Managing custom skills in Assistant Designer Asset library

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Managing custom skills in Assistant Designer Asset library

    This content explains how ServiceNow customers can manage custom skills within the Assistant Designer Asset library, specifically using the updated interface enabled by the Now Assist Topics skill in Virtual Agent. It highlights that while custom skills can be viewed in the Assistant Designer Asset library, their creation, testing, and deletion must be handled exclusively in Now Assist Skill Kit.

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    Key Features

    • Viewing Custom Skills: Custom skills appear in the Assistant Designer Asset library as a list with columns for Name, Type, Status, Active state, Last modified time, and Description.
    • Skill Management Options: From the list, users can toggle settings such as Promoted (show as suggested asset), Discoverable (invoked by user utterances), Visible (shown with "Show me everything" option), and Active (available in conversation).
    • Skill Editing Restrictions: Skills cannot be created or deleted in the Assistant Designer Asset library; these actions require Now Assist Skill Kit. Selecting a skill opens it in Now Assist Skill Kit for editing.
    • Deployment Settings: For custom skills to appear in the Assistant Designer Asset library, they must be enabled in Now Assist Skill Kit under Skill settings > Deployment settings by selecting Platform skills in the Feature list and enabling the Now Assist panel card.
    • Role Requirement: The virtualagentadmin role is required to access and manage custom skills.

    Practical Implications for Customers

    ServiceNow customers can efficiently manage the visibility and activation of custom conversational assets in their virtual assistant through the Assistant Designer Asset library interface. However, they must use Now Assist Skill Kit to create and delete skills, ensuring a clear separation of viewing versus authoring functions. Proper deployment configuration in Now Assist Skill Kit is essential to surface these skills in the Assistant Designer. This setup enables streamlined control over which skills are suggested, discoverable by users, visible in conversations, and active, ultimately improving how virtual assistants deliver tailored interactions.

    View custom skills through Assistant Designer Asset library.

    Note:
    An updated Assistant Designer Asset library user interface is available when you install Now Assist in Virtual Agent and turn on the Now Assist Topics skill. This content assumes that you have activated this skill and can see the list view. If this skill is not activated, you see the legacy UI and topics page. For more information, see Virtual Agent Designer legacy topics page.

    Role required: virtual_agent_admin

    When you select a custom skill, it opens the skill in Now Assist Skill Kit. Custom skills currently can't be created in Virtual Agent Designer. You can only view them in Assistant Designer Asset library. The skills can be created, tested, and deleted only in Now Assist Skill Kit. For more details on creating skills, see Create a skill.

    Figure 1. Custom skills as viewed in Assistant Designer Asset library
    Custom skills pill in Assistant Designer Asset library.
    Column Description
    Name Name of the skill. Select the skill to open it in Now Assist Skill Kit.
    Type Custom skill.
    Status Status type such as Published.
    Active Whether the skill is active or inactive.
    Last modified Time that the skill was last modified.
    Description Description of the custom skill.

    Use the row actions icon to work with visibility settings for Promoted, Discoverable, Visible, and Active:

    Option Description
    Promoted Option to toggle the skill's Promoted status to show as a suggested conversational asset in the virtual assistant.
    Discoverable Option to toggle the skill's Discoverable status. If discoverable, the skill is invoked when matched with a user's utterance.
    Visible Option to toggle the skill's visibility to users. If visible, the skill appears whenever the Show me everything option is selected in the conversation.
    Active Option to toggle the skill's active status. If active, the skill is available within the conversation.
    Delete Delete option for skills is inactive in Assistant Designer Asset library. The skills can only be deleted from Now Assist Skill Kit.

    Custom skills become available in Assistant Designer Asset library based on the deployment settings in Now Assist Skill Kit.

    1. Navigate to Now Assist Skill Kit > Home and select the skill.
    2. Select Skill settings > Deployment settings.
    3. For the skill to become available in Assistant Designer Asset library, the following options should be selected:
      • Select Platform skills in the Feature list.
      • Select the Now Assist panel card to enable the skill through the Now Assist Panel.