Combined Now Assist for CMDB 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 Now Assist for CMDB release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

Release version: Zurich

Updated August 11, 2026

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Summary of Combined Now Assist for CMDB Release Notes for Upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

This document consolidates the release notes for Now Assist for CMDB covering upgrades from the Yokohama release to the Zurich release. It helps ServiceNow customers prepare for their upgrade by summarizing new features, changes, activation instructions, and important upgrade tasks specific to Now Assist for CMDB.

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Important Upgrade Information

The installation and activation process for the Now Assist for CMDB v2.1 plugin has changed in Zurich; customers should follow the updated configuration instructions before upgrading.
Pre- and post-upgrade tasks must be reviewed and completed as necessary to ensure smooth transition to Zurich.

New Features

No new features were introduced between Yokohama and Zurich releases for Now Assist for CMDB.

Key Changes in Zurich

Usage Measurement Update: Starting with Zurich Patch 5, Now Assist usage measurement shifted from a 365-day look-back model to a 365-day burn-down model, resetting usage at the contract anniversary date. This impacts how usage is tracked and reported.
Default Activation of Skills and Agentic Workflows: From Zurich Patch 4, certain Now Assist skills, agents, and agentic workflows are automatically enabled by default for new customers, and unconfigured assets are enabled for existing customers upgrading to Zurich Patch 4. Previously configured but deactivated assets remain off.
New Role Requirement: The Create configuration item (CI) agentic workflow now requires the sncmdbadmin role instead of sncmdbeditor, enhancing security and governance.
Improved Verbal Interactions: Several conversational workflows have been enhanced to improve usability:
- Create CI: Verbal requests are now better understood, with automatic attribute validation against Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) rules and duplicate detection before CI creation.
- CMDB Governance: The agentic workflow now provides richer context explaining the rationale and benefits of governance tasks to support administrators and service owners in maintaining accurate, trustworthy CMDB data.
- CMDB Search: Users can search CIs by multiple attributes using natural language; multiple matching CIs can be selected inline, with a summary provided during conversations.
- Summarize CI Data: Key CI information including discovery data, ownership, related incidents, alerts, problems, change requests, and vulnerabilities can be viewed concisely on CI forms, workspace pages, or list views.
- Diagnose Failed Imports: Improved diagnosis of failed Service Graph Connector import sets provides summaries of errors and recommendations to assist troubleshooting.
De-duplication Support: The Now Assist Manage duplicate CIs skill guides CMDB administrators with step-by-step remediation and preview of results before applying fixes.
Zurich Patch 7 Enhancements: AI-powered answers are now available for CI classes and attributes across CI forms, dashboards, home pages, and other workspace views. Search queries can span multiple tables and CI relationships.

Removed and Deprecated Features

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

Activation and Additional Requirements

Now Assist for CMDB is an AI Platform feature requiring plugin activation available from the ServiceNow Store. Customers should follow the updated configuration guidance in Zurich.
No new additional system or browser requirements were introduced for Now Assist for CMDB in Zurich.

Accessibility and Localization

There were no updates or new considerations related to accessibility or localization for Now Assist for CMDB between Yokohama and Zurich.

Practical Impact for ServiceNow Customers

Upgrading to Zurich introduces important changes to usage measurement and default configuration that may affect license tracking and initial setup.
Enhanced AI-driven workflows improve CMDB data management efficiency through better natural language interactions, governance support, and duplicate resolution.
Security is strengthened by requiring a more privileged role to create configuration items via workflows.
Improved diagnostics and summaries aid faster troubleshooting and better insight into CI data.

Overall, these updates enable customers to manage their CMDB more effectively with AI-assisted automation while ensuring compliance with governance and security practices.

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

How to use this page

To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Now Assist for CMDB 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 for CMDB 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	The installation (activation) process has changed for the Now Assist for CMDB v2.1 plugin. See Configure for the new instructions.

New features

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


Release	Release notes
Yokohama	No updates for this release.
Zurich	No updates for this release.

