Combined Next Experience release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

zurich Combined Product Files

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zurich Combined Product Files

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Combined Next Experience release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

Release version: Zurich

Updated August 11, 2026

6 minutes to read

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Summary of Combined Next Experience Release Notes for Upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

This consolidated guide provides a comprehensive overview of Next Experience enhancements, changes, and important upgrade information for ServiceNow customers moving from the Yokohama release to the Zurich release. It includes new features, changes, activation details, accessibility improvements, and browser requirements to help you prepare and optimize your upgrade process.

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New Features

Yokohama Enhancements:
- Fuzzy search within Unified Navigation menus enables more relevant search results by ranking matches based on similarity and allows tuning via an accuracy score.
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts to assign specific actions for quicker task execution.
- User preference to automatically expand all activities in the Activity Stream within Workspace.
- New keyboard shortcuts to open/close the Now Assist panel and enable voice input mode.
Zurich Enhancements:
- Workspace pages now support lazy loading by default, improving load times by dynamically displaying content. Users can control this behavior with a Workspace lazy load preference.
- Now Assist menu includes a wide mode toggle to reduce scrolling and content truncation.
- New accessibility preference to keep page alerts visible until manually dismissed.
- Usage Analytics utility menu available for users with the analyticsviewer role to access application and webpage usage data.
- OpenFrame phone icon now shows the number of active calls with a badge indicator.

Changes

Yokohama: Introduction of a streamlined Next Experience user preference panel featuring a search bar and wider modal for easier preference management.
Zurich: No changes reported in this release.

Activation Information

Next Experience is active by default upon loading or upgrading to both Yokohama and Zurich releases.
An opt-out system property is available before upgrading if known issues exist with enabling Next Experience on your instance.
Theme Builder is included with Next Experience and enabled by default in both releases.

Browser Requirements

Internet Explorer 11 is not supported in Yokohama or Zurich releases.
Firefox on iOS is also unsupported in both releases.

Accessibility Improvements

Yokohama:
- Ability to create personalized keyboard shortcuts for frequently used actions, with shortcuts categorized for navigation and page actions.
- Improvements to keyboard interactions, including arrow key controls to expand/collapse rows.
- Voice input for Now Assist can be enabled via a user preference if activated by your system administrator.
Zurich:
- Introduction of the Coral theme with a dark mode option to reduce eye strain and improve readability.
- New accessibility preference to prevent auto-dismissal of page alerts, keeping alerts visible until manually closed.
- Workspace preference to disable lazy loading, enhancing screen reader compatibility and providing a consistent reading experience.

Key Outcomes for ServiceNow Customers

Improved search relevance and user navigation efficiency through fuzzy search and customizable keyboard shortcuts.
Enhanced page performance and user experience via lazy loading and user-configurable display options.
Greater accessibility support, including voice input, dark theme, persistent alerts, and screen reader optimizations, ensuring compliance with diverse user needs.
Access to usage analytics directly within the platform for better application and web page performance insights.
Clear upgrade activation guidelines with default enablement of Next Experience and Theme Builder, plus opt-out options if necessary.

Consolidated page of all release notes for Next Experience from Yokohama to Zurich.

How to use this page

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


Release	Release notes
Yokohama	Fuzzy search results returned within the Unified Navigation menus Find relevant search results even with shortened text by using the fuzzy results filter, which ranks results based on their similarity to your search query. Adjust the minimum accuracy score to help fine-tune filter behavior. Customizing the Next Experience keyboard shortcuts Assign specific actions to unique key combinations to quickly execute tasks. See the Accessibility information section for details. Activity stream user preference available Enable the activity stream to automatically expand all activities from within the Workspace user preference group. Next Experience keyboard shortcuts Use a new keyboard shortcut to open and close the Now Assist panel and another keyboard shortcut to enable Now Assist voice input mode.
Zurich	Lazy loading of Workspace pages user preference available Control how your Workspace pages are loaded, either all at once or as needed, by using the new Workspace lazy load user preference. Lazy loading is enabled by default and displays content dynamically, reducing page load times. See the Accessibility information section for additional details. Use the menu toggle to view the Now Assist menu in wide mode View the Now Assist menu in wide mode to reduce the need for scrolling and truncating content. Configure accessibility preferences Use a new accessibility preference to keep page alerts visible. See the Accessibility information section for additional details. Usage Analytics utility menu available Obtain usage analytic data for your applications and web pages with the Usage Analytics utility menu. The Usage Analytics menu appears for those users with the analytics_viewer role. View the number of active calls from the OpenFrame phone icon View the number of active calls from the numbered badge on the OpenFrame phone icon.

