Combined Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) release notes for upgrades from Xanadu to Zurich

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated August 11, 2026
  • 12 minutes to read
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    Summary of Combined Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) Release Notes for Upgrades from Xanadu to Zurich

    This consolidated guide summarizes the key updates, features, changes, and activation requirements for Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) across releases from Xanadu through Zurich. It is designed to help ServiceNow customers prepare for and understand the impact of upgrading their Now Assist for SPM capabilities to the Zurich release family.

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    The document covers all release notes, including new AI-powered features, enhancements, usage measurement changes, and important configuration and licensing considerations.

    Key Features

    • AI Agent Task Monitoring: Now Assist AI agents autonomously monitor project tasks and milestones to detect critical updates such as delayed end dates, red status changes, or state transitions, enabling proactive project management.
    • Feedback and Content Summarization: Generative AI capabilities allow summarizing multiple feedback records and selected document text to save time and support informed decision-making.
    • Project Insights Email: Schedule automated project summary emails at configurable intervals (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly) to keep stakeholders informed with key project updates and insights.
    • Identify Similar Records: AI-assisted detection of similar demand records using contextual similarity of key fields helps avoid duplication and improves demand management.
    • Target Generation Skill: Automatically generates measurable targets from goals information, populating target creation forms to accelerate strategic planning.
    • Story and Acceptance Criteria Generation: Enhanced agile story generation and acceptance criteria skills convert epics into actionable user stories with aligned requirements.
    • Refine Records Skill: AI-assisted text refinement supports improved content quality across multiple record types including product ideas, demands, epics, projects, and more.
    • Multi-Provider AI Model Support: Integration with third-party AI model providers such as Google Gemini 2.0/2.5 and AWS Claude 3.7 Sonnet, supplementing Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI GPT-4.1 options for flexible AI capabilities.
    • Agentic Workflow User Role: Introduction of the ppm.aiprojectmanageragent user role to securely run AI agents and scheduled jobs without relying on administrator accounts.

    Upgrade and Configuration Considerations

    • Review and complete recommended pre- and post-upgrade tasks before moving to Zurich.
    • Now Assist usage measurement transitioned from a 365-day look-back model to a 365-day burn-down model resetting at contract anniversary, affecting license consumption tracking.
    • All Now Assist for SPM skills are activated by default in Zurich, simplifying setup for new users and upgrades.
    • Additional role configuration is required for agentic workflows and AI agents to ensure secure and appropriate access.
    • The Now Assist for SPM application requires activation of the corresponding plugin and a Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) Pro plus license.

    What Customers Can Expect

    • Improved project and portfolio productivity through AI-driven task monitoring, feedback summarization, and content generation tools integrated directly into Strategic Portfolio Management workflows.
    • Automated, customizable communications via scheduled project insights emails to keep teams aligned and informed.
    • Enhanced record quality and efficiency with AI-assisted refinement and generation skills across planning items, user stories, and targets.
    • Greater flexibility and robustness of AI capabilities through support for multiple AI model providers.
    • Streamlined security and operational governance with dedicated roles managing AI agent workflows.

    Consolidated page of all release notes for Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) from Xanadu to Zurich.

    How to use this page

    To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) release notes onto one page. Read this summary of the new features, changes, and updated information for your product from Xanadu to Zurich.

    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 Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) to Zurich

    Before you upgrade to Zurich, 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.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    New features

    Between your current release family and Zurich, new features were introduced for Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM).

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu
    Xanadu Patch 7 Monitor tasks
    Use Now Assist for SPM AI agents to help enhance project efficiency by monitoring your tasks autonomously.
    Table 1. Available AI agents use case
    AI agent use case Description
    Monitor project tasks Track project tasks with AI agents to detect important updates such as delayed end dates, status turning red, or state updates. AI agents can help project managers to enhance productivity by delivering real-time visibility into key task changes, enabling proactive decision-making.
    Summarize multiple feedback records
    Summarize multiple feedback records through generative AI and save time by not having to do manual feedback analysis. You can generate a short summary for one or multiple feedback records at once and use it to make informed decisions on your product.
    Generate a summary in Now Assist in Docs
    Use Now Assist in Docs to create a concise summary of the selected text and quickly gain relevant information.
    Schedule the project summary emails with Email project summary skill
    Generate a comprehensive summary of the entire content in Docs by using the Gen AI Docs skill and reduce the time spent on manually analyzing all the information. The Gen AI Docs skill name is Project Gen AI Docs in Project Workspace, Planning item Gen AI Docs in Strategic Planning, and EAP Teams Gen AI Docs in Enterprise Agile Planning.
    Summarize content with Planning item doc summarization in Strategic Planning
    Set up automated emails by using the email project summary skill to stay updated on the project progress. The email is shared on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly cadence.

