Bring your own key for third-party AI provider integration

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated January 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Bring your own key for third-party AI provider integration

    The Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) feature enables ServiceNow customers to use their own API credentials from supported cloud AI providers—such as Azure OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock (Anthropic Claude), and Google Gemini—to execute Now Assist skills and AI agents. Instead of routing AI model requests through ServiceNow’s AI Platform, BYOK sends requests via the customer’s own cloud AI account. This ensures customers retain control over their AI configuration, security, and data processing environment while leveraging Now Assist capabilities.

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    Key Features

    • Provider flexibility: Support for multiple cloud AI providers including Azure OpenAI, Anthropic Claude via Amazon Bedrock, and Google Gemini.
    • Full control over API keys: Customers maintain ownership and control of their API credentials, keeping keys secure within their cloud environment.
    • Seamless integration: BYOK supports the same AI models available on the ServiceNow AI Platform, enabling a consistent experience with your chosen provider.
    • Custom configuration: Ability to map ServiceNow model aliases to specific provider models and override skill variants as needed.
    • Monitoring and validation: Customers can verify that AI requests use their own provider account by reviewing outbound HTTPS logs.
    • Provider-specific setup: Configuration steps vary by provider but generally involve creating credentials, enabling BYOK in Now Assist Admin, mapping models, and validating requests.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    To use BYOK, customers must configure a connection between their ServiceNow instance and their chosen cloud AI provider by setting up API keys, endpoints, and regions. For example, with Azure OpenAI, customers must configure API credentials, define model and deployment names in the Generative AI Controller, customize prompts as desired, and switch the integration to use BYOK for AI processing.

    Enabling BYOK allows customers to leverage their existing cloud AI investments, maintain compliance with internal security policies, and potentially optimize costs by managing AI usage directly with their cloud provider. However, customers should review their cloud AI provider’s pricing and terms before enabling BYOK to understand any additional charges.

    Next Steps

    • Follow provider-specific instructions available in the Now Support Knowledge Base to configure BYOK.
    • Map ServiceNow models to your provider’s models and customize prompts if needed.
    • Validate that AI requests are sent through your cloud AI account by checking HTTPS logs.
    • Consider configuring custom resource paths for BYOK models to optimize usage.

    The bring your own key (BYOK) feature enables you to use your own API credentials from supported cloud AI providers, such as Azure OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Gemini, to run Now Assist skills and AI agents.

    When BYOK is enabled, Now Assist sends model requests through your cloud AI provider account instead of ServiceNow AI Platform infrastructure. This approach lets you maintain ownership of your AI configuration, security controls, and data processing environment while continuing to use Now Assist capabilities.

    BYOK supports the same AI models that the ServiceNow AI Platform supports. After you configure your API credentials, Now Assist uses your provider resources to process requests instead of using the default ServiceNow AI provider. BYOK keeps your keys under your control and AI workloads running within your cloud environment.
    Note:
    Using your organization’s cloud AI provider account might result in additional charges from that provider. Review the provider’s pricing and terms of service before enabling BYOK.

    ServiceNow integrated model providers

    BYOK supports the following cloud AI providers:
    • Azure OpenAI
    • Anthropic Claude on AWS, which is accessible through Amazon Bedrock
    • Google Gemini

    Configuring a BYOK connection with a cloud AI provider

    To use your cloud AI provider resources within your ServiceNow instance, configure a connection between ServiceNow and your provider. Configuration steps vary by provider, but follow a similar high-level configuration workflow as the following steps:
    1. Create connection and credentials for the provider, such as endpoint, API key, and region.
    2. Enable BYOK for the provider in Now Assist Admin.
    3. Map ServiceNow model aliases to provider model versions. For example, map gemini_large → 2.5 Pro.
    4. Optionally, override variants in each skill in Version Management.
    5. Validate that requests are using your AI provider account by reviewing outbound HTTPS logs.

    For step-by-step instructions for each supported cloud AI provider, see Configure Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) for Now Assist and AI Agents [KB2666298] article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.

    High-level BYOK configuration for Azure OpenAI

    1. Set up Azure OpenAI connection with your own key to use Azure OpenAI within your ServiceNow instance.

      For more information, see Configure API credentials for Azure OpenAI.

    2. Configure your Azure OpenAI model and deployment name in Generative AI Controller so your ServiceNow instance can recognize and use it.

      For more information, see Create a custom embedding model.

    3. Modify the prompt configuration to write your own prompts to send to the Azure OpenAI LLMs.

      For more information, see Configure a generic large language model (LLM) connector.

    4. Switch providers to use BYOK for AI processing.

      For more information, see Manage Integration.