Combined Common Core release notes for upgrades from Zurich to Australia

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated August 11, 2026
  • 7 minutes to read
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    Summary of Combined Common Core Release Notes for Upgrades from Zurich to Australia

    This consolidated release notes document helps ServiceNow customers prepare for upgrading the Common Core from Zurich to Australia versions. It outlines new features, changes, deprecations, and important upgrade tasks, focusing on improvements introduced between the Zurich and Australia releases, primarily within the Zurich release as Australia contains no updates.

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    The notes assist customers in understanding enhancements, managing entity-based access controls, AI agent capabilities, and configuration management, ensuring a smooth upgrade with minimal disruption.

    Key Features

    • Entity-Based Record Access Update Utility (Zurich): Provides a guided, four-step process to define scope, apply conditions, review, and execute entity-based access restrictions at the record level. Offers a new Preview state to estimate impacted records before applying changes and detailed execution logs for auditing.
    • Entity-Based Record Access Rules: Automatically secure new or modified records linked to entities with active access restrictions, ensuring consistent security without manual intervention.
    • Seamless User Access in Entity-Based Access: Maintains access for users and groups referenced in record fields, reducing administrative overhead and easing adoption of entity-based access.
    • Deactivation of Entity-Based Access Configurations: Allows selective deactivation of entity-based access rules with automatic reassessment of affected records, preserving other applicable restrictions.
    • Bulk Domain Tag Management: Enables applying or removing domain-specific tags across multiple records simultaneously, streamlining workspace organization and filtering.
    • Entity Record Page Enhancements: Modernized UI for Entity and Risks related lists with dedicated tabs for better risk management visibility. Customers should refer to guidance for handling custom actions impacted by these UI changes.
    • Model Context Protocol (MCP) Client: Supports integration of externally hosted AI tools into ServiceNow AI Agent Studio, allowing authentication and configuration of AI agents with external MCP servers.
    • AI Agent Studio Improvements: New dropdown options to create different types of AI agents (Chat, External), ACL configuration to control discovery and triggering, and behavior settings defining user identity types for AI agents and workflows.
    • My Tasks Configuration Management: Introduces Active/Inactive flags to easily enable or disable task and tab configurations without manual intervention, improving administrative control.
    • Automatic Synchronization of Entity Names with Configuration Items (CI): Enhances data consistency by automatically updating entity names in GRC when associated CI names change, eliminating manual updates.
    • Report a GRC Issue AI Agent: Available in Employee Center, guides users through a conversational experience to report issues, enriching submissions with relevant controls, entities, and policies.

    Key Changes

    • Preview State in Record Access Update Utility: Added to allow review of impacted records before applying entity-based access restrictions, reducing risk of unintended access changes.
    • UI and Workflow Adjustments: Entity record page related lists converted to UIB pages with improved usability; customers must follow provided knowledge base guidance to address potential impacts on custom actions.

    Activation and Upgrade Considerations

    • Integrated Risk Management (IRM) and ServiceNow Otto must be requested from the ServiceNow Store for activation.
    • Pre- and post-upgrade tasks should be reviewed and completed as specified to ensure smooth transition.
    • No additional browser, localization, or accessibility requirements were introduced between Zurich and Australia for Common Core.

    Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enhanced security management with streamlined entity-based access control at the record level.
    • Improved AI agent capabilities and integration options to augment governance, risk, and compliance workflows.
    • Better administrative control through task configuration flags and bulk domain tag management.
    • Reduced manual effort and increased data consistency by automating entity name synchronization with CI records.
    • Guided, user-friendly issue reporting via AI agents, ensuring well-defined and context-rich submissions.

    Consolidated page of all release notes for Common Core from Zurich to Australia.

    How to use this page

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

    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 Common Core to Australia

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

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.

    New features

    Between your current release family and Australia, new features were introduced for Common Core.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    Entity based record access update utility guided experience
    Apply entity-based access (EBA) restrictions at the record level by using guided assistance in the entity based record access update utility. Guided assistance consists of a four-step process:
    1. Define the scope for the relevant entities
    2. Scope the record types
    3. Apply the conditions to each record type to refine the scope
    4. Review the selected records before you execute and initiate the update

    See the execution logs for a status after each update. You can get the details about the impacted records, applied scopes, and outcomes.

    [Placeholder link text to key report-a-grc-issue]
    The report a GRC issue AI agent is now available in the Employee Center, enabling employee users to report issues through a guided conversational experience. As users respond to prompts, the agent structures the issue and recommends relevant controls, entities, and policies based on the input provided. The AI agent helps ensure that the issue is well-defined and enriched with contextual information before it's submitted.
    Entity based record access rules to secure new records
    Configure entity-based record access rules on record types to ensure that access restrictions are applied automatically to secure new records or modified records related to entities with active EBA configurations.
    [Placeholder link text to key continuous-monitoring-of-entity-based-access]
    Maintain seamless access for users and groups referenced in record fields when entity-based access restrictions are applied. This feature enables users and groups referenced in a record’s user or group fields to access the records they are associated with. By configuring record-level user access at the table or record type level, it reduces administrative overhead and streamlines EBA adoption with minimal disruption.
    Deactivation of entity-based access configuration
    Deactivate the entity-based access configuration, enabling the system to automatically assess the records that it impacts. If entity-based access configuration is restricting a record, the access restrictions are removed. If other configurations also apply to the record, the restrictions remain in place and only the selected configuration is deactivated.
    [Placeholder link text to key functional-domain-bulk-update]

    Apply or remove domain-specific tags across multiple records at once. This streamlines workspace management by letting you quickly filter and organize records, for example, you can exclude non-privacy-tagged items in the Privacy Workspace for a more focused, efficient view.