    Yokohama
    Yokohama Patch 11
    Identify similar records using Now Assist
    Detect similar existing demand records when creating or editing a demand using the identify similar records skill. The skill compares the Name, Description, and Business Case fields for contextual similarity.
    Accelerate target creation with the target generation skill
    Generate measurable targets from goals information and optional context with the target generation skill. The skill automatically populates key fields in the target creation form, helping teams define clear, measurable outcomes and create targets quickly.
    Schedule project insights email
    • Schedule project insights email in the Configure project insights modal. The project email is emailed to the project managers and users and continues on the selected schedule that you select until the project is inactive or paused.
    • Schedule and instantly send the project insights email to your project managers by selecting the Send preview button.
    • Track important updates such as the delayed end dates, the status turning red, or the state updates of your projects and receive project insights email on the schedule that you select.
    • Select the email frequency that works for you: weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
    • Monitor critical elements such as milestones, resources, projects, and project tasks.
    • Receive proactive, AI-based notifications when project milestones or critical tasks could lead to delays using Monitor project task agent. Use the Enable critical task alerts option from planning page to enable the project task monitor AI agent.
    • Choose the recipients to whom you want to send the project insights email.
    Yokohama Patch 6
    New third-party AI model provider options available for Now Assist
    Google Gemini 2.0 Flash, Google Gemini 2.5 Pro, and AWS Claude 3.7 Sonnet are available for Now Assist skills and AI agents in addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI GPT-4.1 and GPT-4.1 mini.
    Write planning item skill
    • Use this skill to improve record quality and user satisfaction by enabling AI assistance in the Description field across all Strategic Planning Workspace forms, including product idea, demand, epic, project, capability, feature, and story.
    • Enable text refinement with the Elaborate and Shorten options on planning items to support product managers and agile team members in creating and editing content more effectively.

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 4
    Schedule project insights email
    • Schedule project insights email in the Configure project insights modal. The project email is emailed to the project managers and users and continues on the selected schedule that you select until the project is inactive or paused.
    • Schedule and instantly send the project insights email to your project managers by selecting the Send preview button.
    • Track important updates such as the delayed end dates, the status turning red, or the state updates of your projects and receive project insights email on the schedule that you select.
    • Select the email frequency that works for you: weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
    • Monitor critical elements such as milestones, resources, projects, and project tasks.
    • Receive proactive, AI-based notifications when project milestones or critical tasks could lead to delays using Monitor project task agent. Use the Enable critical task alerts option from planning page to enable the project task monitor AI agent.
    • Choose the recipients to whom you want to send the project insights email.
    Identify similar records using Now Assist
    Detect similar existing demand records when creating or editing a demand using the identify similar records skill. The skill compares the Name, Description, and Business Case fields for contextual similarity.
    Accelerate target creation with the target generation skill
    Generate measurable targets from goals information and optional context with the target generation skill. The skill automatically populates key fields in the target creation form, helping teams define clear, measurable outcomes and create targets quickly.
    Generate acceptance criteria for stories
    Generate clear, consistent acceptance criteria for user stories with the acceptance criteria generation skill. By leveraging story context and predefined templates, the skill helps you align with requirements.
    Enhancements to Story generation
    Use the upgraded agile story generation skill to convert epics into actionable user stories quickly. Powered by an agentic workflow, the skill analyzes epic details to recommend the optimal number of stories, enables adjustments, refines story content, and creates story records.
    Zurich Patch 2
    Improve efficiency with refine records skill and Now Assist Context MenuSkill name is changed to Refine records
    Simplify record creation and updates by using the refine records skill with Now Assist context menu. Improve record quality by enabling AI-assisted text refinement in the text fields of Product idea, Demand, Epic, Projects, Capability, Feature, Stories, Project tasks, Risks, Strategic priorities, Goals, Targets, Initiatives, Feedback, Milestones, and Story forms.
    Zurich Patch 1
    Configure ACLs for custom roles
    Update the ACLs for custom roles that require access to Now Assist skills.
    Generate and improve Docs content

    Help improve your content and productivity with the ability to enter custom prompts directly in the Docs, alongside the Summarize, Elaborate, and Shorten options.

