Combined Next Experience release notes for upgrades from Xanadu to Yokohama

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated June 16, 2026
  • 6 minutes to read
  • Consolidated page of all release notes for Next Experience from Xanadu to Yokohama.

    How to use this page

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

    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 Next Experience to Yokohama

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

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    New features

    Between your current release family and Yokohama, new features were introduced for Next Experience.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    Next Experience keyboard shortcuts
    Use a new keyboard shortcut to reduce the time required to open the OpenFrame window.
    User experience user preference group added
    A new "User experience" user preference group has been added for the Turn off Next Experience, Enable analytics, and Current start page preferences.
    Pin your notifications menu
    Pin your notifications menu for quick access to important updates.
    View Next Experience performance metrics
    View performance metrics for any Next Experience page.
    Preserve your custom Next Experience theme during a clone
    Cloning is optimized to preserve your Next Experience and Theme Builder themes. This helps ensure that the themes are not overwritten during the cloning process.

    Yokohama

    Fuzzy search results returned within the Unified Navigation menus
    Find relevant search results even with shortened text by using the fuzzy results filter, which ranks results based on their similarity to your search query. Adjust the minimum accuracy score to help fine-tune filter behavior.
    Customizing the Next Experience keyboard shortcuts
    Assign specific actions to unique key combinations to quickly execute tasks. See the Accessibility information section for details.
    Activity stream user preference available
    Enable the activity stream to automatically expand all activities from within the Workspace user preference group.
    Next Experience keyboard shortcuts
    Use a new keyboard shortcut to open and close the Now Assist panel and another keyboard shortcut to enable Now Assist voice input mode.

    Changes

    Between your current release family and Yokohama, some changes were made to existing Next Experience features.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    Select a theme in Next Experience
    If multiple core themes have been created using Theme Builder, then those themes and their alternate color palettes are displayed in the Theme user preference group.

    Yokohama

    Next Experience preferences
    The new user preference panel provides a more efficient, streamlined way for you to work. Use the new search bar to locate your preferences. A wider modal displays all preference groups and when you select a group, all the individual preferences that are related to it appear in the same window.

    Removed

    Between your current release family and Yokohama, some Next Experience features or functionality were removed.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Deprecations

    Between your current release family and Yokohama, some Next Experience features or functionality were deprecated.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Activation information

    Review information on how to activate Next Experience.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    Next Experience is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default when the user loads or upgrades to the Xanadu release. An opt-out system property can be created prior to upgrade if there are known problems with turning on Next Experience on an instance.

    Install Theme Builder by requesting it from the ServiceNow Store.

    Yokohama

    Next Experience is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default when the user loads or upgrades to the Yokohama release. If there are known problems with turning on Next Experience on an instance, an opt-out system property can be created prior to upgrade.

    Theme Builder comes with the Next Experience and is active by default.

    Additional requirements

    If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Next Experience we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Browser requirements

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

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    Xanadu no longer supports Internet Explorer 11. You can't log in through that browser. The iOS version of Firefox is also not supported.

    Yokohama

    The Yokohama release doesn't support Internet Explorer 11. The iOS version of Firefox is also not supported.

    Accessibility information

    Review details on accessibility information for Next Experience, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    Next Experience keyboard shortcuts
    In addition to the 40 keyboard shortcuts available, there is a new keyboard shortcut to reduce the time required opening the OpenFrame window. This shortcut allows agents to dial and answer the phone from the platform.

    Yokohama

    Customize Next Experience keyboard shortcuts
    Create your own keyboard shortcuts for frequently used actions.
    Next Experience keyboard shortcuts
    Keyboard shortcuts categorized: Keyboard shortcuts for each page are now organized into categories: Page Action, Page Navigation, Global Navigation, and General.
    New keyboard shortcuts: Two new Next Experience keyboard shortcuts are available, one shortcut to open and close the Now Assist panel and another to enable voice input for Now Assist.
    Accessibility improvements for keyboard interactions: Use the right and left arrow keys to expand and collapse rows.
    Configure Next Experience accessibility preferences
    Voice input for Now Assist

    A new user preference activates voice-to-text input in the Now Assist panel. With this feature, you can use your voice to access Now Assist skills in the Now Assist panel in any supported language.

    This preference appears only if your system administrator has enabled the voice input for the Now Assist feature for your instance. For more information, see Enable voice input for the Now Assist panel.

    Once your system administrator has enabled voice input for your instance, the "Enable voice input for the Now Assist panel" user preference is displayed.

    Localization information

    If there are specific localization considerations for Next Experience we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Yokohama

    No updates for this release.

    Highlight information

    If there are specific highlight considerations for Next Experience we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    • Choose from multiple themes created with Theme Builder and apply them to your instance.
    • A new keyboard shortcut enables you to access the OpenFrame UI.
    • A new "User experience" user preference group has been added for the Turn off Next Experience, Enable analytics, and Current start page preferences.
    • A new client interaction table displays UI load times for identifying and investigating performance anomalies.

    See Next Experience UI for more information.

    Yokohama

    • Create personalized keyboard shortcuts to streamline your workflow and boost productivity.
    • Track the filters that you apply to your Workspace lists within the History menu. Each time you change your filter, the History menu displays a separate entry.
    • Quickly locate and adjust your user preferences by using the new streamlined search function.
    • User preference icons now adopt your theme colors.

    See Next Experience UI for more information.