Catalog Item Standards scope and examples

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 7, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Catalog Item Standards scope and examples

    This reference outlines the best practices supported within the scope of catalog item generation using the Now Assist conversational catalog item builder in ServiceNow’s Zurich release. It clarifies which best practices are honored during catalog creation, provides examples of in-scope and out-of-scope practices, and defines the rules for their application. This helps ensure consistent, user-friendly catalog items while understanding the limitations of automated assistance.

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    In-Scope Best Practices

    Now Assist applies best practices that align with what users can directly create via the conversational catalog item builder. These include:

    • Including help text for all mandatory fields: Ensures requesters have guidance, reducing confusion and errors.
    • Avoiding radio button questions with more than 20 choices: Suggests using drop-down menus for large option sets to improve usability and conserve screen space.
    • Using clear question labels without technical jargon: Recommends plain language for better comprehension by typical requesters.

    Out-of-Scope Best Practices

    Best practices that depend on information not accessible to the language model (LLM) or require system-level configurations are not enforced by Now Assist, including:

    • Role-based restrictions: For example, preventing Catalog Builder Editors from creating certain question types.
    • Reference qualifiers: Adding filters for lookup questions with large choice sets, which need deeper system knowledge.

    Rules for Applying Best Practices

    • Plain text only: Now Assist honors best practices documented in plain text; formatted content and images are ignored.
    • Deviation prompts: If a created catalog item deviates from best practices, the user is notified after creation.
    • Published content use: Only the latest published version of the Catalog Best Practices article is used; drafts are excluded.

    Practical Impact for ServiceNow Customers

    ServiceNow customers leveraging Now Assist for catalog item creation can expect automated guidance aligned with clear, practical best practices that improve item quality and usability without needing extensive manual oversight. However, customers should manage more advanced security, role-based, and configuration-specific practices outside the scope of Now Assist’s current capabilities.

    This reference describes the in-scope best practices that can be used for catalog item generation. It provides examples of in-scope and out-of-scope best practices and documents the rules for how best practices are applied.

    Scope of best practices

    Best practices are honored only when they are within the scope of catalog generation capabilities. This means best practices apply only to what a user can create using the Now Assist conversational catalog item builder.

    The following are examples of best practices that are within the scope of catalog generation and are honored by Now Assist.
    Table 1. In-scope best practices examples
    Intent Best practices
    Include help text for all mandatory fields

    If a mandatory question does not have help text, highlight this as help text guides requesters on what is expected, reducing confusion and errors.
    Avoid radio button questions with more than 20 choices If a radio button (single choice) question has more than 10 to 15 choices, highlight this as a drop-down is cleaner for larger option sets and takes up less screen space.
    Use clear question labels and avoid technical jargon If a question label uses technical jargon, abbreviations, or acronyms that a typical requester may not understand, highlight this as plain-language labels are easier for everyone.

    Out-of-scope best practices examples

    Best practices that require information not directly available to the LLM aren't applied. This includes:
    • Security or access rules
    • Role-based restrictions on catalog builders
    The following are examples of best practices that are outside the scope of catalog generation and aren't honored by Now Assist.
    Table 2. Out-of-scope best practices examples
    Intent Best practices
    Restrict lookup multiple-choice questions based on Catalog Builder Editor role If the creator's role is Catalog Builder Editor, they must not be able to create a lookup multiple-choice question type. This restriction depends on role-based security rules not directly available to the LLM.
    Add reference qualifiers for lookup questions with more than 1,000 choices

    If a lookup question has more than 1,000 choices, add a reference qualifier to filter the options. This may require system configuration knowledge beyond catalog item properties.

    Rules for best practice application

    The following rules define how Now Assist applies best practices:
    • Plain text requirement: Now Assist honors only best practices written in plain text in the article. Formatted text, images, and special markup are ignored.
    • Deviation: If there is a deviation, a catalog item is created, and then the user is prompted about the deviation.
    • Published version only: The LLM uses only the latest published version of the Catalog Best Practices article. Draft isn’t considered.