Analytics Q&A

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Analytics Q&A

    Analytics Q&A in the Analytics Center enables ServiceNow customers to make natural language queries on indicators, tables, or columns. It supports multiple languages including English, French Canadian, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese, with availability dependent on the session language. This feature is also accessible in the classic environment through Report Designer.

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    Using Analytics Q&A

    As you type a query, Analytics Q&A provides suggestions for recent searches, indicators, tables, and columns accessible based on your permissions. If the system cannot identify a specific table, it presents up to three likely options for you to refine your search.

    Query Results and Visualizations

    Successful queries return results in various visualization formats such as lists, trends, single scores, bars, or pies. If no visualization is specified, Analytics Q&A selects the most appropriate one automatically. Results adhere to security controls: Reporting security for table-based visualizations and Performance Analytics security for indicator-based visualizations.

    For indicator queries, trends over time are shown by default. You can opt to view only current data instead of trends. Interactive features include hovering over charts for detailed breakdowns and clicking values in indicator visualizations to open KPI Details.

    Query results typically display:

    • The queried table
    • Value units
    • Data aggregation methods
    • Grouping columns
    • Date fields and measurement frequency
    • Additional query conditions

    You can provide feedback on query results using thumbs up or down, which helps improve query parsing and logging. Note that feedback is not available when selecting only one suggestion since it bypasses query parsing.

    Creating and Managing Queries

    To start a new query or view your KPIs, use the Back button. Returning to Analytics Center updates your recent successful queries list.

    To craft valid queries, use special keywords to specify data types, ranges, filters, and parameters. A keyword guide is available to assist you. Administrators can enhance query accuracy by adding synonyms and semantic shortcuts to keywords, improving natural language understanding.

    You can make natural language queries related to indicators, tables, or columns from the Analytics Q&A in the Analytics Center.

    Analytics Q&A supports the following languages:
    • English
    • French
    • Canadian French
    • Spanish
    • German
    • Japanese

    This feature is not available in sessions that use an unsupported language.

    Note:
    Analytics Q&A is also available in the classic environment, in Report Designer. For more information, see Create a report with Analytics Q&A

    Entering queries

    Figure 1. Analytics Q&A before you enter a query

    Image showing the line for entering queries, a link for pop-up examples, and a link to a keywords guide
    As you type in a query, Analytics Q&A suggests recent searches, indicators, tables, and columns that match what you have typed so far. Only the tables and columns to which you have access are shown.
    Five suggestions from typing in the word incident

    Selecting from several likely tables

    If Analytics Q&A cannot determine which table you want, it shows you up to three likely tables. In the following screenshot, the user has asked for assets grouped by asset tag and displayed as a bar visualization. However, the system cannot determine whether the user is interested in the Asset [alm_asset], the Key Value [cmdb_key_value], or the Tag [label] table.
    Figure 2. Refining search to select table

    The three tables that the system thinks your query might be asking about

    Results

    If your query is successful, Analytics Q&A shows your result as whichever of the following visualizations you specified. If you do not specify a visualization, Analytics Q&A determines which visualization is the most appropriate:
    • List
    • Trend
    • Single score
    • Bar
    • Pie

    The results are subject to an ACL security check against your roles. Visualizations based on tables follow Reporting security. Visualizations based on Performance Analytics follow PA security.

    The following example shows the results of a query where you specify a breakdown for grouping the results. Analytics Q&A determines that the query matches an indicator. Because indicators show trends over time, Analytics Q&A determines that a trend line is the appropriate visualization:
    Figure 3. Analytics Q&A results

    Analytics Q&A results with details
    If you do not want to see the change in scores over time, click Click here to see only the current data. Analytics Q&A returns the current values on the underlying table instead of the indicator scores.
    Figure 4. Analytics Q&A latest score results

    The results of a successful query in the Analytics Q&A

    Hold your cursor over the chart to get more information about breakdowns. In a time series trend, you get the values for all the breakdowns on the selected day. In a column chart of the latest scores, you get the score of the breakdown you select. If the result is a visualization for an indicator, click on a value to open the indicator in KPI Details.

    By default, you also see the following details if they apply:
    • Which table you are querying
    • The unit for the values
    • The data aggregation method
    • Which column you are grouping by
    • What date field you are measuring the trend by, and at what frequency
    • Which additional conditions you want to apply to your query
    Lastly, you can send feedback on your query results by selecting thumbs up or down.
    Note:
    If you only select one item from the suggestion or indicator or table, the feedback option is not available. By selecting only one item, you do not use the query parser. By not using the query parser, you do not create a query log. The feedback is attached to the query log, but the log must already exist.

    New queries

    To make a new query or view a list of your KPIs, click Back. Returning to the Analytics Center updates your list of the last five successful queries.

    How to make a valid query

    When you write a query, use special keywords to denote the type and range of information you are looking for, filters you want to apply, and other parameters. To see a full list of keywords and their uses, click How can I improve my results?.

    You can ask your ServiceNow AI Platform administrator to add synonyms and semantic shortcuts for keywords. For more information, see Create an NLQ synonym and Create an NLQ shortcut.

    Figure 5. Keywords guide

    A guide you can open from the Analytics Q&A dialog that explains the keywords