ServiceNow Now Assist Skill Kit

On August 1st, 2024, ServiceNow introduced the “Now Assist Skill Kit” as part of the Xanadu release. After exploring the available demos and experimenting with this new feature on a demo instance, I’d like to share my insights in this brief article.

What is the Now Assist Skill Kit?

The Now Assist Skill Kit allows developers to create custom Generative AI (GenAI) skills on the ServiceNow platform. While you may be familiar with pre-built GenAI skills like “Case Summarization” or “Resolution Notes Generation,” these options offer limited customization. For example, you can’t modify the prompt for case summarization to specify a particular language, simplify the content, or limit the length to under 100 words.

With the Now Assist Skill Kit, you could for example build your own summarization features, fully customizing both the prompt and the underlying logic. This flexibility lets you incorporate additional records or information as needed. The key advantage is the ability to tailor the GenAI functionality to your specific needs, while still benefiting from the seamless integration of ServiceNow’s Large Language Model (LLM) capabilities into the platform’s UI, such as the new Now Assist panel chat interface.

Prerequisites to use the Now Assist Skill Kit?

• Your instance must be “GenAI ready”: Either you have an active license or a demo instance with GenAI unlocked
• Your instance must be on Xanadu
• Your Now Assist plugins must be updated to the latest version (e.g. “Now Assist for Creator”, “Now Assist for IT Service Management (ITSM)” or “Now Assist for Customer Service Management (CSM)”). This should automatically install the plugin “Now Assist Skill Kit” (sn_skill_builder)