    Generate content with Now Assist for SPM directly in your Docs. In addition, summarize existing sections, elaborate where needed, and refine drafts to help improve your productivity.

    You can interact with Now Assist directly in your Doc to create content, add context, or improve existing sections.

    New third-party AI model provider options available for Now Assist
    Google Gemini 2.0 Flash, Google Gemini 2.5 Pro, and AWS Claude 3.7 Sonnet are available for Now Assist skills and AI agents in addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI GPT-4.1 and GPT-4.1 mini.

    Changes

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some changes were made to existing Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) features.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    		 No updates for this release.

    Yokohama
    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.

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 5
    Changes to Now Assist usage measurement
    Zurich Patch 4
    Zurich Patch 1
    ppm.ai_project_manager_agent user role

    The agentic workflow, agents, and scheduled jobs are configured to run under the new ppm.ai_project_manager_agent user role instead of the administrator account.

    Removed

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) features or functionality were removed.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    		 No updates for this release.

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Deprecations

    Between your current release family and Zurich, some Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) features or functionality were deprecated.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    		 No updates for this release.

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Activation information

    Review information on how to activate Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM).

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    Now Assist features are available with activation of the Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) plugin. For more information, see Install Now Assist plugins.

    Yokohama

    Now Assist features are available with activation of the Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) plugin. The Now Assist for SPM application requires a Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) Pro plus license. For more information, see Install Now Assist plugins.

    Zurich

    Now Assist features are available with activation of the Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) plugin. For more information, see Install Now Assist plugins.

    Additional requirements

    If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    The Now Assist for SPM application requires a Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) Pro plus license. Now Assist for SPM is supported from Xanadu patch 3 release.

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Browser requirements

    If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    		 No updates for this release.

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Accessibility information

    Review details on accessibility information for Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM), such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    		 No updates for this release.

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Localization information

    If there are specific localization considerations for Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    		 No updates for this release.

    Yokohama

    		 No updates for this release.

    Zurich

    		 No updates for this release.

    Highlight information

    If there are specific highlight considerations for Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Xanadu

    Yokohama Patch 1: Use Now Assist for SPM AI agents to help optimize workflows, improve productivity, and automate your tasks.

    • Summarize multiple feedback records with the multi-feedback summarization skill to extract insights from feedback.
    • Copy a generated summary and then use it to create a planning or non-planning item.
    • Get assistance from Now Assist for writing content in Now Assist Docs. Generate a summary of the selected content by using the Now Assist skill and shorten or elaborate the content as needed.
    • Enable the email project summary skill to receive project updates via email.
    • Generate a summary of the complete content in Now Assist in Docs using the Gen AI docs skill and save time on manual content analysis.

    See Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) for more information.

    Yokohama
    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.
    • Generate measurable targets from goals information and optional context with the target generation skill.
    • Use the identify similar records skill to find similar demands based on contextual similarity.
    • Enable the project task monitor AI agent to autonomously monitor project tasks on the critical path of a project.
    • Use the Send preview button to share a project insights email instantly.
    Yokohama Patch 6
    • Use Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude on AWS as AI model providers for Now Assist skills and AI agents in addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI.
    • Use a decorative loader to elevate visual interest during content loading in Strategic Planning.
    • Refine the planning item text descriptions by enabling AI assistance.
    • Use Now Assist for SPM AI agents to help optimize workflows, improve productivity, and automate your tasks.

    See Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) for more information.

    Zurich
    Zurich Patch 5
    • Review changes to Now Assist usage measurement.
    Zurich Patch 4
    • All Now Assist for SPM skills are activated by default.
    • Use the identify similar records skill to find similar demands based on contextual similarity.
    • Enable the project task monitor AI agent to autonomously monitor project tasks on the critical path of a project.
    • Use the Send preview button to share a project insights email instantly.
    • Generate measurable targets from goals information and optional context with the target generation skill.
    Zurich Patch 1
    • Use Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude on AWS as AI model providers for Now Assist skills and AI agents in addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI.

    See Now Assist for Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) for more information.