Robotic Process Automation (RPA) bot generation skill

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) bot generation skill

    The RPA bot generation skill in ServiceNow's Australia release enables users to create automations, activities, and extend automation logic using natural language text instructions within the RPA Desktop Design Studio interface. This skill empowers citizen developers—those without deep technical or programming expertise—to participate in automation development by describing tasks or processes in plain language, making RPA more accessible and accelerating automation creation from hours or days to minutes.

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    Key Features

    • Natural Language Automation Creation: Users can generate automation flows quickly by describing processes via text, without needing coding skills.
    • Integration with RPA Desktop Design Studio: Access and use generative AI capabilities directly within the design environment to create or refine automations and activities.
    • Modularity and Scalability: Easily add activities to existing automations and refine automation logic inline for scalable automation solutions.
    • Role-based Access: Only users with the RPA Developer (snrpafdn.rpadeveloper) or RPA Admin (snrpafdn.rpaadmin) roles can use the skill and generative AI features.
    • Activation and Subscription Requirements: Requires installation of the Now Assist for RPA Hub application from the ServiceNow Store and an active subscription to Now Assist for Creator and RPA Hub applications.

    Using the RPA bot generation skill

    Once enabled, users with the appropriate roles can log into the RPA Desktop Design Studio to create and edit automation flows via text instructions and preview options. Users without these roles will not have access to the generative AI features and must restart the design studio and log in with proper roles to regain access.

    Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Accelerates time-to-value by reducing automation creation time.
    • Broadens participation to citizen developers, leveraging domain knowledge without requiring coding expertise.
    • Simplifies building new automations and extending existing ones, enhancing agility and scalability in automation projects.

    Important Considerations

    • Ensure proper role assignment (RPA Developer or RPA Admin) to access generative AI capabilities.
    • Install and activate the Now Assist for RPA Hub application and maintain subscription requirements.
    • Be aware of documented limitations of the RPA bot generation skill as outlined in ServiceNow’s related documentation.

    Use the RPA bot generation skill to create automations, activities, and automation logic additions from text instructions and preview options from the RPA Desktop Design Studio user interface.

    The skill enables citizen developers to participate in the automation development process. Citizen developers can contribute their domain expertise and knowledge of business processes to create automation flows. A citizen developer can quickly and easily create automation flows by describing the task or process in natural language via text. No in-depth technical knowledge of Robotic Process Automation (RPA tools) or programming languages is needed, which makes automation accessible to a wider audience.

    The RPA bot generation skill streamlines the process of creating workflows, reducing the time and effort required to implement RPA solutions. An automation flow can be generated in minutes rather than hours or days, accelerating the time-to-value.

    By generating automation flows through text-based descriptions, RPA becomes more approachable for individuals and businesses who may not have prior experience with automation or coding.

    Access the RPA bot generation skill from the RPA Desktop Design Studio user interface.

    Enable RPA bot generation to gain the following benefits:
    • Build simple, brand-new automations quickly and efficiently.
    • Easily add new activities to existing automations, ensuring modularity and scalability.
    • Use in-line prompting to refine automation logic, whether starting from components or a empty design surface.

    Roles

    RPA developer (sn_rpa_fdn.rpa_developer) or RPA admin (sn_rpa_fdn.rpa_admin) roles are required to use this skill. These roles contain the Now Assist Admin user role (sn_nowassist_admin.user).

    Activation

    Install the Now Assist for RPA Hub application from the ServiceNow Store website. For more information, see Install Now Assist for RPA Hub.

    Then, turn on the RPA bot generation skill to use generative AI for creating automations and activities, and extending automation logic. For more information, see Turn on the RPA bot generation skill.

    You must have a subscription for Now Assist for Creator and RPA Hub applications. For more information, see Supporting information for Now Assist for RPA Hub.

    Limitations of the RPA bot generation skill

    For more information about the limitations of the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) bot generation skill, see Limitations of Now Assist for RPA Hub.

    Accessing the generative AI capability in RPA Desktop Design Studio

    If you log in to the RPA Desktop Design Studio with either RPA Developer or RPA Admin after enabling the RPA bot generation skill, the generative AI capability is available. In this scenario, you can create and edit automations, activities, and extend automation logic flow through text instructions and preview options.

    If you log in to the RPA Desktop Design Studio with a role other than RPA Developer or RPA Admin after enabling the RPA bot generation skill, the generative AI capability will not be available. In this scenario, you will not be able to create and edit automations, activities, or extend automation logic flow through text instructions and preview options.

    If you log in to the RPA Desktop Design Studio with a role other than RPA Developer or RPA Admin and then switch to one of these roles, you won't be able to access the generative AI capability. Restart the RPA Desktop Design Studio and log in with RPA Admin or Developer.

    If you log in to the RPA Desktop Design Studio with either RPA Developer or RPA Admin, and then switch to any other user roles apart from these, you will encounter an error message when attempting to access the generative AI capability.