Combined Theme Builder release notes for upgrades from Zurich to Australia

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated August 11, 2026
  • 8 minutes to read
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    Summary of Combined Theme Builder Release Notes for Upgrades from Zurich to Australia

    This consolidated documentation provides ServiceNow customers with comprehensive release notes for Theme Builder upgrades from the Zurich release family through to Australia. It covers new features, changes, activation details, accessibility enhancements, and other relevant upgrade information to assist in planning and executing your upgrade smoothly.

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    New Features

    • AI-Powered Theme Creation: Starting in Zurich Patch 7, customers can leverage ServiceNow Otto, a conversational AI platform, to generate brand-aligned themes from brand images or uploaded brand guidelines (PDF). This capability is integrated into an enhanced Create a theme wizard, allowing preview and refinement of multiple AI-generated theme options. This feature requires ServiceNow Otto for Creator and, in Australia, a theme creation workflow enabled in AI Agent Studio.
    • Brand Guidelines Integration: From Theme Builder version 7.1 (Australia), customers can upload brand guidelines PDFs directly within Theme Builder or the ServiceNow Otto panel to automatically generate theme colors that align with documented brand standards.
    • Custom Fonts Management: Customers can upload, preview, edit, and apply up to 10 custom font families with unlimited associated font faces to various components, ensuring consistent typography aligned with organizational branding. This supports improved readability and cognitive accessibility.
    • Expanded Image and Icon Customization: Theme Builder (from version 6.1) allows editing colors and overriding default illustrations for banners, modals, tile icons, and cards with custom images. Additionally, the icon library supports uploading custom icons with size variants and dynamic color adjustments for a fully branded experience.
    • Typography Control: Fine-tune font sizes and assign fonts at the component category level (e.g., headers, buttons, form fields) to achieve visual distinction and consistent styling across Next Experience and embeddable components.
    • Dark Mode Interface: Theme Builder’s interface supports light and dark modes (from version 6.1), improving usability in low-light environments. Note: This setting affects the Theme Builder UI only, not the themes themselves.
    • Guided Tours: Interactive guided tours within Theme Builder help users learn about new features and complete tasks efficiently.

    Changes and Updates

    • ServiceNow Otto Rebranding: The AI conversational platform originally known as Now Assist was renamed to ServiceNow Otto, reflecting its expanded agentic and multimodal capabilities integrated into ServiceNow workflows.
    • Licensing Tiers for AI Platform: ServiceNow AI Platform now offers three tiers—Foundation, Advanced, and Prime—each providing different levels of AI features, productivity enhancements, and autonomous capabilities accessible within Theme Builder and related tools.

    Activation and Requirements

    • Theme Builder is included as a core plugin with the Next Experience application and is available by default in both Zurich and Australia releases.
    • Customers can update to the latest Theme Builder version via the ServiceNow Store.
    • No additional browser or system requirements changes were noted between Zurich and Australia.

    Accessibility Enhancements

    • Uploading custom fonts supports improved accessibility by enhancing readability for users with visual impairments and cognitive differences such as dyslexia or ADHD.
    • Custom fonts tailored for specific languages improve globalization support, ensuring a consistent and accessible experience for diverse users.
    • Dark mode for the Theme Builder interface helps reduce eye strain but does not alter end-user theme appearances.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Automated theme generation aligned with brand assets reduces manual effort and ensures brand consistency across ServiceNow interfaces.
    • Advanced customization options for fonts, icons, and images allow precise control over visual identity and user experience.
    • AI and guided tours accelerate theme creation and adoption, improving productivity and reducing training overhead.
    • Accessibility features promote inclusivity and compliance with diverse user needs.
    • Seamless upgrade path with clear activation instructions supports smooth transitions between release families.

    Consolidated page of all release notes for Theme Builder from Zurich to Australia.

    How to use this page

    To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Theme Builder release notes onto one page. Read this summary of the new features, changes, and updated information for your product from Zurich to Australia.