Changes

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


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. Zurich Patch 4 Some Now Assist skills, agents, and agentic workflows are turned on by default The skills are automatically available to appropriate role users for the application, such as ITIL roles on incident forms or change forms. This change simply activates the skill and does not touch the roles that may be needed to use the skill. The new default behavior works as follows: New customers: When you install a Now Assist product, designated skills and agentic workflows are turned on automatically. Existing customers who are upgrading (starting with Zurich Patch 4): Any previously unconfigured skill, agent, or agentic workflow is turned on automatically (the AI asset was never configured and turned on, then turned off again). Previously configured skills and agentic workflows that were turned on, then off, remain inactive. New role required for the Create configuration item agentic workflow The sn_cmdb_admin role is now required to use the Create configuration item agentic workflow (was sn_cmdb_editor). Create a CI Verbal interaction with this feature has improved. Occasionally, you might need to create a CI manually. To help you, the CI creator agentic workflow accepts your natural language request and verifies that it understands which class the new CI should belong to. The workflow then checks Identification and Reconciliation engine (IRE) rules to determine the required attributes for the CI and requests that information. After you provide sufficient data, the workflow ensures that the proposed CI includes the attributes that you requested, complies with IRE rules, and is not a duplicate. The workflow then creates the CI. Get advice on CMDB governance To help users understand the value of each step in the process, responses now include richer context. The CMDB Governance agentic workflow supports administrators and service owners by improving CMDB data governance. Before starting in on each governance task, the workflow presents the reasons for the task to help you better understand the importance and benefits of the activity. The objective is to ensure that CMDB data is accurate and complete so that users can trust the data. Search the CMDB Verbal interaction with this feature has improved. Users can now select the CI inline when multiple CIs are returned as matches. A summary of the CI now appears in the conversation. The CMDB search agentic workflow enables you to search for CIs by specifying any of several attributes of the CI of interest. The workflow accepts your natural language request, verifies your search goal, and then generates a keyword search, a single-table search with dot walks, or a multi-table search, depending on the information that you provided. The workflow can infer CI relationship data to generate an appropriate query. Summarize CI data Verbal interaction with this feature has improved. You can now view a concise summary of the key CI data by selecting the CI on a CI form, in a workspace page, or on any list view. The summary can include discovery data, ownership, and key related items such as open incidents, alerts, problems, upcoming change requests, and security vulnerabilities. Additionally, the summary lists the service instances that the CI is part of. [Placeholder link text to key now-assist-cmdb-mng-dupe-cis-skill] Resolve de-duplication tasks with support from the Now Assist Manage duplicate CIs skill. CMDB administrators follow step-by-step guidance to perform remediation, and can preview remediation results before applying a template. Diagnose failed SGC import sets Verbal interaction with this feature has improved. You can now diagnose a failed import set that is associated with a Service Graph Connector to get a summary of the errors and recommendations for resolving the issues.

Removed

Between your current release family and Zurich, some Now Assist for CMDB 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 for CMDB 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 for CMDB.


Release	Release notes
Yokohama	No updates for this release.
Zurich	Now Assist for CMDB is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is available with activation of plugins that you get from the ServiceNow Store. For details, see Configure.

Additional requirements

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


Release	Release notes
Yokohama	No updates for this release.
Zurich	Zurich Patch 7 Get AI-powered answers your questions on CI classes and attributes to help you work in CI forms, dashboards, home pages, and other views on the workspace. Search queries can now span multiple tables and relationships between CIs. Zurich Patch 5 Review changes to Now Assist usage measurement Zurich Patch 4 Some Now Assist skills and agentic workflows are now turned on by default. Agentic workflows and AI agents included with Now Assist applications now require additional security configuration. Reduce the debugging time and effort when you resolve issues with Service Graph Connector import sets. Find and resolve de-duplication tasks. Speed the process of manually creating CIs. Methodically work through the process of improving CMDB data governance. Search for CIs by specifying any of several attributes of the CI of interest. View a concise summary of the key CI data on a CI form in a workspace page or on any list view. Zurich Patch 3 Zurich Patch 2 Zurich Patch 1 See Now Assist for Configuration Management Database (CMDB) for more information.