Combined Now Assist in AI Search release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated August 11, 2026
  • 10 minutes to read
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    Summary of Combined Now Assist in AI Search Release Notes for Upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

    This consolidated guide assists ServiceNow customers in preparing for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich release versions of Now Assist in AI Search. It summarizes new features, changes, and important upgrade information, including activation and configuration details, to ensure a smooth transition and optimal use of Now Assist capabilities.

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    New Features

    • Automatic Activation of Multi-Content Response Genius Results: Guided Setup now automatically activates Multi-Content Response Genius Results for relevant search profiles, streamlining setup and enhancing search response quality.
    • Hybrid Search: Combines keyword and semantic vector search to improve search recall and contextual relevance for knowledge articles, catalog items, external content, and topic retrieval.
    • AI Search as Source for Ask Now Assist Suggestions: Administrators can configure AI Search to provide suggestions in enhanced chat, enabling suggestion term highlighting and flexible search operators.
    • Additional AI Model Providers: Google Gemini and AWS Anthropic Claude are now supported for Now Assist skills and AI agents, alongside Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI.
    • AI Search Genius Results Widget for Record Producers: Enhances incident creation by providing actionable Genius Result suggestions related to the incident description, helping users resolve issues before submission.
    • Semantic Vector Search Indexing: Now includes Catalog Item short descriptions, improving search recall and consistency between keyword and semantic indexing.
    • Microsoft SharePoint Online Integration: Users prompted to log in to view shared files when accessing Knowledge Graph user citations within Genius Results, enhancing data access and collaboration.

    Changes

    • Usage Measurement Update: Transitioned from a 365-day look-back model to a 365-day burn-down model with usage resetting at contract anniversary, improving usage tracking accuracy.
    • Virtual Agent Auto-Complete Suggestions: Suggestions are now limited to the search user's domain and exclude entries from the Search Suggestion Exclusion List, with scoring based on user interaction to prioritize relevant suggestions.
    • Default Skill Activation: For new installations, certain Now Assist skills are enabled by default. Upgrading customers have unconfigured skills automatically turned on, while previously configured skills turned off remain inactive.
    • Maintenance Mode for Some Features: Now Assist Q&A and Actions Genius Results are maintained without new enhancements; similar and improved functionality is offered by Multi-Content Response Genius Results.

    Activation and Requirements

    Now Assist in AI Search installs automatically when any licensed Now Assist application is installed from the ServiceNow Store. No additional browser or accessibility requirement changes were introduced between Yokohama and Zurich releases.

    Localization and Accessibility

    Dynamic Translation support continues for Now Assist Genius Results, ensuring localized content delivery. There are no new accessibility updates between these releases.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Streamlined setup with automatic activation of key features reduces administrative overhead.
    • Enhanced search accuracy and recall via hybrid search and semantic indexing improve user experience and information discovery.
    • Expanded AI model provider options offer greater flexibility and potentially improved AI performance.
    • Improved Virtual Agent suggestions and incident deflection capabilities help reduce support workload.
    • Integration with Microsoft SharePoint Online enhances knowledge access and collaboration within search results.

    Consolidated page of all release notes for Now Assist in AI Search from Yokohama to Zurich.

    How to use this page

    To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Now Assist in AI Search 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 in AI Search to Zurich

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

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    New features

    Between your current release family and Zurich, new features were introduced for Now Assist in AI Search.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama
    Yokohama Patch 11
    Automatic activation for Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results
    When you use Guided Setup to activate the Now Assist panel, Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results are automatically activated for relevant search profiles.
    Hybrid search
    Hybrid search blends keyword search and semantic vector search to offer a blend of superior search recall and contextual relevance for knowledge article, Catalog Item, external content, and topic retrieval searches.
    Configure AI Search as the source for Ask Now Assist suggestions
    Admins can configure the system to use AI Search as the source for Ask Now Assist suggestions, enabling suggestion term highlighting and more flexible search operators in enhanced chat.
    Yokohama Patch 6
    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.
    Yokohama Early Availability
    AI Search Genius Results widget for record producers
    Administrators can configure the AI Search Genius Results widget on record producers to enhance the user experience when creating an incident. The widget displays actionable Genius Result suggestions relevant to the user's incident description. Users can select from these Genius Result suggestions to address their own issues, or can continue with their incident submission if none of the suggestions resolve their problem.

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 4
    Automatic activation for Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results
    When you use Guided Setup to activate the Now Assist panel, Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results are automatically activated for relevant search profiles.
    Hybrid search
    Hybrid search blends keyword search and semantic vector search to offer a blend of superior search recall and contextual relevance for knowledge article, Catalog Item, external content, and topic retrieval searches.
    Configure AI Search as the source for Ask Now Assist suggestions
    Admins can configure the system to use AI Search as the source for Ask Now Assist suggestions, enabling suggestion term highlighting and more flexible search operators in enhanced chat.
    Zurich Patch 1
    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.

