Activate the Now Assist CMDB MCP Server for Service Mapping tools

Activate the Now Assist CMDB MCP Server and configure the OAuth inbound integration so that external AI clients can connect to your ServiceNow® instance and query application service data.

Before you begin

Before activating the Now Assist CMDB MCP Server, confirm the following requirements are met.

• Verify that Zurich Patch 10 is installed.
• You have the MCP Platform Manager version 1.4.0 (or later) plugin activated.
• You have the Now Assist CMDB MCP Server (sn_cmdb_gen_ai.now_assist_cmdb_mcp_server) application installed.
• You have the roles required as described in Configure roles for the Service Mapping MCP tools.

Role required: admin assigned with the sn_mcp_server.admin role, and the oauth_admin (or mi_admin) role

Figure 1. The role containment chain

About this task

The Service Mapping MCP tools are delivered as part of the Now Assist CMDB MCP Server (sn_cmdb_gen_ai.now_assist_cmdb_mcp_server). Activating it exposes five read-only tools that AI clients can use to query live application service data. The OAuth inbound integration for this server is auto-generated when the server is installed. You must locate this integration, verify its configuration, and add the redirect URL for the AI client before users can authenticate.

For detailed information, see Service Mapping MCP tools

Procedure

1. On your ServiceNow instance, navigate to All > MCP Server Console.
2. From the Configuration tab, select Servers.
3. Select the Now Assist CMDB MCP Server tile.
   Note:

   If the server does not appear, change the application scope to ITOM AI Agents for Service Mapping. The MCP Server Console screen opens with all fields populated, including the server URL and short description.
4. From the Deactivate menu, select Activate.
   The server status is set to Active. The individual tools are active by default.
5. Configure the OAuth inbound integration so that AI clients can authenticate with your instance.
   Important:

   Do not create a new OAuth client for this integration. The integration named sn_cmdb_gen_ai.now_assist_cmdb_mcp_server is auto-generated when the server is installed. Creating a custom client requires manual auth scope configuration, and misconfiguration is silent — the connection succeeds but no tools appear in the AI client.
   1. Set the scope to Global.
   2. Navigate to All > Machine Identity Console and select the Inbound integrations tab.
   3. Locate and open the integration named sn_cmdb_gen_ai.now_assist_cmdb_mcp_server.
      Note:

      The inbound integrations list may also contain integrations whose names match other server names, including underscores. These are monitoring integrations created by AI Control Tower and should not be used for client connections.
   4. Verify that the Auth scope field is set to service_mapping_mcp_auth_scope, limited to MCP Tools API and CMDB Mcp Api.
      Important:

      The auth scope must be service_mapping_mcp_auth_scope. Using a different scope, such as useraccount, results in a successful OAuth connection but no tools appear in the AI client.
   5. In the Redirect URLs field, add the redirect URL for the AI client.
      For Claude Desktop, use: https://claude.ai/api/mcp/auth_callback.
   6. Select Save.
6. Note the Client ID and Client Secret displayed on the integration record, and provide them to users along with the server URL so they can configure their AI client connections.
   The server URL follows this format: https://<instance>.service-now.com/sncapps/mcp-server/mcp/sn_cmdb_gen_ai_now_assist_cmdb_mcp_server

Result

The Now Assist CMDB MCP Server is active and the OAuth inbound integration is configured. Users can connect an AI client and authenticate using the Client ID, Client Secret, and server URL.

What to do next

Share the following details with users so they can connect their AI clients: the server URL, the OAuth Client ID, and the OAuth Client Secret. For instructions on connecting Claude Desktop, see Connect Claude Desktop to the Service Mapping MCP Server.