Now Assist for Source-to-Pay Operations release notes

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 4 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Now Assist for Source-to-Pay Operations release notes

    The Now Assist for Source-to-Pay Operations application in the Yokohama release enhances development efficiency on the ServiceNow AI Platform by integrating generative AI skills. It supports automated conversational intake, summarization, and agentic workflows across sourcing, supplier lifecycle, and accounts payable operations to streamline processes, reduce manual work, and improve user experience.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Now Assist for Sourcing and Procurement Operations (SPO): Includes an AI-powered agentic workflow that manages user inquiries by providing knowledge, clarifying requests, deflecting common questions, and recommending purchase plans. New summarization skills inform fulfillers and requesters on negotiation status, purchase orders, requisitions, and sourcing requests.
    • Now Assist for Supplier Lifecycle Operations (SLO): Features an agentic workflow automating supplier onboarding including data validation, duplicate checks, task generation, and supplier communication. AI-powered conversational intake allows suppliers to update profiles, submit cases, and track inquiries. Summarization panels provide case summaries in multiple languages for global accessibility.
    • Now Assist for Accounts Payable Operations (APO): Enables AP fulfillers to interact with generative AI for submitting and tracking requests. Features include AI-powered purchase order line mapping to improve matching accuracy and agentic workflows to efficiently handle high volumes of invoice inquiries, reducing manual workload.
    • AI Model Provider Options: In addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini and AWS Claude are now supported across all Now Assist applications, offering expanded AI capabilities.
    • UI Enhancements: SPO skills are accessible via Virtual Agent chat, allowing requesters to perform self-service purchasing tasks with contextual generative AI assistance.
    • Usage Measurement Changes: Transition from a 365-day look-back to a 365-day burn-down model with usage resetting on the contract anniversary, starting from Yokohama Patch 5.
    • Default Skill Activation: Designated Now Assist skills are enabled by default for new installations. For existing customers upgrading to Yokohama Patch 11, any previously unconfigured skills are turned on automatically, while previously disabled skills remain off.
    • Access Control Configuration: Administrators can configure access control lists (ACLs) in AI Agent Studio to define who can discover and trigger AI agents and agentic workflows, choosing between dynamic user or AI user behavior and controlling availability to authenticated users or publicly.

    Activation and Next Steps

    ServiceNow customers can install Now Assist for Source-to-Pay Operations by requesting it through the ServiceNow Store. The store also provides comprehensive app listings and version history for cumulative release notes and updates.

    The ServiceNow® Now Assist for Source-to-Pay Operations application includes generative AI skills that can make developing on the ServiceNow AI Platform more efficient. Now Assist for Source-to-Pay Operations was enhanced and updated in the Yokohama release.

    Now Assist for Source-to-Pay Operations highlights for the Yokohama release

    Yokohama Patch 11
    • Review changes to Now Assist usage measurement.
    • Some Now Assist skills, agents, and agentic workflows are on by default.
    • Additional role configuration is required for agentic workflows and AI agents included with Now Assist applications.
    Previous Patch releases
    • ServiceNow Otto for Sourcing and Procurement Operations (SPO) supports enhanced AI search and the Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) framework to recommend suppliers and products through semantic search and contextual filters, enhancing recommendations with criteria like preferred suppliers and previous purchases.
    • ServiceNow Otto for Supplier Lifecycle Operations (SLO) supports a conversational intake that helps suppliers to view and update supply information through a conversational flow.
    • ServiceNow Otto for Accounts Payable Operations (APO) supports a conversational intake to complete self-service tasks, such as submit a request or track a request status.

