--- sourceDocument: Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/servicenow-platform Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities ft:clusterId : - platcap bundleId : - platcap workflow : - Platform --- # Catalog Item Standards scope and examples # Catalog Item Standards scope and examples {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated July 7, 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 Catalog Item Standards scope and examples This document outlines the best practices that ServiceNow customers can apply when generating catalog items using the AI conversational catalog item builder, specifically within the capabilities supported by ServiceNow Otto. It clarifies which best practices are honored by the AI during catalog item creation and which are outside its scope due to limitations in available information or system behavior dependencies. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Scope of Best Practices:** Best practices are applied only to elements that users can create through the AI catalog item builder interface. * **In-Scope Best Practices Examples:** * Including help text for all mandatory fields to reduce requester confusion and errors. * Avoiding radio button questions with more than 20 choices; suggesting drop-down menus instead for cleaner UI. * Using clear, plain-language question labels without technical jargon, abbreviations, or acronyms to improve requester understanding. * **Out-of-Scope Best Practices Examples:** * Restrictions based on user roles or permissions, such as preventing certain question types for users with specific roles. * Runtime behaviors or configurations not defined directly on the catalog item, like adding reference qualifiers for large lookup question option sets. * **Rules for Applying Best Practices:** * Only best practices written in plain text are honored by ServiceNow Otto; any formatted text, images, or special markup are ignored. * If a deviation from best practice occurs during item creation, the user is notified. * The AI uses only the latest published version of the Catalog Best Practices article, ignoring drafts. ## Practical Impact for ServiceNow Customers ServiceNow customers using the AI conversational catalog item builder can rely on automated guidance and enforcement of relevant best practices to improve catalog item quality and user experience. They should be aware that some best practices related to security roles, system configurations, or runtime behavior are not automatically applied and may require manual intervention. Understanding these boundaries helps customers set realistic expectations and ensures they can efficiently design catalog items that align with organizational standards and requester needs. This reference describes the in-scope best practices that can be used for catalog item generation. It provides examples of in-scope and out-of-scope best practices and documents the rules for how best practices are applied. ## Scope of best practices {#catalog-item-standards-scope-and-examples__section_pmg_tqd_vjc} Best practices are honored only when they are within the scope of catalog generation capabilities. This means best practices apply only to what a user can create using the AI conversational catalog item builder. The following are examples of best practices that are within the scope of catalog generation and are honored by ServiceNow Otto.{#catalog-item-standards-scope-and-examples__table_vsp_wqd_vjc__entry__2} | Intent | Best practices | |-|-| | Include help text for all mandatory fields | If a mandatory question does not have help text, highlight this as help text guides requesters on what is expected, reducing confusion and errors. | | Avoid radio button questions with more than 20 choices | If a radio button (single choice) question has more than 10 to 15 choices, highlight this as a drop-down is cleaner for larger option sets and takes up less screen space. | | Use clear question labels and avoid technical jargon | If a question label uses technical jargon, abbreviations, or acronyms that a typical requester may not understand, highlight this as plain-language labels are easier for everyone. | [Table 1. In-scope best practices examples] {#catalog-item-standards-scope-and-examples__table_vsp_wqd_vjc} ## Out-of-scope best practices examples {#catalog-item-standards-scope-and-examples__section_smh_crd_vjc} Best practices that require information not directly available to the LLM, or that depend on behavior beyond what's directly defined on the catalog item, aren't applied. This includes: * Role-based or permission-based restrictions on catalog authors * Runtime behavior or system configuration not defined on the catalog item itself {#catalog-item-standards-scope-and-examples__ul_dm4_drd_vjc} The following are examples of best practices that are outside the scope of catalog generation and aren't honored by AI.{#catalog-item-standards-scope-and-examples__table_owq_3rd_vjc__entry__2} | Intent | Best practices | |-|-| | Restrict lookup multiple-choice questions based on Catalog Builder Editor role | If the creator's role is Catalog Builder Editor, they must not be able to create a lookup multiple-choice question type. This restriction depends on role-based security rules not directly available to the LLM. | | Add reference qualifiers for lookup questions with more than 1,000 choices | If a lookup question has more than 1,000 choices, add a reference qualifier to filter the options. This may require system configuration knowledge beyond catalog item properties. | [Table 2. Out-of-scope best practices examples] {#catalog-item-standards-scope-and-examples__table_owq_3rd_vjc} ## Rules for best practice application {#catalog-item-standards-scope-and-examples__section_ujw_4rd_vjc} The following rules define how AI applies best practices: * Plain text requirement: ServiceNow Otto honors only best practices written in plain text in the article. Formatted text, images, and special markup are ignored. * Deviation: If there is a deviation, a catalog item is created, and then the user is prompted about the deviation. * Published version only: The LLM uses only the latest published version of the Catalog Best Practices article. Draft isn't considered. {#catalog-item-standards-scope-and-examples__ul_gny_prd_vjc} **Related reference** * [Catalog item standards for catalog item generation](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/0QmTtLf68_Ztp5T5UHTy~g "The Catalog Item Standards knowledge base contains a knowledge base article. This article called Catalog Best Practices, has best practices that help AI provide guidance during catalog item creation in Catalog Builder.")