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Summary of SharePoint Online Search Connector prerequisites
The ServiceNow SharePoint Online Search Connector (SPOC) enables a consumer-grade search experience that helps employees quickly find and discover Microsoft SharePoint content directly through the ServiceNow employee experience.SPOC supports multiple channels including Employee Service Management, Service Portal, Now Mobile app, and Virtual Agent, and integrates with ServiceNow® AI Search to enhance relevance and personalization.Note that starting with the Yokohama release, SPOC is being prepared for future deprecation; it is hidden on new instances but remains supported for existing customers.
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Required Plugins and Setup
Activate these plugins: Employee Center Pro, Microsoft SharePoint spoke, AI Search spoke, and Microsoft Entra ID spoke.
Ensure the AI Search engine is enabled, as SPOC only works with AI Search (not Zing Search).
The External Content for the AI Search plugin requires a ServiceNow subscription.
Microsoft Entra ID spoke setup is mandatory, along with Graph and REST connection configurations to link ServiceNow with the Microsoft SharePoint tenant.
Supported Features and Content Types
Supported file types include common Office formats (e.g., DOCX, PPTX, XLSX), PDFs, HTML, ASPX, and others compatible with AI Search.
Maximum file size for indexing is 25 MB.
Supported languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese, and German.
Supports SharePoint groups: Members (edit permissions), Owners (create/edit/delete), and Visitors (read-only).
Reads users only from Microsoft 365 Members group, not from Active Directory.
Supports SharePoint site permissions set to “Everyone except external users.”
Administrative Controls and Enhancements
Flexible permissions: Choose from Sites.FullControl.All, Sites.Read.All, or Sites.Selected permissions when configuring the connector.
Selective indexing: Include or exclude specific sites and subsites to protect confidential information.
Index published versions only: Ensure indexing targets only finalized documents, preventing drafts from appearing in search results.
To utilize these enhancements, delete any existing connector and recreate it with specified URLs and site permissions for better content governance.
Only one SharePoint instance can be connected to a ServiceNow instance at a time.
The ServiceNowSharePoint Online Search Connector offers a consumer-grade search configuration to manage your information resources.
Important:
Starting with the Yokohama release, SharePoint Online Search Connector is being prepared for future deprecation. It is hidden and no longer activated on new instances but continue to be supported. For deprecation details, see the Deprecation Process [KB0867184] article in the Now Support knowledge base.
For detailed instructions on how to get started with External Content Connectors, see
As search is the key to productivity, SharePoint Online Search Connector (SPOC) helps your employees to search and discover content from the ServiceNow employee experience.
How SharePoint Online Search Connector works
Here’s an overview of how SharePoint Online Search Connector works:Figure 1. SPOC overview
Use the SharePoint Online Search Connector to:
Create better search and discovery experiences for the Microsoft SharePoint content, confirming that your employees can quickly find the information they need.
Enable support across multiple channels like Employee Service Management, Service Portal, Now Mobile app, and Virtual Agent.
Integrate with the ServiceNow®AI Search for improved relevance and personalization.
Search and find relevant information and drive business outcomes.
Required plugins
Activate the following plugins and apps:
Employee Center Pro
Microsoft SharePoint spoke
AI Search spoke
Microsoft Entra ID spoke
Verify that the AI Search engine is enabled. External Content for the AI Search plugin (com.glide.ais.external_content) must have a ServiceNow subscription.
The SharePoint Online Search Connector is only compatible with the AI Search engine, not with the Zing search engine.
The content types supported by the AI Search engine, such as, DOTX, HTM, XLSX, DOT, PPTM, DOCX, PPTX, TXT, PDF, POT, PPT, POTX, DOC, HTML, and XLS are supported in SharePoint Online Search Connector along with ASPX.
The AI Search file size up to 25 MB is applicable.
The languages supported are English, Spanish, French, Japanese, and German.
SharePoint Online Search Connector supports SharePoint groups The groups are Members, Owners, and Visitors. The groups have different
permission levels.
Members: Can edit a document residing in the site.
Owners: Can create, edit, and delete documents residing in the site.
Visitors: Can read a document residing in the site.
SharePoint Online Search Connector is enabled to read users from the Microsoft 365 groups.
Note:
It only reads and pulls data from the Microsoft 365Members group.
SharePoint Online Search Connector doesn’t read users from your Active directory.
As an admin, you can use the following enhancements for more flexibility and control:
Flexible permissions: Select the Sites.FullControl.All, Sites.Read.All, or Sites.Selected permissions while configuring the
connector.
Selective indexing: Index sites and subsites selectively by excluding some URLs and subsites, which have confidential information.
Index published versions: Control and limit the indexing only to the published files, confirming employees access the verified and finalized versions and not the drafts or unfinished
documents.
Note:
If you have an existing connector without these enhancements, delete the existing connector, create a new connector, specify the URLs for indexing and exclusion, and define the site permissions for
more effective content control and governance.
Two SharePoint instances cannot be connected to one ServiceNow instance simultaneously.
The Microsoft Entra ID spoke setup is required along with the Graph and REST connection setups to connect your ServiceNow instance to a Microsoft SharePoint tenant.