    New in the Yokohama release

    Now Assist for Sourcing and Procurement Operations (SPO)
    ServiceNow Otto for SPO includes an agentic workflow that enhances conversational intake capabilities. This AI-powered agent team streamlines user inquiries to sourcing and procurement teams by gathering knowledge, clarifying requests, deflecting common questions, providing product information, and recommending the appropriate purchase plan. For more information, see Use agentic workflows in Now Assist for Sourcing and Procurement Operations.
    The following new skills are available in Now Assist for SPO:
    • Negotiation summarization for fulfillers: Summarize negotiations to keep fulfillers informed on their current status, progress, and action items.
    • Negotiation event summarization for fulfillers: Summarize negotiation events to keep fulfillers informed on their current status, progress, and action items.
    • Purchase order summarization for requesters: Summarize purchase orders to keep requesters informed about their current status, progress, and action items.
    • Purchase requisition summarization for requesters: Summarize purchase requisitions to keep requesters informed about their current status, progress, and action items.
    • Sourcing request summarization for requesters: Summarize sourcing requests to keep requesters informed about their current status, progress, and action items.
    Now Assist for Supplier Lifecycle Operations (SLO)
    ServiceNow Otto for SLO includes an agentic workflow to streamline the supplier onboarding process by automating supplier registration. AI agents automate the supplier onboarding process, including data validation, duplicate checking, task generation, and communication with suppliers, streamlining the entire process for faster time-to-activation. For more information, see .

    The following new skills are available in ServiceNow Otto for SLO:

    • Conversational intake for suppliers: Suppliers can request profile updates, submit cases, and track inquiry statuses through a conversational interface powered by AI.
    • Now Assist summarization panel: Case summaries are generated directly within the Now Assist Panel with no need to open individual case records.
    • Multilingual support for summarization: Case details are summarized in the user's preferred language, improving accessibility for global teams.
    Now Assist for Accounts Payable Operations (APO)
    With the ServiceNow Otto for APO application, AP fulfillers can leverage generative AI capabilities to chat with live agents, submit a request, and track its status.
    The ServiceNow®Now Assist experience brings generative AI powered purchase order line mapping feature designed to enhance matching accuracy and reducing manual intervention.
    Generate purchase order summarization using Now Assist skills powered by generative AI.
    Use agentic workflows in Accounts Payable Operations to resolve invoice inquiry cases raised by employees and suppliers. These workflows also help track associated invoice records efficiently. With an agentic workflow, you can process a high volume of invoice inquiries that come through email attachments to significantly reduce the workload of human agents.
    New third-party AI model provider options available for all Now Assist applications
    Google Gemini and AWS Claude are available for Now Assist skills and AI agents in addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI.

    UI changes

    Use the Now Assist for Sourcing and Procurement Operations (SPO) skills in a Virtual Agent chat
    Requesters can leverage contextual generative AI by using ServiceNow Otto for SPO in a Virtual Agent chat to complete self-service tasks, such as purchasing products.

    Changed in this release

    Yokohama Patch 11
    Changes to Now Assist usage measurement
    Starting with Yokohama Patch 5, Now Assist usage measurement is transitioning from a 365-day look-back model to a 365-day burn-down model, with usage resetting at the contract anniversary date. For more information, refer to KB KB2704710: Now Assist Usage - Overview & New Measurement Logic.
    Some Now Assist skills are turned on by default
    The new default behavior works as follows:
    • New customers: When you install a Now Assist product, designated skills are turned on automatically.
    • Existing customers who are upgrading (starting with Yokohama Patch 11): Any previously unconfigured skill is turned on automatically (the skill was never configured and turned on, then turned off again). Previously configured skills that were turned on, then off, remain inactive.
    Configure ACLs for AI agents and agentic workflows
    Configure the access control lists for who can discover and trigger AI agents and agentic workflows in their guided setups in AI Agent Studio. You can determine whether an AI agent or agentic workflow behaves as a dynamic user or as an AI user. You can also specify if an AI agent or agentic workflow can be available to all authenticated users or publicly available.

    Activation information

    Install Now Assist for Source-to-Pay Operations by requesting it from ServiceNow Store. Visit the ServiceNow Store website to view all the available apps and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.