    Tip:
    If there were no updates for a release notes section in a certain family release, we included a short note for your reference. For example, if a product did not have any updates in Tokyo, the row says "No updates for this release."

    Important information for upgrading Theme Builder to Australia

    Before you upgrade to Australia, review these pre- and post-upgrade tasks and complete the tasks as needed.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    New features

    Between your current release family and Australia, new features were introduced for Theme Builder.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich
    Upload brand guidelines to the theme creation workflow
    Upload your brand guidelines as a PDF to the theme creation workflow within the Now Assist panel to generate themes aligned with your brand.
    Create a theme using ServiceNow Otto
    As of Zurich Patch 7, leverage Now Assist to generate themes based on your brand image. After generating a theme, navigate to Theme Builder to publish and apply additional styling. This feature requires ServiceNow Otto for Creator.
    Create a theme with AI in Theme Builder
    As of Zurich Patch 7, use AI to generate themes from brand images, preview multiple options, and refine results all within the updated Create a theme wizard. If you prefer, you can skip the AI step and continue creating your theme manually using the existing workflow. This feature requires ServiceNow Otto for Creator.
    Publish the new Coral theme
    Publish or unpublish the new Coral theme directly from Theme Builder. This theme provides a fresh look and feel and features brand-neutral illustrations to enhance your user experience. A dark theme variant is available for web and mobile experiences.
    Upload and manage custom fonts in your theme
    Use your organization's fonts to maintain a consistent look and feel for your brand throughout your experience.
    • Upload, preview, and edit at most 10 custom font families from the Global styles or Component styles tabs.
    • Add unlimited associated font faces to each font family and apply them individually to components.
    • Delete your font family or font face from your theme.
    Explore the expanded image categories with color editing and override capability
    As of Theme Builder version 6.1, configure the following new image categories to further enhance your theme:
    • Edit the colors of banners, modals, tile icons, and cards from within Theme Builder.
    • Override each of these default illustrations with your own custom images to uniquely align with your branding style.
    Guided tours in Theme Builder
    As of version 6.1, learn about additional features and complete tasks through interactive steps by taking guided tours within Theme Builder.
    Create a theme using ServiceNow Otto
    As of Zurich Patch 7, leverage Now Assist to generate themes based on your brand image. After generating a theme, navigate to Theme Builder to publish and apply additional styling. This feature requires ServiceNow Otto for Creator.
    Create a theme with AI in Theme Builder
    As of Zurich Patch 7, use AI to generate themes from brand images, preview multiple options, and refine results all within the updated Create a theme wizard. If you prefer, you can skip the AI step and continue creating your theme manually using the existing workflow. This feature requires ServiceNow Otto for Creator.

    Australia
    Upload brand guidelines to generate theme colors in Theme Builder
    As of Theme Builder, version 7.1, upload brand guidelines as a PDF in the Theme Builder wizard to generate theme colors from your documented brand standards.
    Australia Patch 2
    Upload brand guidelines to generate theme colors in the ServiceNow Otto panel
    Upload brand guidelines as a PDF to the Theme Builder theme creation workflow in the ServiceNow Otto panel to generate themes aligned with your brand.
    Australia Patch 1
    AI-powered color palette theme creation
    Use AI to generate themes from brand images, preview multiple options, and refine results all within the updated Create a theme wizard. If you prefer, you can skip the AI step and continue creating your theme manually using the existing workflow. This feature requires ServiceNow Otto for Creator.
    Generate themes using ServiceNow Otto
    Use ServiceNow Otto to generate themes based on your brand image. After generating a theme, navigate to Theme Builder to publish and apply additional styling. This feature requires ServiceNow Otto for Creator and a theme creation workflow enabled in AI Agent Studio.
    ServiceNow product tiers
    The ServiceNow AI Platform now brings you a new AI experience with three licensing tiers available:
    • Foundation: AI basics to deliver insights
    • Advanced: AI to boost productivity across relevant use cases
    • Prime: Act autonomously with all AI assets, and create your own

    Depending on your license, you will have access to certain application features, generative AI skills, agentic workflows, and AI agents.