Changes

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


Release	Release notes
Yokohama	Next Experience preferences The new user preference panel provides a more efficient, streamlined way for you to work. Use the new search bar to locate your preferences. A wider modal displays all preference groups and when you select a group, all the individual preferences that are related to it appear in the same window.
Zurich	No updates for this release.

Removed

Between your current release family and Zurich, some Next Experience 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 Next Experience 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 Next Experience.


Release	Release notes
Yokohama	Next Experience is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default when the user loads or upgrades to the Yokohama release. If there are known problems with turning on Next Experience on an instance, an opt-out system property can be created prior to upgrade. Theme Builder comes with the Next Experience and is active by default.
Zurich	Next Experience is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default when the user loads or upgrades to the Zurich release. If there are known problems with turning on Next Experience on an instance, an opt-out system property can be created before upgrade. Theme Builder comes with the Next Experience and is active by default.

Additional requirements

If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Next Experience 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 Next Experience we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Yokohama	The Yokohama release doesn't support Internet Explorer 11. The iOS version of Firefox is also not supported.
Zurich	The Zurich release doesn't support Internet Explorer 11. The iOS version of Firefox is also not supported.

Accessibility information

Review details on accessibility information for Next Experience, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.


Release	Release notes
Yokohama	Customize Next Experience keyboard shortcuts Create your own keyboard shortcuts for frequently used actions. Next Experience keyboard shortcuts Keyboard shortcuts categorized: Keyboard shortcuts for each page are now organized into categories: Page Action, Page Navigation, Global Navigation, and General. New keyboard shortcuts: Two new Next Experience keyboard shortcuts are available, one shortcut to open and close the Now Assist panel and another to enable voice input for Now Assist. Accessibility improvements for keyboard interactions: Use the right and left arrow keys to expand and collapse rows. Configure Next Experience accessibility preferences Voice input for Now Assist A new user preference activates voice-to-text input in the Now Assist panel. With this feature, you can use your voice to access Now Assist skills in the Now Assist panel in any supported language. This preference appears only if your system administrator has enabled the voice input for the Now Assist feature for your instance. For more information, see Enable voice input for the Now Assist panel. Once your system administrator has enabled voice input for your instance, the "Enable voice input for the Now Assist panel" user preference is displayed.
Zurich	Dark theme The new Coral theme includes a dark theme option for web and mobile experiences. This option is commonly used to alleviate eye strain and improve readability. New Accessibility preference added for page alerts Turn on the Do not auto-dismiss page alerts preference to keep page alerts visible until you manually close them. New Workspace preference added to enhance screen reader output for your Workspace pages A new Workspace preference lets you turn off lazy loading for workspace pages. When you turn off lazy loading, the entire page loads at once. This action improves compatibility with screen readers and provides a more consistent and reliable reading experience.

Localization information

If there are specific localization considerations for Next Experience 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 Next Experience we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Yokohama	Create personalized keyboard shortcuts to streamline your workflow and boost productivity. Track the filters that you apply to your Workspace lists within the History menu. Each time you change your filter, the History menu displays a separate entry. Quickly locate and adjust your user preferences by using the new streamlined search function. User preference icons now adopt your theme colors. See Next Experience UI for more information.
Zurich	Customize the visual experience of the Now Assist menu by using the new toggle to switch between standard or wide view. Manage the visibility of page alerts with a new accessibility user preference. Access usage analytic data for applications and web pages directly with the new Usage Analytics utility menu. See Next Experience UI for more information.