    Changes

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some changes were made to existing Now Assist in AI Search features.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama
    Yokohama Patch 11
    Now Assist in Virtual Agent conversational prompt auto-complete suggestions
    Auto-complete suggestions for Now Assist in Virtual Agent conversational prompts are only returned from the search user's domain. Suggestions are disabled if they match any exclusion rule entry from the Search Suggestion Exclusion List [sys_search_suggestion_blacklist] table. The system scores suggestions based on how search users interact with and rate their Genius Result responses, and preferentially displays higher-scored suggestions.
    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.
    Yokohama Patch 6
    Semantic vector search indexing includes Catalog Item short descriptions
    Semantic indexing now indexes short descriptions from Catalog Item source records to improve search recall and make field indexing more consistent between legacy (keyword) and semantic indexing.
    Yokohama Patch 3
    Microsoft SharePoint Online login prompts in Knowledge Graph user citations
    If you're not logged in to Microsoft SharePoint Online, Knowledge Graph user citations in Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Result answers now prompt you to log in. When logged in, you can check any user citation in a Genius Result answer to see the list of files the cited user has shared with you in Microsoft SharePoint Online.
    Now Assist Q&A Genius Results
    The Now Assist Q&A Genius Results feature is in maintenance mode. This feature will have no new enhancements but will have continued support. Similar and improved functionality is available in the newer Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results feature. For more details on this feature, see Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results.
    Now Assist Actions Genius Results
    The Now Assist Actions Genius Results feature is in maintenance mode. This feature will have no new enhancements but will have continued support. Similar and improved functionality is available in the newer Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results feature. For more details on this feature, see Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results.

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 5
    Changes to Now Assist usage measurement
    Zurich Patch 4
    Now Assist in Virtual Agent conversational prompt auto-complete suggestions
    Auto-complete suggestions for Now Assist in Virtual Agent conversational prompts are only returned from the search user's domain. Suggestions are disabled if they match any exclusion rule entry from the Search Suggestion Exclusion List [sys_search_suggestion_blacklist] table. The system scores suggestions based on how search users interact with and rate their Genius Result responses, and preferentially displays higher-scored suggestions.
    Zurich Patch 1
    Semantic vector search indexing includes Catalog Item short descriptions
    Semantic indexing now indexes short descriptions from Catalog Item source records to improve search recall and make field indexing more consistent between legacy (keyword) and semantic indexing.
    Now Assist Q&A Genius Results
    The Now Assist Q&A Genius Results feature is in maintenance mode. This feature will have no new enhancements but will have continued support. Similar and improved functionality is available in the newer Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results feature. For more details on this feature, see Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results.
    Now Assist Actions Genius Results
    The Now Assist Actions Genius Results feature is in maintenance mode. This feature will have no new enhancements but will have continued support. Similar and improved functionality is available in the newer Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results feature. For more details on this feature, see Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results.
    Microsoft SharePoint Online login prompts in Knowledge Graph user citations
    If you're not logged in to Microsoft SharePoint Online, Knowledge Graph user citations in Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Result answers now prompt you to log in. When logged in, you can check any user citation in a Genius Result answer to see the list of files the cited user has shared with you in Microsoft SharePoint Online.

    Removed

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some Now Assist in AI Search 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 in AI Search 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 in AI Search.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama
    Now Assist in AI Search is installed when you install any of the following licensed applications from the ServiceNow Store.

    Zurich
    Now Assist in AI Search is installed when you install any of the following licensed applications from the ServiceNow Store.

    Additional requirements

    If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Now Assist in AI Search we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Browser requirements

    If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Now Assist in AI Search we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Accessibility information

    Review details on accessibility information for Now Assist in AI Search, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    Localization information

    If there are specific localization considerations for Now Assist in AI Search we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    Now Assist in AI Search supports Dynamic Translation in Now Assist Genius Results. For details, see Dynamic Translation for Now Assist Q&A Genius Results and Dynamic Translation for Now Assist Actions Genius Results.

    Zurich

    Now Assist in AI Search supports Dynamic Translation in Now Assist Genius Results. For details, see Dynamic Translation for Now Assist Q&A Genius Results and Dynamic Translation for Now Assist Actions Genius Results.

    Highlight information

    If there are specific highlight considerations for Now Assist in AI Search 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.
    • Simplify setup with automatic activation of Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results for search profiles when you use Guided Setup to activate the Now Assist panel.
    • Increase search precision and contextual relevance for knowledge article, Catalog Item, external content, and topic retrieval searches with hybrid search.
    • Improve the enhanced chat experience by configuring the system to use AI Search as the source for Ask Now Assist suggestions.
    • Provide more focused auto-complete suggestions for enhanced chat that honor the search user's domain restriction and the exclusion list for unwanted suggestions.
    Yokohama Patch 6
    • Use Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude on AWS as AI model providers for Now Assist skills and AI agents in addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI.
    • Increase search recall with semantic indexing of Catalog Item short descriptions.
    Yokohama Patch 3
    • Prompt users to log in to Microsoft SharePoint Online as needed to see files shared with them when viewing Knowledge Graph user citations in Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Result answers.
    Yokohama Early Availability
    • Improve incident deflection for portal users by configuring record producers to display actionable and relevant Genius Results suggestions during submission of cases, incidents, problems, and similar tasks.

    See Now Assist in AI Search for more information.

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 5
    • Review changes to Now Assist usage measurement.
    Zurich Patch 4
    • Simplify setup with automatic activation of Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Results for search profiles when you use Guided Setup to activate the Now Assist panel.
    • Increase search precision and contextual relevance for knowledge article, Catalog Item, external content, and topic retrieval searches with hybrid search.
    • Improve the enhanced chat experience by configuring the system to use AI Search as the source for Ask Now Assist suggestions.
    • Provide more focused auto-complete suggestions for enhanced chat that honor the search user's domain restriction and the exclusion list for unwanted suggestions.
    Zurich Patch 1
    • Use Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude on AWS as AI model providers for Now Assist skills and AI agents in addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI.
    • Improve search recall and accuracy with semantic vector indexing of Catalog Item short descriptions.
    • Prompt users to log in to Microsoft SharePoint Online as needed to see files shared with them when viewing Knowledge Graph user citations in Now Assist Multi-Content Response Genius Result answers

    See Now Assist in AI Search for more information.