Topic NLU Intent tab

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of NLU Intent tab

    The NLU Intent tab in ServiceNow allows users to edit and enhance NLU models directly within the Assistant Designer. This feature is beneficial for managing conversation topics linked to specific NLU models and intents. It is accessible once the Now Assist Topics skill is activated, providing a modern user interface for better functionality.

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    Key Features

    • Utterances Tab: Users can manage utterances for intents with various functions such as adding, editing, duplicating, moving, and deleting utterances. Each utterance must be unique and under 200 characters.
    • Entities Management: Users can create new entities from selected words in utterances and view them in the Associated Entities tab. This includes both simple and system-derived entities.
    • Associated Entities Tab: This tab allows users to view and manage entities associated with a specific intent and understand their relevance through associated utterances.
    • Conflicts Tab: Users can identify and resolve conflicts where different intents share the same utterance, enhancing the overall accuracy of NLU topic discovery.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing the NLU Intent tab, ServiceNow customers can effectively refine their NLU models, improving the accuracy of intent recognition in automated conversations. This leads to enhanced user experience and better handling of customer inquiries through improved topic discovery and intent management.

    You can edit and refine ServiceNow NLU models from within Assistant Designer. When a conversation topic is bound to an associated NLU model and intent, use the NLU Intent tab to review and edit utterances and associated entities.

    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.

    If your topic uses NLU discovery, the topic NLU Intent tab appears on the Assistant Designer interface. Test your topic to see the prediction results for topic discovery and the corresponding confidence scores for the results. Depending on the results, you can modify the associated utterances and entities in the NLU model for your topic intent.

    Utterances tab

    Use the Utterances tab to perform the following tasks.

    Table 1. Using the Utterances tab
    I want to... Do this
    Add an utterance Use the Add field to enter an utterance for an intent. Each utterance must be unique and contain fewer than 200 characters.
    Edit an utterance Select the Edit icon next to the utterance.
    Duplicate an utterance Select the Copy icon next to the utterance.
    Move an utterance to another intent Select the Menu icon , and then select Move this utterance to another intent.
    Delete an utterance Select the Menu icon , and then select Delete this utterance.
    Define a new entity
    1. Select a word in an utterance to use as an entity.
    2. In the Create New Entity picker, select the type of entity to be created, such as a simple or system-derived entity.

      For information about the types of entities that you can define, see NLU entities. For information about system entities, see NLU system entities. When you add an entity, it is also displayed in the Associated Entities tab.
    Figure 1. Example utterances on the NLU Intent tab
    The Check IT Ticket Status topic displays 24 utterances. There are two associated entities. You can add more utterances, or train and test your model.
    Figure 2. Adding entities on the Utterances tab
    Select a word or phrase in an utterance, then use the Create New Entity picker to add an entity related to it.

    Associated Entities tab

    Use the Associated Entities tab to view the entities defined for the intent. Select the name to view the utterances that the entity is associated with.

    Figure 3. Entities defined for an intent named UpdatePhoneNumber
    The Associated Entities sub-tab lists the entities associated with the intent.

    You can also associate system entities, such as date and time, with an intent. For more information about supported system entities, see NLU system entities.

    Conflicts tab

    Use the Conflicts tab to view conflicts among your intents. For example, if two different intents use the same utterance, this will appear as a conflict in both Assistant Designer and NLU Workbench. Identifying and resolving conflicts improves the effectiveness of NLU topic discovery.

    Figure 4. Utterance conflict between two intents
    The Conflicts tab shows problems that may interfere with topic discovery. In this example, two separate intents contain the same utterance.