Application readiness for AI on the ServiceNow AI Platform

Ensure that your instance is ready to take advantage of AI capabilities by preparing Platform applications, such as Service Catalog and AI Search.

Installing a product such as ServiceNow Otto for IT Service Management (ITSM) gives you access to AI capabilities in Platform applications as well as capabilities specific to your product workflow. It's important to ensure that the appropriate Platform applications are ready for AI. To prepare your instance, review the following topics:

• Knowledge Base readiness for AI on the ServiceNow AI Platform
• Service Catalog readiness for AI on the ServiceNow AI Platform
• AI Search readiness for ServiceNow Otto on the ServiceNow AI Platform
• ServiceNow Otto for Virtual Agent readiness on the ServiceNow AI Platform

After ensuring that your AI policy, your data, and your applications are ready, you can begin to implement AI.

1. Ensure entitlement for at least one ServiceNow Otto application or a product tier with the capabilities that you want.
   Note:

   Some AI products may require other entitlements.
2. In the ServiceNow Store, check version compatibilities and dependencies for ServiceNow Otto and tiered apps.

   For more information, see Evaluating version requirements and dependencies.

3. Install products from the AI Admin Hub console.

   For more information, see Install plugins for ServiceNow Otto.

Customization and AI

Customizing your ServiceNow instance is often necessary to meet unique business needs, but it can introduce unintended consequences for AI features. Changes to field names, UI actions, workflows, or table structures may disrupt how generative AI skills and AI agents operate. For example, modifying field states or labels can interfere with skill conditions and input mapping, while altering default UI actions may prevent agents from triggering correctly. Custom resolution workflows might conflict with the logic embedded in native skills, and table-level variations can affect where and how AI functions across workflows. These customizations can also create upgrade friction, requiring additional testing, rework, or reconfiguration to ensure compatibility with new platform releases.

To mitigate these risks, you can use tools like the Now Assist Readiness Evaluation app to identify high-impact customizations and plan for remediation before deploying or upgrading AI features. For more information, see AI Readiness Evaluation.

To maintain compatibility with ServiceNow Otto and tiered applications while accommodating custom configurations, several mitigation strategies are available:

• Duplicate generative AI skills before adapting them.
• Adjust skill inputs and role conditions to reflect organizational processes.
• Add additional input sources, such as related tables or emails.

For more advanced needs, build custom generative AI skills tailored to your unique business requirements, allowing for deeper integration without compromising core functionality.

For more information about customizing AI solutions, see How to approach building custom generative AI solutions using Now Assist in the ServiceNow Community.