Now Assist in Platform Analytics release notes
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Summary of Now Assist in Platform Analytics Release Notes - Zurich
Now Assist for Platform Analytics empowers ServiceNow customers to analyze business data using conversational AI without requiring technical expertise in Platform Analytics. It integrates several AI-driven skills and applications that facilitate data exploration, visualization, and collaboration through natural language queries. The solution enhances data-driven decision-making by enabling users to generate insights interactively and share findings efficiently.
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Key Features
- AI Data Explorer: Introduced in Zurich Patch 4, this application allows users to create and collaborate on editable documents called explorations, which combine AI-generated insights with user input. Features include extended analysis capabilities, adding data visualizations to dashboards, sharing and duplicating explorations and answers, and receiving recommended actions based on insights.
- Query Generation: Serves as the backend engine translating natural language questions into actionable queries. It supports multi-table sources, Workflow Data Fabric tables, database views, and handles complex segment logic to improve accuracy in data retrieval.
- Segments: Reusable data definitions that enhance context in queries. The system prioritizes manual segments over autogenerated ones, supports domain separation, and includes improved logic for joining conditions and handling complex filters.
- Usage Measurement Updates: Starting with Patch 5, Now Assist usage measurement shifted to a 365-day burn-down model resetting at contract anniversaries, providing clearer usage tracking.
- Default Skill Activation: Certain Now Assist skills, including dashboard and data visualization export, and Query Generation skills, are now enabled by default for new customers and under specified conditions for existing customers.
- Enhanced Visibility and Support: Users can monitor the query generation process states and the health of the underlying AI components. Accessibility improvements include keyboard navigation and reordering controls within explorations.
Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
- Analyze complex business data interactively without needing technical Platform Analytics expertise.
- Collaborate seamlessly on data insights through shared explorations, improving decision-making speed and quality.
- Leverage AI-driven query generation that supports multi-table and domain-separated data sources, expanding analytics scope.
- Benefit from improved segment handling and recommendations that enhance the relevance and accuracy of data analysis.
- Experience streamlined activation and usage tracking aligned with contract terms for efficient license management.
- Access Now Assist for Platform Analytics applications and skills via the ServiceNow Store, simplifying installation and updates.
Activation and Configuration
AI Data Explorer is available through the ServiceNow Store. Query Generation, Analytics Generation, and related export skills are installed alongside the Generative AI Controller plugin, a dependency for all Now Assist applications. Customers must activate relevant skills post-installation, with configuration guidance provided under Now Assist in Platform Analytics documentation.
Additional Notes
- Some features, like AI Data Explorer, include accessibility enhancements planned for June 2026.
- Now Assist maintains compatibility with Platform Analytics experience components such as dashboards, filters, and visualizations.
Now Assist for Platform Analytics consists of several skills and applications that let you generate and work with Platform Analytics objects through Generative AI. These skills let you analyze your business data through conversational interactions, without a technical knowledge of Platform Analytics.
Now Assist for Platform Analytics highlights
Zurich Patch 5The following highlights are specific to AI Data Explorer, which relies on Query Generation in the back end.
- Review changes to Now Assist usage measurement.
Zurich Patch 4
- Some Now Assist skills are now turned on by default.
- Create "explorations"—editable documents where you analyze data with the help of AI. Refine responses, add your own input, and collaborate with others to make data-informed decisions faster.
Previous Patch releases
- Generate and export Platform Analytics artifacts from conversational interactions in the Now Assist panel.
- Benefit from a single, smooth experience in asking questions across all Now Assist for Platform Analytics skills, as well as other applications that incorporate Platform Analytics and AI, through a shared backend.
See Now Assist in Platform Analytics for more information.
Important:
Now Assist for Platform Analytics applications are available in the ServiceNow Store. For details, see the "Activation information" section of these release notes.
New features, applications, and skills
- Zurich Patch 4
- Gather insights, plan, and collaborate in the AI Data Explorer (December 2025)
- Ask quick questions, receive tailored recommendations, and collaborate with AI and your colleagues to build long-term analysis. Enable teams to discuss and act on findings instantly. Centralize insights and narratives for
better decision making. Guide users with contextual insights and suggestions.Main features include:
- Extended analysis generates a deeper level of analysis that can reveal new insights, enabling you to make more informed decisions.
- Add a data visualization from an exploration to a dashboard
- Share explorations with tagged users
- Duplicate an exploration
- Duplicate an answer in an exploration
- Summarize an exploration
AI Data Explorer leverages Query Generation to translate natural language questions into actionable insights. Query Generation enables users of AI Data Explorer to analyze their data and access a broader range of data sets. Key capabilities include:
Changed features
- Zurich Patch 9
- Explore data from protected scopes
- Provide access to protected application scopes to AI Data Explorer and Query Generation, and you can use data from those application tables in explorations.
