Combined Now Assist Skill Kit release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated August 11, 2026
  • 8 minutes to read
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    Summary of Combined Now Assist Skill Kit release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

    This consolidated release notes document guides ServiceNow customers through the upgrade process of the Now Assist Skill Kit from the Yokohama release family to Zurich. It highlights new features, changes, activation requirements, and best practices to ensure a smooth transition and optimal use of the product enhancements.

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    Important Upgrade Considerations

    • Customers with customized UI actions related to Now Assist skills must update their custom code to align with new skill releases to avoid functional issues.
    • For upgrade-related issues, refer to the knowledge base article KB1637452 on Now Assist (Generative AI) Applications and Plugin updates.
    • Pre- and post-upgrade tasks should be reviewed and completed as outlined to maintain operational integrity.

    New Features

    • Skill Deployment via UI Builder: Deploy custom or modified skills using UI Builder for streamlined implementation.
    • Language Selection for Synthetic Data: Choose the language of generated synthetic data when creating datasets.
    • AI-assisted Ground Truth Creation: Leverage AI to assist in generating accurate ground truth data for training and validation.
    • CSV Data Import: Import datasets using CSV files to facilitate data onboarding.
    • Custom Data Generators: Create and utilize custom synthetic data generators to tailor data creation to specific needs.
    • Skill Customization: Clone eligible ServiceNow Now Assist skills to edit prompts and change AI service providers, enabling tailored AI responses.
    • Tools Editor with Decision Branching: Visually add and manage tools within skills, including conditional branching to control tool execution based on defined criteria.
    • Labeling Workflows and UI Template Annotation (Zurich Patch 7): Create, manage, and assign labeling projects using UI templates to support ground truth data annotation.
    • Structured Output Support: Enables consistent parsing of AI responses for improved automation and reduced ambiguity.
    • Multi-Table Synthetic Data Generation: Generate related records across multiple tables in one operation, maintaining referential integrity automatically.
    • Model AI Control Tower Integration: Enhance oversight and compliance with formal approval workflows for custom AI models.
    • Expanded Third-Party AI Model Provider Options: Now supports Google Gemini and AWS Claude alongside Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI.
    • Refined Role Management: The admin role (snskillbuilder.admin) is now split into specialized roles, including a custom LLM-specific admin role.
    • Security Enhancements: Setup of security access control lists to verify user authentication for Now Assist Skill Kit.
    • Document Intelligence Integration: Use Document Intelligence as a tool within skill creation workflows.

    Changes

    • Usage Measurement Model Update: Transition from a 365-day look-back usage measurement to a 365-day burn-down model resetting at the contract anniversary date, starting from Yokohama Patch 5 and continued in Zurich Patch 5. This affects how usage is tracked and reported.
    • Default Skill Activation: Some Now Assist skills are automatically enabled for new customers and previously unconfigured skills during upgrades, reducing manual setup effort.

    Removed and Deprecated Features

    No features or functionality were removed or deprecated between Yokohama and Zurich releases.

    Activation and Plugin Information

    • Activation of Now Assist Skill Kit features requires enabling any Now Assist plugin available via the ServiceNow Store.
    • Various specialized Now Assist plugins are available for different ServiceNow domains, including App Engine, CMDB, CSM, FSM, HRSD, ITSM, Security Incident Response, Software Asset Management, and more, enabling tailored AI assistance across your ServiceNow environment.

    Additional Requirements and Compatibility

    • The Next Experience UI Framework must be enabled to utilize the Now Assist panel.
    • Supported browsers include Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge; Microsoft Internet Explorer is not supported.
    • Accessibility features include an optional Voice Input setting allowing voice interaction with the Now Assist panel.
    • Dynamic Translation support is provided for localization in both Yokohama and Zurich releases.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Improved customization and deployment flexibility for AI-powered skills allow organizations to tailor assistance to their specific business processes.
    • Enhanced data generation and labeling workflows simplify training and maintaining AI models with high-quality datasets.
    • Expanded AI model provider options and fine-tuning capabilities support greater control over AI behavior and data governance.
    • Structured outputs and multi-table synthetic data generation improve integration with complex workflows and data models.
    • Refined role management and security controls increase operational governance and compliance.
    • Upgraded usage measurement models provide clearer accountability and contract alignment.

    Consolidated page of all release notes for Now Assist Skill Kit from Yokohama to Zurich.

    How to use this page

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

    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 Now Assist Skill Kit to Zurich

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

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    If you customized UI actions or other items that are associated with Now Assist skills, ensure that your customized code is updated with the new skill releases. Otherwise, certain functions may not work as expected.

    If you run into issues when you're upgrading a Now Assist product, see KB1637452: Issues and mitigation for Now Assist (Generative AI) Applications and Plugin updates. You may need to log in to view the article.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    New features

    Between your current release family and Zurich, new features were introduced for Now Assist Skill Kit.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama
    Yokohama Patch 6
    New skill deployment option
    Deploy skills using UI Builder.
    Choose a language for data generation
    When you create synthetic data, you can select what language you want to receive the data in.
    AI-assisted ground truth
    Use AI to assist creating ground truth for your data.
    Import data with a CSV file
    Import data from a CSV file to create a dataset.
    Create a custom data generator
    Create and use a custom data generator to create synthetic data.
    Customize ServiceNow skills in Now Assist Skill Kit to tailor skills to meet your specific business requirements.
    Eligible skills provided in ServiceNow Now Assist applications can be cloned in Now Assist Skill Kit so that you can edit the prompt or change the AI service provider. Editing the prompt enables you to arrange the formatting and content of the large language model (LLM) response. After the skill is edited, activate the edited skill in the Now Assist Admin console to enable it.
    Add and manage tools visually in the new Tools editor, including decision branching, to execute different tools for your skill.
    Adding decision branches between tools enables you to define the conditions that must be met for a tool to run. If no conditions are met, the default branch's step is executed.