    Override default icons for a fully branded experience
    View and manage your theme’s icon library in Theme Builder, including uploading custom assets to replace default icons. Icons support size variants, outline and fill styles, and dynamic color adjustments and integrate with embeddable components.
    Control typography at the component category level
    Assign fonts to individual component categories to create clearer visual distinction across your interface.
    Flexible Font size control
    Fine-tune font sizes across component categories for a polished, consistent look. Use font‑size controls to tailor default or custom fonts to your brand needs. Applies across Next Experience and embeddable components, ensuring a consistent brand look even on external sites.

    Changes

    Between your current release family and Australia, some changes were made to existing Theme Builder features.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 12
    Now Assist > ServiceNow Otto® announcement
    Now Assist introduced AI on the platform. As that experience has evolved, there's a new name for the experience. ServiceNow Otto® is the conversational AI platform integrated into ServiceNow workflows. It provides agentic capabilities, supports multimodal interactions across web, mobile, and messaging channels, and enables autonomous orchestration for cross-system workflows.

    Australia
    Australia Patch 5
    Now Assist > ServiceNow Otto® announcement

    Removed

    Between your current release family and Australia, some Theme Builder features or functionality were removed.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Deprecations

    Between your current release family and Australia, some Theme Builder features or functionality were deprecated.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Activation information

    Review information on how to activate Theme Builder.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    Theme Builder is included as a core plugin with the Next Experience application and is available by default. You can update to the latest version of Theme Builder from the ServiceNow Store.

    Australia

    Theme Builder is included as a core plugin with the Next Experience application and is available by default. You can update to the latest version of Theme Builder from the ServiceNow Store.

    Additional requirements

    If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Theme Builder we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Browser requirements

    If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Theme Builder we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Accessibility information

    Review details on accessibility information for Theme Builder, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich
    Upload custom font
    The ability to upload custom fonts to your theme can help users with disabilities in several ways, including:
    • Improved readability: Custom fonts can be selected to enhance readability, making text easier to see, understand, and retain. This is beneficial for users with visual impairments, as clear letter forms reduce eye strain.
    • Support for cognitive differences: Custom fonts can address cognitive accessibility needs. For instance, users with dyslexia or Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may benefit from fonts that reduce reading strain and improve information processing.
    • Improved globalization support: Custom fonts tailored to specific languages improve the readability for non-Latin alphabets and ensure consistent, accessible user experiences across global audiences.
    Dark mode in Theme Builder
    As of version 6.1, Theme Builder is now available in light and dark mode. This option is commonly used to alleviate eye strain and improve readability. Dark mode applies to the Theme Builder interface only and does not affect the appearance of individual themes.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Localization information

    If there are specific localization considerations for Theme Builder we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Australia

    		 No updates for this release.

    Highlight information

    If there are specific highlight considerations for Theme Builder we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 9
    • Beginning with Zurich Patch 9, upload brand guidelines as a PDF to the theme creation workflow in the Now Assist panel to generate themes that align with your brand.
    Zurich Patch 7
    • As of Zurich Patch 7, use Now Assist to automatically create brand‑aligned themes, then refine and publish them in Theme Builder.
    • Publish the new Next Experience Coral theme from Theme Builder.
    • Add custom fonts to your theme for enhanced branding.
    • As of Theme Builder version 6.1, configure modal, tile icon, banner, and card colors, and override these default illustrations with your own custom imagery.
    • As of Theme Builder version 6.1, enable dark mode to improve usability of Theme Builder in low-light conditions.

    See Working with themes for more information.

    Australia
    • Generate color palettes instantly by uploading a brand image or brand guidelines and let the AI theme generator automatically detect your brand colors.
    • Customize fonts by category and adjust font sizes to scale typography across specific component categories like headers, buttons, and form fields, or by size groups for consistent styling.
    • Access the new icon library to configure and override default icons using custom assets.

    See Working with themes for more information.