- Manual segments are prioritized
- Manual segments are re-ranked to take priority over automatically generated segments.
- Zurich Patch 8
- Improvements to how segments are handled
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- Manual segments are re-ranked to take priority over automatically generated segments.
- Prompt changes made to better support manual segments.
- More segments are passed to the LLM to increase the chance of the correct segment getting selected. Twelve segments are passed instead of three.
- Segments longer than 2000 characters are dropped to prevent context window bloat.
- Customize semantic metadata in configuration tables
- Customize semantic descriptions and usage instructions in the table and column configuration tables. Unlike the previous method of editing Entity and Dimension records, these changes can be transferred between instances through update sets.
- Zurich Patch 7
- View recommended actions
- AI Data Explorer can suggest actions based on the insights that it generates in an exploration.
- Ask questions about FX currency data
- Query Generation now supports the FXCurrency (Currency 2) data type. This means that you can use AI Data Explorer to explore financial operations data, including those within Source-to-Pay Operations.
- Benefit from improvements to segments
- Segments are reusable definitions in Query Generation that provide non-obvious context to assist the semantic layer or LLM to select the correct dimension and values. Users can create manual segments via a new form. A scheduled job synchronizes
manual and autogenerated segments. This job also cleans up segments to help surface the correct segments and reduce noise.
Domain separation is also now supported, with a Domain field on the Segments table. Segments based on reports and filters inherit the source domain. Manual segments have domains that are passed up to the Segments table on synchronization. Segments are not supported for modules on domain-separated instances.
- Zurich Patch 5
- Changes to Now Assist usage measurement
- Starting with Zurich Patch 5, Now Assist usage measurement is transitioning from a 365-day look-back model to a 365-day burn-down model, with usage resetting at the contract anniversary date. For more information, refer to KB KB2704710: Now Assist Usage - Overview & New Measurement Logic.
- Dashboard and data visualization export skill is active by default (January 2026)
- The new default behavior works as follows:
- New customers: When you install a Now Assist product, designated skills are turned on automatically.
- Existing customers who are upgrading (starting with Zurich Patch 5): If this skill was previously unconfigured, it is turned on automatically (the skill was never configured and turned on, then turned off again). If the skill was previously turned on, then off, it remains inactive.
- Zurich Patch 4
- Query Generation skills are active by default
- If the Generative AI Controller plugin is activated, the skills for Query Generation are activated by default. The new default behavior works as follows:
- New customers: When you install a Now Assist product, designated skills are turned on automatically.
- Existing customers who are upgrading (starting with Zurich Patch 4): Any previously unconfigured skill is turned on automatically (the skill was never turned on, then off again). Previously configured skills that were turned on, then off, remain inactive.
- Greater visibility into the Query Generation process
- When you call Query Generation from AI Data Explorer or another application, you see each state that the query and response goes through before completing.
- Multi-table source support
- Query Generation supports related table conditions and dot-walking in queries.
- Get insights and visualizations for Workflow Data Fabric tables
- Ask AI Data Explorer information about Workflow Data Fabric data and get insightful responses. You must first add the Workflow Data Fabric tables to the Query Generation Semantic Table Configuration table.
- Use database views in queries
- Generate visualizations or ask AI Data Explorer about data kept in database views, like SLA data. You have to add the database views to the Query Generation Semantic Table Configuration table.
- Zurich Patch 1
- Add tables to the semantic data layer
- Choose which tables your users can query with generative AI for data analysis.
- Monitor the health of the Query Generation back end
- View the state of Now Assist for Platform Analytics LLM, plugins, system properties, components, and dependent products.
Activation information
AI Data Explorer is available from the ServiceNow Store.
Query Generation, Analytics Generation, and the dashboard and data visualization export skill are installed with Generative AI Controller, which is included as a dependency of all Now Assist applications.
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.
After installation, activate the relevant skills. For more information, see the relevant Configure topics under Now Assist in Platform Analytics.
Plugin information
- New plugins
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The following plugins are new in Zurich:
AI Data Explorer (sn_pa_ai_canvas): The AI Data Explorer application allows users to explore data with help of AI, gather and organize findings, and collaborate with other users.
Accessibility information
- (June 2026 AI Data Explorer) Keyboard navigation allows tabbing between the text editor and the icons.
- (June 2026 AI Data Explorer) Users can use move up/move down control menu items to change the order of question/response nodes in the exploration. Previously they could only drag the nodes.