.") | A search query term added by lemma or Unicode normalization can trigger a result improvement rule if it matches the rule's Query trigger. |
| [Stop words](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/eiiQAp3yVs1voI~53xB_VA "Stop words remove search query terms that don't produce meaningful results. Improve search precision and relevancy by configuring stop word dictionaries and defining stop words.") | If a search query term is defined as a stop word, AI Search removes that term without normalizing it. |
| [Synonyms](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/BTOwKD3uhCQnDp5Nb8LfEg "Synonyms expand search queries to include additional terms with equivalent meaning or usage. Improve search recall by configuring synonym dictionaries and defining synonyms.") | If a search query term is defined as a synonym, AI Search doesn't normalize it. |
| [Typo handling](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/g21GoEvGiHwb9MC3XfCgzg "AI Search replaces misspelled search query terms with auto-correction terms derived from indexed content. Configure typo handling dictionary settings to control derivation of auto-correction terms.") | AI Search performs lemma and Unicode normalization on auto-corrected search query terms. |
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{#lemma-unicode-normalization-ais__table_vdr_yd5_fnb}