Exploring Knowledge Management

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Exploring Knowledge Management

    Knowledge Management in ServiceNow facilitates the creation, categorization, review, and approval of knowledge articles, enabling users to efficiently find, use, and provide feedback on content. It supports multiple user groups by allowing the assignment of distinct knowledge bases managed individually. Separate workflows and access controls ensure precise management of article publishing, retirement, reading, and contribution.

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    Knowledge Management Workflow

    The workflow involves collaboration among knowledge users, contributors, and managers:

    • Knowledge users request new or updated articles and read or share published content.
    • Knowledge contributors create or update articles and submit them for managerial review.
    • Knowledge managers review submissions, approve or request revisions, continuously assess article relevancy, and manage the retirement process.

    Key Features and Benefits

    • Structured Content Creation: Use article templates to maintain consistent formatting and quality.
    • Multiple Knowledge Bases: Organize knowledge for different organizational groups with tailored management.
    • Category Hierarchies: Define multi-level categories for efficient content organization.
    • Access Control: Set permissions per knowledge base using user criteria and scoped knowledge bases.
    • External Content Integration: Connect and search external knowledge sources for comprehensive information retrieval.
    • Generative AI Assistance: Utilize Now Assist to create knowledge articles more efficiently.
    • Microsoft Word Integration: Import Word documents and author content directly within Word for streamlined editing.
    • Subscriptions and Feedback: Enable users to subscribe to relevant articles and provide ratings and feedback.
    • Quality Maintenance: Use the Article Quality Index (AQI) to monitor and improve content quality consistently.
    • Knowledge Gap Identification: Leverage Knowledge Demand Insights to discover content needs and enhance the knowledge base.
    • Analytics and Compliance: Monitor knowledge usage and ensure adherence to content creation processes with analytic solutions.

    These capabilities empower organizations to maintain high-quality, relevant knowledge content that supports effective decision-making and operational efficiency.

    Learn more about Knowledge Management with a sample workflow and review the benefits it can provide for different users in your organization.

    Knowledge Management overview

    Knowledge Management supports processes for creating, categorizing, reviewing, and approving articles. Users can search and browse articles as well as provide feedback.

    To support multiple groups, knowledge bases can be assigned to individual managers. Separate workflows can be used for publishing and retiring articles, and separate access controls can be used to control reading and contributing.

    Knowledge Management workflow

    In this workflow:
    1. The knowledge user needs a new or updated knowledge article and requests it.
    2. The knowledge contributor creates or updates an article and then submits it for review.
    3. The knowledge manager reviews the article and either publishes it or sends it back to the knowledge contributor for revisions.
    4. The knowledge user reads and shares the article. In parallel, a knowledge manager continuously reviews articles to determine their relevancy.
    5. The knowledge manager marks articles that are no longer needed for retirement.
    6. A knowledge manager reviews and approves or rejects the article retirement.

    Knowledge Management benefits

    Benefit Feature Users
    Create a consistent structure for knowledge articles Knowledge article templates Knowledge manager
    Create multiple knowledge bases for different groups within your organization Knowledge bases Knowledge administrator and manager
    Create a category structure for each knowledge base with any number of levels Knowledge article categories Knowledge manager
    Define permissions per knowledge base User criteria, Scoped knowledge bases Knowledge administrator and manager
    Integrate with and search external knowledge sources External content integration feature and Indexing and searching external content in AI Search Administrator
    Create knowledge articles using generative AI Now Assist in Knowledge Management Knowledge contributor
    Import Word documents into knowledge articles and/or author knowledge in Word Knowledge Management - Add-in for Microsoft Word, Word document importing Knowledge contributor
    Subscribe to relevant articles Knowledge subscriptions Knowledge user
    Provide feedback and rate articles Feedback and ratings Knowledge user
    Maintain a high quality of content and enable constant improvement Article quality index (AQI) Knowledge administrator (creates AQI), knowledge coach or domain expert (performs AQI reviews)
    Identify knowledge gaps and improve the content of your knowledge base Knowledge demand insights Knowledge manager or domain expert
    Determine the usage of knowledge content and confirm that the proper processes and procedures are being followed for content creation Knowledge Management Platform Analytics Solutions Knowledge manager