Generate a knowledge article with ServiceNow Otto

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated July 20, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read

    • Generate knowledge articles for resolved and closed cases within the CSM Configurable Workspace and classic environment using ServiceNow Otto.

    Before you begin

    To generate a knowledge article for a case, the case must be in the Resolved or Closed state and must not already have a knowledge article linked to it. Although the Create Knowledge button appears in other states, it does not trigger the skill. In those cases, selecting the button opens the KB article form for manual entry.

    Before generating articles, confirm that Configure knowledge generation is configured.
    Warning:
      • For the ServiceNow Otto panel, if property sn_customerservice.enable_knowledge_kcs and KCS Article Template is not enabled, the article is created using the standard template for cases.
      • For Core UI / Workspace, if sn_customerservice.enable_knowledge_kcs and KCS Article Template is not enabled, the Create Knowledge button does not appear on the case form.

    Your administrator must enable the ServiceNow Otto experience on the Create Article page and configure the following knowledge base generation criteria:

    • Activate the KB generation skill.
    • In the ServiceNow Otto AI Admin console, confirm that the following criteria are in place:
      • The table record and input fields are specified.
      • The conditions for skill availability are specified from the list of attributes.
      • The knowledge base generation feature is set to display In-product, the panel, or both.
    • To manage access to knowledge bases and articles, set permissions that define which users or groups can read or contribute. For more information, see Managing access to knowledge bases and knowledge articles.

    Role required: agent

    About this task

    In the CSM Configurable Workspace and classic environment, generate knowledge article information for a case by selecting Create Knowledge on the case record. The Use AI to draft this article modal opens. Choose to write the article yourself or draft it with ServiceNow Otto, then review and edit the text.
    Note:

    The Create Knowledge UI action is available to customer service agents with assigned cases in the Resolve or Close state. You can also generate knowledge article information on demand from the panel. For more information, see Knowledge article generation.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to Workspaces > CSM/FSM Configurable Workspace.
    2. Open a case assigned to you.
      The case must be in the resolved or closed state.
    3. Select Create Knowledge from the UI actions on the case record.
      Note:

      The Create Knowledge UI action is only visible when a case doesn't have an existing knowledge article associated with it.

      For an alternative way to trigger the skill, see Request the generative AI capabilities in Customer Service Management by using the ServiceNow Otto panel.

    4. In the Create article modal, select a knowledge base and an article template, if displayed.
      Note:
      If no options are displayed, the default template configured in the AI Admin console is used.
    5. Select Create Article.
    6. In the Use AI to draft this article modal, select Yes, draft with Otto.
    7. Optional: In the modal, search for similar cases to include in the article; otherwise, select Cancel.
      The completed article is displayed in the chosen template with a success message: This article was drafted by ServiceNow Otto. Review it for accuracy before saving.
      Note:
      • If no similar cases exist, this modal doesn't appear and the article is created directly. The generated article is linked to the account case and all selected relevant cases. Similar cases are populated by the AI Search profile titled [KM] Multi-task Article Generation.
      • You can select up to five additional relevant cases in the new modal to generate the article.
      • You can modify the draft before saving. The article appears in a new tab with a unique ID and is attached to the parent record.
      • If the LLM service fails to generate a result, an error message is displayed.
      • After the article generation process is triggered, it can't be stopped. Generation continues even if you close the modal.
    8. Select the Knowledge Base and the Language in the What language should ServiceNow Otto draft this article in dialog.
    9. Select Continue.
      The article is generated in the selected knowledge base and displayed in the selected language.
    10. Select some text in the KB article and then select the ServiceNow Otto icon Sparkle icon.
      The icon generates recommended text based on the selected content. Select Elaborate or Shorten to refine the response.
    11. Select Insert to add the generated response to the article.
    12. Review the generated article and select Save or Publish.
      The ServiceNow Otto success message disappears, indicating the article is no longer AI-generated.
      Note:
      The icon sparkle icon is also available for published KB articles.