Fuzzy numeric search in AI Search

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated January 29, 2026
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of Fuzzy numeric search in AI Search

    Fuzzy numeric search in AI Search enables ServiceNow customers to find indexed records by their Number field values without entering alphabetical prefixes or leading zeroes. This feature is designed to improve search accuracy and efficiency by allowing numeric search terms to match records across numbered tables based on their Number fields, regardless of prefix or formatting variations.

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    The search compares numeric input against indexed records’ Number fields, ignoring alphabetical prefixes and leading zeroes. For example, searching for “23583” can return records like knowledge article KB00023583 and problem PRB00023583.

    Note that this feature only applies to numbered tables with Number fields defined and prefixes set in the Number [sysnumber] table. Child tables inheriting Number fields are excluded, and only fields explicitly named "number" are searched.

    Key Features

    • All-numeric search terms only: Fuzzy numeric matching activates only when the search term contains purely numeric characters; terms with alphabetic characters are not matched fuzzily.
    • Ignores leading zeroes: Numeric search terms with or without leading zeroes yield the same search results.
    • Matches only Number field values: Fuzzy matching applies exclusively to the Number field values in indexed records, not to occurrences of those numbers in other text fields.
    • Suffix-based matching: Numeric search terms match the trailing digits of the Number field value. Partial matches only succeed if the search term aligns with the rightmost digits of the record’s Number.
    • Supports AND/OR operators: Searches combining multiple terms use logical conjunctions or disjunctions to refine results based on whole-term matches.

    Practical Examples

    • Searching “73492” matches knowledge articles and problems with Number fields KB00073492 and PRB00073492, plus any documents containing “73492” as a whole term.
    • Searching “05638” returns similar matches ignoring the leading zero.
    • Complex searches like “2541 828” return records containing both numbers when using AND, or either number when using OR.
    • Combination of terms (e.g., “model 9433”) also respects AND/OR logic to find records with the number and the text term present as whole words.

    Availability and Activation

    Fuzzy numeric search is included in AI Search starting from the Xanadu Patch 9 release but is disabled by default. ServiceNow AI Platform administrators must activate this feature to enable fuzzy numeric matching during searches and auto-complete suggestions.

    Activation instructions are available separately to guide admins through enabling this capability.

    Fuzzy numeric search lets you find indexed records by their Number field values without needing to enter alphabetic prefixes or leading zeroes.

    Fuzzy numeric search overview

    Fuzzy numeric search in AI Search allows your numerical search terms to match indexed ServiceNow AI Platform® records by their Number field values. The fuzzy matching compares the numeric search term with each indexed record's Number, ignoring its alphabetical prefix and any leading zeroes. As an example, if you index knowledge article and problem records, a search for 23583 might return knowledge article KB00023583 and problem PRB00023583 as search results.

    When fuzzy numeric search is activated, AI Search checks all-numeric search terms for fuzzy numeric matches when you search and when computing auto-complete suggestions for your search terms.
    Important:

    Fuzzy numeric search only searches records from numbered tables. These are tables with Number fields that have prefixes defined in the Number [sys_number] table. To learn about record numbering and the Number table, see Record numbering.

    Child tables that inherit the Number field from their parent table can't be searched using fuzzy numeric search. Only tables that have their own Number field defined work with this feature.

    Fuzzy numeric search only finds numeric field values in predefined fields named number. It doesn't search custom fields or predefined fields with other names.

    Fuzzy numeric matching behavior

    The following table provides additional details on how fuzzy numeric matching operates.
    Fuzzy numeric matching behavior Description
    AI Search only checks all-numeric search terms for fuzzy matches A search for KB52578 doesn't match knowledge article KB00052578 because the search term includes non-numeric characters. If you search for 16867 test, your all-numeric 16867 search term is checked for fuzzy numeric matches, but your non-numeric test search term isn't.
    Fuzzy numeric matching ignores leading zeroes in all-numeric search terms A search for 07295 returns the same fuzzy numeric matches as a search for 7295 (without the leading zero) does.
    Fuzzy numeric search only matches Number field values from indexed records A search for 28761 matches the knowledge article with Number field value KB00028761, but it doesn't match the term KB00028761 if it occurs in the text of other knowledge articles.
    Fuzzy numeric matching only ignores alphabetical prefixes and leading zeroes in record Number field values A search for 729 matches knowledge article KB00000729, but doesn't match article KB00003729 because its Number field value has a non-zero digit before the matching substring.
    To be a fuzzy match, a numeric substring must match the final digits of a record's Number field value A search for 1164 matches knowledge article KB00001164, but doesn't match article KB00116497 because its Number field value includes digits after the matching substring.

    Examples of fuzzy numeric search

    The following table includes examples to illustrate how fuzzy numeric searches match search results. These examples assume that records are indexed from the Knowledge [kb_knowledge] and Problem [problem] tables.
    Search Search results
    73492 Search matches these results:
    • Knowledge article with Number KB00073492
    • Problem with Number PRB00073492
    • Any indexed record or document that includes 73492 as a whole term (not a substring)
    05638 Search matches these results:
    • Knowledge article with Number KB0005638
    • Problem with Number PRB0005638
    • Any indexed record or document that includes 05638 as a whole term (not a substring)
    2541 828 Search matches these results when using the AND (conjunctive) operator:
    • Knowledge article with Number KB0002541 and text including 828 as a whole term (not a substring)
    • Knowledge article with Number KB0000828 and text including 2541 as a whole term (not a substring)
    • Problem with Number PRB0002541 and text including 828 as a whole term (not a substring)
    • Problem with Number PRB0000828 and text including 2541 as a whole term (not a substring)
    • Any indexed record or document that includes 2541 and 828 as whole terms (not substrings)
    Search matches these results when using the OR (disjunctive) operator:
    • Knowledge article with Number KB0002541
    • Knowledge article with Number KB0000828
    • Problem with Number PRB0002541
    • Problem with Number PRB0000828
    • Any indexed record or document that includes 2541 as a whole term (not a substring)
    • Any indexed record or document that includes 828 as a whole term (not a substring)
    Note:
    For more details on the AND and OR operators, see the description of the glide.ais.query.search_operator system property in AI Search system properties.
    model 9433 Search matches these results when using the AND (conjunctive) operator:
    • Knowledge article with Number KB0009433 and text including model as a whole term (not a substring)
    • Problem with Number PRB0009433 and text including model as a whole term (not a substring)
    • Any indexed record or document that includes model and 9433 as whole terms (not substrings)
    Search matches these results when using the OR (disjunctive) operator:
    • Knowledge article with Number KB0009433
    • Problem with Number PRB0009433
    • Any indexed record or document that includes model as a whole term (not a substring)
    • Any indexed record or document that includes 9433 as a whole term (not a substring)
    Note:
    For more details on the AND and OR operators, see the description of the glide.ais.query.search_operator system property in AI Search system properties.

    Fuzzy numeric search availability

    Starting with the Xanadu Patch 9 release, fuzzy numeric search is included with AI Search but is deactivated by default. It's only available at search time if your ServiceNow AI Platform® admin has activated it. To view activation steps for this feature, see Activate fuzzy numeric search in AI Search.