Flows, subflows, and actions in Workflow Studio release notes
Summarize
Summary of Flows, subflows, and actions in Workflow Studio release notes
The ServiceNow Workflow Studio application empowers process analysts to automate multi-step workflows using reusable components without coding. The Zurich release introduces significant enhancements to flows, subflows, and actions, improving automation capabilities, usability, and integration with AI technologies.
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Key Features
- Scheduled and External Triggers: Create reusable scheduled triggers applicable across multiple flows and define external event sources that listen to events outside the ServiceNow AI Platform, triggering flows accordingly.
- Automatic Saving and History Management: Flows, subflows, and actions are saved automatically during editing. Users can view and manage historical versions to copy, restore, or delete past configurations.
- Conversational Enhancements: Create multiple skills for conversational subflows and actions, configure default Large Language Models (LLMs) for metadata generation, and display specific error messages to improve conversational clarity.
- Flow Execution Improvements: Flows can pause and wait for email replies, and subflow execution stages are visible within parent flows for better monitoring.
- AI Integration: Support for Now LLM Long Term Stable (LTS) models enables AI-powered flow generation and summarization. AI agent actions use flow data to run agents and handle their outputs within flows.
- UI and Accessibility Updates: Introduction of the Coral theme as the default UI, a dark theme option, enhanced flow recommendations, improved debugger launching, and accessible canvas components supporting zoom and reflow for users with low vision.
- Event Sources Menu: A new menu under the Integrations tab allows management of external event sources directly within Workflow Studio.
Important Considerations for ServiceNow Customers
- Workflow Studio is available and updated via the ServiceNow Store; customers should update the app to access Zurich features.
- Customers upgrading from the Washington DC release might need to restore the "save as you go" functionality if previously disabled manually.
- Workflow Studio is active by default as part of the ServiceNow AI Platform.
Practical Benefits
With these enhancements, ServiceNow customers can design more flexible, reliable, and AI-augmented workflows that integrate external events and conversational capabilities. Automatic saving and version history improve efficiency and reduce risks during development. The UI and accessibility improvements ensure a better user experience for diverse users.
Related Capabilities
- Playbooks: Build unified, cross-enterprise workflows supporting Playbook Experience agents.
- Data Stream Actions and Pagination: Manage large API responses and paginated data within flows.
- Decision Tables: Decouple decision logic from code for easier rule management.
- Integration Hub: Automate integrations using ServiceNow components or custom solutions (requires separate subscription).
The ServiceNow® Workflow Studio application enables process analysts to automate work without having to code and to build multiple-step flows from reusable components. Workflow Studio flows, subflows, and actions were enhanced and updated in the Zurich release.
Workflow Studio flows, subflows, and actions highlights for the Zurich release
- Create a scheduled trigger that you can use across your flows.
- Save flows, subflows, and actions automatically as you work on them.
- View and manage the history of flows and subflows to copy, restore, or remove past configurations.
- Create multiple skills for conversational subflows and actions from the conversational settings.
- Configure a default LLM for generating metadata for conversational subflows and actions.
See Exploring flows, Exploring subflows, and Exploring actions for more information.
Important information for upgrading flows, subflows, and actions to Zurich
An earlier version of the save as you go feature was released and withdrawn from the Washington DC release. If you're upgrading from the Washington DC release, you might have manually turned off the save as you go features by setting a system property. To restore the save as you go features, see Restore save as you go functionality.
New in the Zurich release
- Create and manage external event sources
- Create an external event source on your ServiceNow instance that listens to events occurring in an application or system outside of the ServiceNow AI Platform®. Based on the external event source, you can define one or more external trigger definitions in your instance and then associate the external trigger definitions with the external event source. When an event that you specified in the external trigger definition occurs, the external trigger definition executes one or more flows. You can update or remove external event sources that you create.
- Create a domain-separated saved external trigger
- Create a domain-separated saved external trigger. Configurations that you make to the trigger are auto-saved. After the trigger is published, you can edit only the Label field values.
- Create a reusable scheduled trigger
- Create a scheduled trigger that starts your flow when you need. Use the trigger across your flows.
- Create a skill for conversational subflows and actions
- Create a skill for the conversational subflow and action and make the skill discoverable in conversations. You can have multiple skills for the same subflow or action.
- Enhancements in the subflow and action conversational settings
- To make the error messages more useful in a conversation, you can show specific error messages from the subflow or action rather than showing generic error messages. Additionally, if you override an input with reference, you can apply a filter to limit the number of records in the Reference field.
- Make a flow wait for an email reply
- Pause a flow until an email reply is received to an outbound email record
- Show subflow stages in a parent flow
- Show subflow stages as part of the execution details of a parent flow.
- Save flows, subflows, and actions automatically
- Save flows, subflows, and actions automatically as you work on them.
- Support Now LLM Long Term Stable models (LTS) with Flow generation
- Support the Now LLM Long Term Stable models (LTS) for Flow generation.
- Support Now LLM Long Term Stable models (LTS) with Flow summarization
- Support the Now LLM Long Term Stable models (LTS) for Flow summarization.
- Use an AI agent action
- Use flow data to run an AI agent and configure the expected agent output for use later in the flow.
- Use conversational subflows and actions by default
- Use conversational subflows and actions when you install any Now Assist product. This skill is active by default.
- Use your preferred LLM to generate descriptions for subflow or action skill, input, and output
- Leverage generative AI to generate descriptions for the subflow or action skill, inputs, and outputs. You can configure a default LLM to generate the descriptions.
- View flow history
- View and manage the history of a flow. See past configurations of a flow to copy, restore, or remove them.
- View subflow history
- View and manage the history of a subflow. See past configurations of a subflow to copy, restore, or remove them.
UI changes
- Coral theme
- Coral is now the default theme for new portal, web, and mobile experiences with Next Experience or Core UI enabled. This theme provides a fresh look and feel, featuring brand-neutral illustrations to enhance your user experience. A dark theme option is available for web and mobile experiences.
- Display flow recommendations in flow diagramming view
- Get a list of recommendations for the next item in your flow while in a flow diagramming view.
- Launch the flow debugger from an updated button
- Start the flow debugger from an updated button.
- Open conversational subflow settings from an updated button
- The option to open subflow conversational settings has moved from the more action menu to the sidebar.
- Open conversational action settings from an updated button
- The option to open action conversational settings has moved from the more action menu to the sidebar.
- See event sources from a new menu
- Create, read, update, or delete external event sources with the Event sources menu. An Event sources menu has been added to a panel of the spokes page that appears after you select a spoke under the Integrations tab.
- Open conversational action settings from an updated button
- The option to open action conversational settings has moved from the more action menu to the sidebar.
- Event sources menu added to spokes page under the Integrations tab
- Create, read, update, or delete external event sources with the Event sources menu. An Event sources menu has been added to the left panel of the spokes page that appears after you select a spoke under the Integrations tab.
Activation information
Workflow Studio is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default.
Get the latest Workflow Studio features by updating the app from the ServiceNow Store. Visit the ServiceNow Store website to view all the available apps and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.
Accessibility information
- Reflow improvements of canvas headers and footers
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The following components were updated to support reflow, which enables pages and content to be zoomed up to 400% through your browser settings without loss of content or functionality. Additionally, content can be enlarged without scrolling in two dimensions at a width equivalent to 320 CSS pixels or a height equivalent to 256 CSS pixels.
- Workflow Studio canvas header
- Workflow Studio canvas footer
This enhancement helps users with low vision or who have trouble seeing web content in a browser due to monitor size, device type, poor lighting, or other situations. Reflow can be turned off with a system property for instances, experiences, and pages. See for details.