Combined Agentic Desktop release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated August 11, 2026
  • 5 minutes to read
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    Summary of Combined Agentic Desktop Release Notes for Upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

    This consolidated release note summary guides ServiceNow customers upgrading Agentic Desktop from the Yokohama to the Zurich release family. It highlights key new features, changes, activation requirements, and important considerations to ensure a smooth upgrade and optimal use of Agentic Desktop capabilities integrated with Now Assist AI agents.

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    Key Features

    • Improved Now Assist Usage Measurement: Starting with Zurich Patch 5, usage tracking for Now Assist has shifted to a 365-day burn-down model resetting at the contract anniversary, enhancing accuracy in usage reporting.
    • Enhanced Screen Resolution Support: Desktop actions now reliably execute across machines with varying screen resolutions and scaling, ensuring consistent automation performance throughout desktop workflows.
    • Design Workspace for UI Block Desktop Actions: Zurich Patch 4 introduces a Design workspace enabling users to create and manage UI block desktop actions by auto-recording or manually capturing UI interactions, adding metadata, testing, and publishing them as tools for AI agents.
    • Non-UI Block Desktop Actions with Pre-Built Connectors: AI agents can now use default non-UI block desktop actions featuring pre-built connectors for applications like Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Word, PDF, PowerShell, SQL, SSH, and system operations, reducing the need for complex scripting.
    • Seamless Integration with AI Agent Studio: Desktop actions can be configured as tools for AI agents, enabling autonomous and semi-autonomous execution of repetitive tasks on legacy and desktop applications without APIs.
    • Execution Workspace Monitoring: Users can trigger and monitor desktop actions executed by AI agents via the Now Assist panel, interact when human input is required, and continue working in other applications concurrently.
    • Core Desktop Automation Capabilities: Automate tasks such as form filling, application clicks, and Windows file handling to streamline workflows across business and legacy applications on Windows OS.

    Activation and Requirements

    • Agentic Desktop activation requires enabling any Now Assist plugin from the ServiceNow Store.
    • Supported operating system: Microsoft Windows 11.
    • Required runtimes: .NET 9.0 runtime v9.0.10 or .NET 9 Desktop Runtime v9.0.10.
    • No extended monitors should be connected during use.
    • Installation of the supported Now Assist ServiceNow version and enabling the Next Experience UI Framework is mandatory to utilize the Now Assist panel and AI agents.
    • Supported browsers for Now Assist AI agents include Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge; Internet Explorer is not supported.

    Changes, Removals, and Deprecations

    There were no updates, removals, or deprecations to Agentic Desktop features between Yokohama and Zurich releases.

    Practical Benefits

    • Improved automation reliability across diverse desktop environments enhances operational consistency.
    • Design workspace and pre-built connectors accelerate creation and deployment of desktop automation tools without extensive scripting.
    • Integration with AI Agent Studio empowers AI agents to handle complex workflows across legacy and modern applications, increasing productivity.
    • Execution workspace allows real-time monitoring and interaction with automations, supporting human-in-the-loop scenarios.

    Consolidated page of all release notes for Agentic Desktop from Yokohama to Zurich.

    How to use this page

    To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Agentic Desktop 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 Agentic Desktop 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 Agentic Desktop.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    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.
    Support for different screen resolutions and scaling
    Desktop actions now run reliably on machines with different screen resolutions and scaling. Screen resolution and scaling are consistent across all screens of a desktop actions during creation, saving, and publishing.
    Zurich Patch 4
    Design UI block desktop actions in Design workspace
    Design, configure, and manage desktop actions in the Design workspace that enables:
    • Auto-recording or manually capturing screens and defining UI interactions, such as clicking buttons, typing into text boxes, and selecting from drop-down menus.
    • Adding details such as name, description, input and output parameters.
    • Testing desktop actions before activating them.
    • Publishing desktop actions to AI Agent Studio as tools for AI agents to execute.

    Example: Filling out fields and submitting a form.

    Use non-UI block desktop actions
    Add default desktop actions of the type non-UI block as tools to AI agents in AI Agent Studio. The non-UI block actions include pre-built connectors that enable your agentic workflows to interact with various applications and system components. These connectors streamline automation by offering pre-built actions for common tasks, reducing the need for complex scripting.

    Each connector focuses on a specific application or system area, providing a collection of related actions. For example, the Microsoft Outlook connector offers actions for email management, while the File and Directory connector provides actions for file system operations.

    The following connectors are supported:
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Microsoft Outlook
    • Microsoft Word
    • PDF
    • PowerShell
    • SQL
    • SSH
    • SystemAction

    Example: Reading data from Microsoft Excel or emails from Microsoft Outlook.

    Adding desktop actions to AI agents in AI Agent Studio
    Seamless integration with AI Agent Studio has enabled effortless configuration of desktop actions to automate repetitive tasks on applications without APIs. AI agents can reason, plan, and execute desktop actions autonomously and semi-autonomously across legacy systems and desktop applications without complex setups.
    Monitor desktop actions in Execution workspace
    Trigger desktop actions from the Now Assist panel that are executed by AI agents in the Execution workspace. Interact with the automation when human input is required. These automations run in the background and listen for instructions dispatched from the ServiceNow instance. You can continue working on other desktop applications outside Execution workspace.
    Leverage core desktop capabilities
    Automate form filling, application clicks, and Windows OS file handling. Create workflows across legacy systems, thick client applications, and business applications on Windows operating system to perform repetitive tasks.

    Changes

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some changes were made to existing Agentic Desktop features.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Removed

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some Agentic Desktop 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 Agentic Desktop 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 Agentic Desktop.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    Agentic Desktop is available with activation of any Now Assist plugin from the ServiceNow Store. For more information about the prerequisites for using Agentic Desktop, see Configure.

    Additional requirements

    If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Agentic Desktop we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich
    To use the Agentic Desktop application, the software requirements are:
    • Operating system: Microsoft Windows 11.
    • .NET 9.0 runtime v9.0.10 or .NET 9 Desktop Runtime v9.0.10.
    • No extended monitors are connected.

    You must first install the supported Now Assist version of ServiceNow to be able to use the Now Assist AI agents. For more information, see Install Now Assist AI agents.

    Enable the Next Experience UI Framework before you can use the Now Assist panel.

    Browser requirements

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

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

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

    Accessibility information

    Review details on accessibility information for Agentic Desktop, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Localization information

    If there are specific localization considerations for Agentic Desktop we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Highlight information

    If there are specific highlight considerations for Agentic Desktop we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 4
    • Desktop actions now run reliably on machines with different screen resolutions.
    • Design desktop actions of type UI block (UI actions) by capturing user interactions, adding details, and activating them in Design workspace.
    • Use default desktop actions of type non-UI block (non-UI actions) that include pre-built connectors to interact with various applications and system components.
    • Add desktop actions as tools to AI agents in AI Agent Studio.
    • Enable AI agents to interact with legacy systems, thick client applications, and business applications on Windows operating system to perform repetitive tasks.
    • Monitor desktop actions being executed by AI agents in Execution workspace in the Desktop-in-Desktop session.

    See Agentic Desktop for more information.