Knowledge feature configuration

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 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 Knowledge feature configuration

    The Knowledge feature configuration in Engagement Messenger allows ServiceNow customers to customize how knowledge articles are displayed within the messenger interface. This includes selecting article categories, managing associated knowledge bases, and controlling article visibility to enhance end-user support interactions.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Show articles by: Choose to display either Featured articles (based on associated keywords) or Most viewed articles from your knowledge base on the messenger homepage.
    • Article count: Define how many articles appear on the messenger home page, filtered by the selected article category.
    • Knowledge Bases: Associate one or more knowledge bases with your messenger module by searching and adding them via the Edit option. This determines the source of articles shown.
    • Enable copy permalink: Optionally allow customers to copy the direct permalink to a knowledge article for easier sharing.

    Important Considerations

    • Users managing the Engagement Messenger must have both the knowledgeadmin and Engagement Messenger admin (sncsmec.ecadmin) roles to add knowledge bases to the messenger module.
    • If the selected knowledge base contains no articles, the knowledge article widget will not appear on the messenger homepage, regardless of configuration.
    • The live preview of the Knowledge feature in the configuration interface reflects only the articles accessible to the knowledgeadmin user; lack of access results in an empty preview with only the article category title displayed.
    • Changing the "Show articles by" field in the preview updates the title but does not refresh the displayed content. However, this does not affect the functionality when deployed on a live website.

    Understand the configuration and related lists of the Knowledge feature in Engagement Messenger to configure the field values.

    Table 1. Knowledge feature configuration form
    Field Description
    Show articles by
    Article category that is shown on the home page of the messenger. You can select one of the following categories:
    • Featured articles: Articles that are based on the keywords that are associated with the articles.

      For information on displaying articles in the Featured content section, see Add a knowledge article to featured content.

    • Most viewed articles: Articles that have the highest view among the articles of your knowledge base.

    The articles shown in the messenger are from the knowledge bases that you add in the Knowledge bases field.
    Article count

    Number of articles that are shown on the messenger home page.

    The articles are shown based on the option that you select in the Show articles by field.
    Knowledge Bases List of knowledge bases that are associated with your messenger module.

    Use the Edit option (Lock icon.) and search to add a knowledge base to your messenger module.
    Enable copy permalink Option for enabling your customer to copy the permalink of a knowledge article.
    Figure 1. Knowledge feature widget
    Knowledge feature widget displaying a list of featured articles with the article count set to 2.
    Note the following points while you are configuring the Knowledge feature on your Engagement Messenger module:
    • To add knowledge bases to your messenger module, verify that the knowledge_admin role is manually assigned to the user with Engagement Messenger admin [sn_csm_ec.ec_admin] role.
    • If the knowledge base that you added to the Engagement Messenger has no articles, then the homepage of the messenger UI does not display any knowledge article widget even when you select a value for the Show articles by and Article count fields.
    Note the following points regarding the live preview of Knowledge feature. However, the actual functionality of the feature is not affected when the Engagement Messenger is deployed in your website.
    • The list of articles that is shown in the messenger live preview depends on the application access that the knowledge_admin has to the articles.

      If the knowledge_admin does not have access to any articles, then no content is displayed in the preview. In such a case, only a title Featured articles or Most viewed articles is displayed.

    • Changing the value of the Show articles by field refreshes only the title and not the content in the messenger preview.