---
sourceDocument: Zurich ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/servicenow-platform

 Release :

    - zurich

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Zurich ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities

ft:clusterId :

    - platcap

bundleId :

    - platcap

workflow :

    - Platform


---

# Knowledge article templates

# Knowledge article templates {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Zurich
* 
* Updated July 31, 2025
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read

Summarize  
![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI  
This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.  

## Summary of Knowledge article templates

Knowledge article templates in ServiceNow provide a consistent structure for creating knowledge articles by using pre-defined or customized fields arranged in a specific order.
These templates help streamline article creation and maintain uniformity across the knowledge base.
Show full answer Show less  
Roles involved include:

* **Knowledge Administrator (knowledgeadmin):** Creates, customizes, activates, or deactivates article templates.
* **Security Administrator (securityadmin):** Configures field-level security within templates to control visibility for specific users.
* **Author:** Creates articles by selecting from pre-defined or custom templates.

## Key Features

* **Pre-defined Templates:** Standard templates like How To, What Is, FAQ, and KCS Article are provided. These are inactive by default and must be activated to be used.
* **Template Association:** Templates are linked to knowledge bases. Only active templates associated with a knowledge base are visible for article creation.
* **Template Storage:** Template structure is stored in `kbarticletemplate`, and individual fields are stored in `kbarticletemplatedefinition`.
* **Field Examples:** Different templates have specific fields; for example, the FAQ template includes Question and Answer fields, while the KCS Article template includes Issue, Environment, Cause, and Resolution fields.
* **Activation:** The Knowledge Article Templates feature is enabled with the Knowledge Management Advanced plugin (com.snc.knowledgeadvanced). Once enabled, authors can select templates when creating articles.
* **Deactivation:** Templates cannot be deleted due to underlying data table dependencies, but can be deactivated by unchecking the Active field on the Article Template form. The Standard template remains always active and cannot be deactivated.

## Key Outcomes

* Consistent and structured knowledge articles across your ServiceNow knowledge bases.
* Controlled visibility of template fields through field-level security, ensuring relevant users see appropriate information.
* Flexibility for knowledge administrators to manage templates to suit organizational needs without losing existing data.
* Seamless upgrade experience where existing articles adopt the standard template of the newer version automatically.
* Improved authoring experience by selecting from relevant templates aligned with article types.  
Article templates have pre-defined fields structured in a specific order. These
templates help create a consistent structure for knowledge articles.

Using the Knowledge Article Templates feature, as a knowledge administrator (a user with
knowledge_admin role), you can create article templates, add or customize fields in a
template, and activate or deactivate a template.

As a security administrator (a user with security_admin role), you can configure field-level
security in any template to make it visible to specific users.

As an author, you can create articles using pre-defined article templates or any newly
created article templates.

## Pre-defined knowledge article templates {#knowledge-article-templates__section_x3w_kx1_zbb}

Use either the standard template or one of the pre-defined How To, What Is, FAQ or KCS
article templates.  
Note:  
When you upgrade Knowledge Management to Kingston or later releases, all the
existing articles from the earlier version automatically use the standard template of
the upgraded version. For example, if you upgrade Knowledge Management from
Jakarta to Kingston, all existing articles use the standard template available in the
Kingston version.

All pre-defined templates are inactive by default. If you do not activate a template,
the articles automatically use the standard template. As a knowledge admin, you can
activate a template by navigating to KnowledgeAdministrationArticle Templates. Then in the article template list, set the Active

field to true for one or more templates you would like to activate.

Templates are associated with knowledge bases. Only templates which are active and associated with a knowledge base are shown.

The template structure is stored in kb_article_template while the fields for each template are stored in kb_article_template_definition. For creating and manipulating templates navigate to KnowledgeAdministrationArticle Templates.

The table below lists the fields available in each template and the name of the template
table.  
{#knowledge-article-templates__table_mqs_grq_lbb__entry__4}

| Template name | Template fields | Maps to table | SEO Description Tag |
|-|-|-|-|
| FAQ | * Question * Answer {#knowledge-article-templates__ul_nqs_grq_lbb} | FAQ \[kb_template_faq\] | Question |
| How To | * Introduction * Instructions {#knowledge-article-templates__ul_ww3_rtq_lbb} | How To \[kb_template_how_to\] | Introduction |
| What Is | * Introduction * Explanation {#knowledge-article-templates__ul_yhv_b5q_lbb} | What Is \[kb_template_what_is\] | Introduction |
| KCS Article | * Issue * Environment * Cause * Resolution {#knowledge-article-templates__ul_p5g_r5q_lbb} | KCS Article \[kb_template_kcs_article\] | Issue |
| Standard | Text | kb_knowledge | Text |
[Table 1. Pre-defined knowledge article templates]

{#knowledge-article-templates__table_mqs_grq_lbb}

## Activating knowledge article templates {#knowledge-article-templates__section_jr1_bmk_tbb}

The Knowledge Article Templates feature is activated with the Knowledge Management Advanced (com.snc.knowledge_advanced) plugin. After the feature is activated, when creating an article, option to choose a template for the
article appears. For details, see [Activate the Knowledge Management Advanced plugin](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/9mH8pwUAcH72gfSytm5Z_g "Activate the Knowledge Management Advanced plugin (com.snc.knowledge_advanced) to enable advanced features for Knowledge Management.").

## Deactivating knowledge article templates {#knowledge-article-templates__section_yvj_xyh_f3b}

You cannot delete an article template because article templates have an associated child
table. Deleting a template would also require deleting the child table. Due to the
limitations on dropping tables, article templates and template columns are explicitly made
non-deletable. Instead, you can disable the Knowledge Article Templates feature by clearing
the Active check box on the Article Template form.  
Note:  
The Standard template is available by default and can't be made inactive.
**Related concepts**   

* [Configure knowledge article templates](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ZuKb99PbpIq0LqgWiCBg~g "Configure knowledge article templates to customize and display content as per your requirements.")

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