Managing custom skills in Assistant Designer Asset library

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 24, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Managing custom skills in Assistant Designer Asset library

    This content explains how ServiceNow customers can manage custom skills within the Assistant Designer Asset library, particularly when using the Now Assist Skill Kit and Virtual Agent. It focuses on viewing and managing existing custom skills rather than creating new ones, which must be done in Now Assist Skill Kit.

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    Key Features

    • Viewing Custom Skills: Customers with the virtualagentadmin role can view custom skills in the Assistant Designer Asset library after activating the Now Assist Topics skill. Custom skills appear in a list view with details such as name, type, status, activity, last modified time, and description.
    • Skill Management Actions: From the list, users can toggle visibility settings including Promoted (suggested conversational asset), Discoverable (invoked by user utterance), Visible (shown when "Show me everything" is selected), and Active (available in conversation). Deletion of skills is not available in the Asset library and must be performed in Now Assist Skill Kit.
    • Skill Creation and Editing: Custom skills cannot be created or edited in the Assistant Designer Asset library. These actions are only supported in Now Assist Skill Kit.
    • Deployment Settings: To make a custom skill appear in the Asset library, deployment settings must be configured in Now Assist Skill Kit by selecting Platform skills in the Feature list and enabling the skill through the Now Assist panel card.

    Key Outcomes

    • Customers can efficiently manage the visibility and availability of custom conversational skills within their virtual assistant environment.
    • By leveraging deployment settings, customers ensure that relevant custom skills are accessible to users through the Assistant Designer Asset library and Now Assist panel.
    • Understanding the distinction between where skills are created (Now Assist Skill Kit) versus where they are viewed and managed (Assistant Designer Asset library) helps streamline skill lifecycle management.

    View custom skills through Assistant Designer Asset library.

    Note:
    Depending on your license, you will have access to certain application features, generative AI skills, agentic workflows, and AI agents. For more information, see ServiceNow product tiers.
    Note:
    An updated Assistant Designer Asset library user interface is available when you install Now Assist in Virtual Agent and turn on the Now Assist Topics skill. This content assumes that you have activated this skill and can see the list view. If this skill is not activated, you see the legacy UI and topics page. For more information, see Virtual Agent Designer legacy topics page.

    Role required: virtual_agent_admin

    When you select a custom skill, it opens the skill in Now Assist Skill Kit. Custom skills currently can't be created in Virtual Agent Designer. You can only view them in Assistant Designer Asset library. The skills can be created, tested, and deleted only in Now Assist Skill Kit. For more details on creating skills, see Create a skill.

    Figure 1. Custom skills as viewed in Assistant Designer Asset library
    Custom skills pill inAssistant Designer Asset library.
    Column Description
    Name Name of the skill. Select the skill to open it in Now Assist Skill Kit.
    Type Custom skill.
    Status Status type such as Published.
    Active Whether the skill is active or inactive.
    Last modified Time that the skill was last modified.
    Description Description of the custom skill.

    Use the row actions icon to work with visibility settings for Promoted, Discoverable, Visible, and Active:

    Option Description
    Promoted Option to toggle the skill's Promoted status to show as a suggested conversational asset in the virtual assistant.
    Discoverable Option to toggle the skill's Discoverable status. If discoverable, the skill is invoked when matched with a user's utterance.
    Visible Option to toggle the skill's visibility to users. If visible, the skill appears whenever the Show me everything option is selected in the conversation.
    Active Option to toggle the skill's active status. If active, the skill is available within the conversation.
    Delete Delete option for skills is inactive in Assistant Designer Asset library. The skills can only be deleted from Now Assist Skill Kit.

    Custom skills become available in Assistant Designer Asset library based on the deployment settings in Now Assist Skill Kit.

    1. Navigate to Now Assist Skill Kit > Home and select the skill.
    2. Select Skill settings > Deployment settings.
    3. For the skill to become available in Assistant Designer Asset library, the following options should be selected:
      • Select Platform skills in the Feature list.
      • Select the Now Assist panel card to enable the skill through the Now Assist Panel.