    Entity record page enhancements
    The Entity type and Downstream Risks (now renamed as Risks) related lists on the Entity record page have been converted to UIB pages, providing a more intuitive and modern interface. The Downstream Risks related list has been moved to the dedicated Risks page, featuring organized tabs for Directly related risks, Suggested risks, and All risks.
    Note:
    You may experience issues with custom actions that emit events on the Risks or Entity type related lists on the Entity record page. To ensure a smooth transition and adopt these changes, refer to KB2593527 for detailed guidance.
    Model Text Protocol (MCP) Client

    Enable users of the ServiceNow® AI Agent Studio to access tools that are hosted externally and published using an MCP Server via the Model Context Protocol Client application.

    Authenticate users with the MCP Server to add the MCP tool to an AI agent.

    Create an AI agent
    The Add button on the AI agents tab is added as a drop-down providing different agent types for AI agent creation:
    • Chat
    • External
    Configure ACLs for AI agents and agentic workflows
    Configure the Access Control Lists for who can discover and trigger AI agents and agentic workflows in their guided setups in AI Agent Studio. You can determine whether an AI agent or agentic workflow behaves as a dynamic user or as an AI user. You can also specify if an AI agent or agentic workflow can be available to all authenticated users or publicly available.
    [Placeholder link text to key configuration-of-tasks]
    Easily manage which configurations appear on the My Tasks page by marking them Active or Inactive. This gives you flexibility to enable or disable configurations without manual intervention, simplifying administration and improving control. An Active/Inactive flag has also been introduced in the My Choice table for enhanced configuration management.
    [Placeholder link text to key what-is-an-entity]
    Entity names in GRC now automatically update when the associated CI name changes. This enhancement improves data consistency, reduces manual effort, and ensures alignment between CI and Entity records without requiring custom automation.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.

    Changes

    Between your current release family and Australia, some changes were made to existing Common Core features.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    States in the entity based record access update utility
    A new Preview state has been added to the record access update utility life cycle. You can now review the estimated number of impacted records before you apply the restrictions. This step helps you to validate the selected scope, assess potential impacts, and make adjustments, if needed. It also adds an extra layer of control and reduces the risk of unintended access changes.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.

    Removed

    Between your current release family and Australia, some Common Core features or functionality were removed.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.

    Deprecations

    Between your current release family and Australia, some Common Core features or functionality were deprecated.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.

    Activation information

    Review information on how to activate Common Core.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    Install Integrated Risk Management and ServiceNow Otto for IRM by requesting them from ServiceNow Store. Visit the ServiceNow Store website to view all the available apps and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.

    Additional requirements

    If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Common Core we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.

    Browser requirements

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

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.

    Accessibility information

    Review details on accessibility information for Common Core, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

    Release Release notes

    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.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.

    Localization information

    If there are specific localization considerations for Common Core we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    No updates for this release.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.

    Highlight information

    If there are specific highlight considerations for Common Core we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Zurich

    • Use the report a GRC issue AI agent in the Employee Center to report issues through a guided conversational experience.
    • Ensure seamless access for users and groups referenced in user fields on records by leveraging entity-based access restrictions through record attribute user access configuration. Minimize manual effort, reduce administrative overhead, and enable entity-based access with minimal disruption.
    • Configure which task and tab settings appear in My Tasks by marking them Active or Inactive in the applicable table for easier management. Use the Active/Inactive flag in the GRC choice table to control visibility.
    • Automatically sync and maintain entity names in GRC with associated CI names to improve data consistency and reduce manual effort.
    • Authenticate users with the MCP Server to add a Model Context Protocol tool to AI agents using the Model Context Protocol Client.
    • Create ACLs for AI agents and agentic workflows to customize who can discover and trigger AI agents and agentic workflows.
    • Generate control recommendations for each regulatory alert to address compliance requirements. Use these suggestions to save time, minimize manual effort, and ensure a consistent response to regulatory changes.
    • Apply access restrictions at the record level by using the record access update utility in guided assistance. You can also preview the impacted record counts before updating and review the results and execution logs after the update.
    • Apply access restrictions automatically to newly created or modified records using entity-based record access rules.
    • Deactivate the entity-based access configurations.
    • Enable entity-based access on custom GRC tables.

    For detailed documentation, see Common GRC features.

    Australia

    No updates for this release.