Contextual search concepts

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Contextual search concepts

    Contextual search in ServiceNow enables searching across multiple resources with tailored configurations to improve search relevance and user experience. It uses specific components and terminology unique to the ServiceNow platform, facilitating combined and contextualized search results for resources like Knowledge Articles, Catalog Items, and Incidents.

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    Key Components

    • Search Resource: A scripted resource (e.g., Catalog, Knowledge Articles) that uses the Zing search engine to search tables. These are pre-defined by ServiceNow and cannot be created or modified by customers.
    • Searcher: A group of one or more search resources combined for searching, such as the Knowledge and Catalog searcher. These are also pre-defined and not customizable.
    • Additional Resources: Single table sources with specific query conditions (e.g., Resolved Incidents in the last 6 months). These are pre-defined but can be updated by customers to better fit organizational needs, such as modifying query conditions.
    • Search Result Display Fields: Defines which fields (e.g., Assigned to, Opened by, State) appear in search results for additional resources. These fields can be updated to customize the display but cannot be created or deleted.
    • Search Context: Combines a searcher and any additional resources to define the scope of a contextual search. ServiceNow provides pre-defined contexts, but customers can also create their own.
    • Searcher Text: A user-friendly name representing a searcher or group of search resources within a search context, improving clarity in the user interface.
    • Search on Tab: A setting in the search context determining when search executes—either when the user updates and leaves the search field (recommended) or on pause while typing.
    • Search Actions: Defines actions associated with search results, such as "Order" for catalog items or "Attach" for knowledge articles, plus a universal "This helped" action for all sources.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Leverages pre-defined, optimized search resources and searchers to provide relevant and comprehensive search results without requiring custom scripting.
    • Allows customization of additional resources and display fields to tailor searches and results to organizational requirements.
    • Enables configuration of search contexts to control which resources are searched together and when searches are triggered, enhancing user experience.
    • Provides actionable search results with defined actions, facilitating immediate user interactions such as ordering catalog items or attaching knowledge articles.

    Contextual search concepts help you to understand different contextual search components that are used in the documentation, configuration, and user interface. Understanding of the concepts makes it easier for you to comprehend the interconnection between the components.

    Contextual search uses terms and concepts that can differ from industry norms due to the unique nature of the ServiceNow platform. Contextual search includes the following concepts and components:

    Search resource
    Resource that can be searched such as Catalog or Knowledge Articles. As the resources are scripted and contain JavaScript, they can combine results from more than one table.
    Note:
    • ServiceNow provides pre-defined scripted search resources. You can't create, update, or delete search resources.
    • A search resource uses the Zing search engine to search a table.
    Searcher
    A single search resource or a group of search resources that can be searched. For example, the Knowledge and catalog searcher contains Knowledge Articles, Questions and Catalog Items as its search resources.
    Note:
    ServiceNow provides pre-defined searchers. You can't create, update, or delete searchers.
    Additional resources
    An additional resource is a single table source with query conditions that you can search. Additional resources aren't scripted as you search from a single table. For example, Resolved Incidents (within the last six months).
    Note:
    • ServiceNow provides pre-defined additional resources. You can't create or delete additional resources, but can update additional resources to better match your organization requirements. For example, you can update the condition and description for Resolved Incidents (Last 6 months) to change it to Resolved Incidents (Last 3 months).
    • An additional resource performs the search based on the type of the source:
    Search result display fields
    Defines the fields whose values are displayed with the search result of an additional resource. The fields can include Assigned to, Opened by, and State. The search result display fields appear at the bottom of a search result record.
    Note:
    ServiceNow provides pre-defined search result display fields. You can't create or delete additional resources, but you can update search result display fields to better match your organization requirements. For example, change which field to use as a title or the description or which fields to show at the bottom of a search result record.
    Search context
    Brings together a searcher and additional resources (if any) that can be searched.
    Note:
    ServiceNow provides pre-defined search contexts. You can also create search contexts.
    Searcher text
    Defined in a search context, a searcher text specifies a user-friendly group name for the searcher. When a searcher contains more than one search resource, a group name is used to represent that group of search resources. For example, the Incident Deflection search context uses a searcher that searches Knowledge Articles, Questions and Catalog Items. The user-friendly searcher group name that represents all of them is Knowledge & Catalog.
    Search on tab
    Defined in the search context, Search on tab specifies when a contextual search should start the search. The different scenarios when search is performed are:
    • If you select the Search on tab check box, the search only runs when you update and leave the search field (recommended).
    • If you clear the Search on tab check box, the search runs when you pause typing.
    Search actions
    Specifies the actions for each such results. For example, for catalog items, the search action is Order and for knowledge articles it's Attach. All sources have the This helped action.