Indexed Source form

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Indexed Source form

    The Indexed Source form in ServiceNow allows you to create and manage indexed sources used by AI Search to index content and metadata from ServiceNow AI Platform® tables. This functionality is essential for enabling AI Search to retrieve relevant data quickly and securely within your instance.

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    Key Features

    • Name: Assign a unique identifier for each indexed source to distinguish it within your environment.
    • Source: Select the specific ServiceNow AI Platform table to be indexed. Note that certain tables are excluded from indexing, and you cannot create indexed sources for them or their derived tables.
    • Active: Control whether the indexed source is active. AI Search indexes content only from active sources. Only one indexed source per table can be active at any time, ensuring no duplication of indexing for the same data.
    • Application: Automatically set application scope indicating the context of the indexed source.
    • Retention Policy: Define how long records remain indexed based on their last update timestamp. This is mandatory for Task tables and their extensions, and helps maintain index relevance and performance by purging outdated records.
    • Force Late Binding: Optionally enable late binding security to ensure search results respect dynamic security constraints. This field is hidden by default and requires form customization to display.
    • Condition Filter: Apply filters to limit which records from the source table are indexed. Records must meet all filter conditions to remain indexed; otherwise, they are removed from the index.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    By configuring indexed sources correctly, you ensure that AI Search indexes only relevant, secure, and up-to-date content from your ServiceNow instance. Managing active sources prevents conflicts and duplication, while retention policies and filters help maintain optimal search performance and data compliance. Additionally, leveraging late binding security enhances search result accuracy by respecting current access controls.

    The Indexed Source form enables you to create an indexed source for use in AI Search.

    For details on creating or modifying an indexed source, see Create an indexed source.

    Table 1. Indexed Source form
    Title Description
    Name Unique name for the indexed source.
    Source The ServiceNow AI Platform® table to index.

    AI Search excludes some ServiceNow AI Platform tables from indexing. You can't define indexed sources for these excluded tables or their derived tables. For a list of excluded tables, see ServiceNow AI Platform tables excluded from AI Search indexing.

    To index content from a remote table, create an external indexed source. For more details on configuring indexed sources for external content, see Indexing and searching external content in AI Search.

    Plugins and applications can define multiple indexed sources for the same ServiceNow AI Platform table, but only one of them can be active at a time. For more details, see Active.
    Active Option to activate the indexed source. AI Search only indexes content and metadata from active indexed sources.
    Note:
    Only one indexed source can be active at a time for a given ServiceNow AI Platform table. The system makes duplicate indexed sources for a table inactive by default. Before you can make one of these duplicate sources active, you must edit the currently active source and make it inactive. AI Search only indexes content and metadata from active indexed sources.
    Application Application scope for the indexed source. This field is automatically set.
    Retention Policy Policy specifying a retention time limit for records from the source table. AI Search only indexes source records that were last updated within the specified time period, and purges records from the index when their time since last update exceeds the limit.
    If this field is empty, AI Search indexes source records regardless of their last updated date and retains them in the index indefinitely.
    Note:
    This field is required when Source is set to the Task [task] table or any table that extends it.
    Force Late Binding Option to make AI Search use late binding security for all search results from the indexed source.

    This field isn't shown in the default Indexed Source form view. For instructions on configuring the form layout to show the field, see Configuring the form layout.

    For an explanation of late binding security and its effects on search, see Content security in AI Search.
    Condition
    Filter Optional filter conditions limiting the set of records to index from the source table. AI Search only indexes records that satisfy all defined filter conditions, and purges records from the index if they no longer satisfy these conditions.