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 7
    LabellingUse labeling workflows to annotate UI templates
    Use the labeling framework to create and manage ground truth data. Published data collections can now be turned into labeling projects. Each record becomes a task assigned to labelers who annotate using pre-configured UI templates
    sStructured output support for AI responses
    Enables consistent parsing in agentic workflows and reduces ambiguity in downstream automation.
    Use multi-table data generatorNew multi-table synthetic data generation option
    You can generate related records across multiple tables in a single operation. You no longer need to generate each table separately and manually link records. Define your table relationships, set the cardinality and Now Assist Data Kit generates coherent, referentially linked records across all tables in one pass, with foreign key integrity maintained automatically. 
    Create a modelAI Control Tower integration with custom LLMs.
    Improve oversight and compliance for AI deployments with formal approval flows for custom models.
    Now Assist SDK rolesUpdate to the abilities of the admin role
    The sn_skill_builder.admin role is now broken into smaller, task-specific roles, including a custom LLM-specific admin role.
    Zurich Patch 4
    Create a model
    When you bring your own model you can keep data in your own environment and fine-tune it to meet your specific needs.
    New third-party AI model provider options available for all Now Assist applications
    Google Gemini and AWS Claude are available for Now Assist skills and AI agents in addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI.
    New skill deployment option
    Deploy skills using UI Builder.
    Choose a language for data generation
    When you create synthetic data, you can select what language you want to receive the data in.
    AI-assisted ground truth
    Use AI to assist creating ground truth for your data.
    Import data with a CSV file
    Import data from a CSV file to create a dataset.
    Create a custom data generator
    Create and use a custom data generator to create synthetic data.

    Changes

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some changes were made to existing Now Assist Skill Kit features.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama
    Yokohama Patch 11
    Changes to Now Assist usage measurement
    Starting with Yokohama Patch 5, Now Assist usage measurement is transitioning from a 365-day look-back model to a 365-day burn-down model, with usage resetting at the contract anniversary date. For more information, refer to KB KB2704710: Now Assist Usage - Overview & New Measurement Logic.
    Some Now Assist skills are turned on by default
    The new default behavior works as follows:
    • New customers: When you install a Now Assist product, designated skills are turned on automatically.
    • Existing customers who are upgrading (starting with Yokohama Patch 11): Any previously unconfigured skill is turned on automatically (the skill was never configured and turned on, then turned off again). Previously configured skills that were turned on, then off, remain inactive.

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 5
    Changes to Now Assist usage measurement
    Starting with Zurich Patch 5, Now Assist usage measurement is transitioning from a 365-day look-back model to a 365-day burn-down model, with usage resetting at the contract anniversary date. For more information, refer to KB KB2704710: Now Assist Usage - Overview & New Measurement Logic.

    Removed

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some Now Assist Skill Kit features or functionality were removed.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Deprecations

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some Now Assist Skill Kit features or functionality were deprecated.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Activation information

    Review information on how to activate Now Assist Skill Kit.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama
    Now Assist features are available with activation of any Now Assist plugin from the ServiceNow Store. The following plugins are available:

    Zurich
    Now Assist features are available with activation of any Now Assist plugins from ServiceNow Store. The following plugins are available:

    Additional requirements

    If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Now Assist Skill Kit we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    The Next Experience UI Framework must be enabled to use the Now Assist panel.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Browser requirements

    If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Now Assist Skill Kit we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    Now Assist supports various browsers, including Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Now Assist isn’t supported in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

    Zurich

    Now Assist supports various browsers, including Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Now Assist isn’t supported in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

    Accessibility information

    Review details on accessibility information for Now Assist Skill Kit, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    Admins can enable an optional Voice Input setting for the Now Assist panel that enables users to interact with the panel using their voice or in voice assist mode.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Localization information

    If there are specific localization considerations for Now Assist Skill Kit we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    Now Assist supports Dynamic Translation for Yokohama.

    Zurich

    Now Assist supports Dynamic Translation for Zurich.

    Highlight information

    If there are specific highlight considerations for Now Assist Skill Kit we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama
    Yokohama Patch 11
    • Review changes to Now Assist usage measurement.
    • Some Now Assist skills, agents, and agentic workflows are on by default.
    • Additional role configuration is required for agentic workflows and AI agents included with Now Assist applications.
    Yokohama Patch 6
    • Use UI Builder to deploy custom skills.
    • Import data into Now Assist Skill Kit with a CSV file.
    • Use AI to create ground truth for your data.
    • Use a custom data generator to create synthetic datasets.
    • Users can create synthetic data in Now Assist Data Kit.
    • Generated synthetic data can be saved as a dataset.
    • Add and manage tools of a custom skill, visually in the new Tools editor, including conditional execution of tools.
    • Customize ServiceNow skills with new prompts or providers in Now Assist Skill Kit to suit your specific business needs.

    See Now Assist SDK for more information.

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 5
    • Review changes to Now Assist usage measurement.
    Zurich Patch 4
    • Create a custom model to meet your specific needs and control behavior.
    • Customize ServiceNow skills by modifying the prompt, inputs, and providers.
    Zurich Patch 1
    • Set up a security access control list to verify user authentication for Now Assist Skill Kit.
    • Use Document Intelligence as a tool when you create a skill.
    • Use UI Builder to deploy custom skills.
    • Use a custom data generator to create synthetic datasets.

    See Now Assist SDK for more information.