User data usage policy for Now Assist

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of User data usage policy for Now Assist

    Now Assist prioritizes the safety and security of user data in AI interactions. It enables ServiceNow customers to control sensitive information through data masking and offers an option to opt out of data sharing for model improvements. The policy outlines how data is transmitted, processed, and protected during AI workload handling.

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    Data Transmission and Storage

    • AI workloads are securely transmitted from your ServiceNow instance to centralized ServiceNow compute hubs via Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2.
    • AI prediction processing occurs in these hubs, which are GPU-equipped datacenters.
    • Input and output data are transient—deleted immediately after generating a response and not cached or stored on the compute hubs.
    • Data is segregated per customer and domain-separated instances; there is no commingling of customer data.
    • Data sharing is not supported in regulated markets.
    • ServiceNow may augment Now Assist capabilities using third-party endpoints such as Azure OpenAI Service, which operate within ServiceNow’s network and apply the same data protection policies.
    • Azure-hosted GPUs may be used temporarily to handle capacity demands, with data remaining protected from third-party access.

    Masking Sensitive Data

    • Customers can enable the Now Assist for Data Privacy plugin to mask sensitive data before it is sent to Large Language Models (LLMs).
    • This masking helps protect sensitive information but may reduce response accuracy due to omitted data in prompts.
    • The plugin does not mask sensitive data stored within your ServiceNow instance nor prevent new sensitive data from being stored.

    Access Control in AI Features

    • Features like Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) ensure AI responses are based only on information accessible to the requester, maintaining data security.
    • For example, AI Search sends only accessible articles to the LLM, preventing unauthorized data exposure.
    • Users and agents should be mindful when sharing AI-generated summaries or notes to ensure they do not expose sensitive information to unauthorized individuals.

    Opting Out of Data Sharing

    • ServiceNow uses customer data sharing to improve Now LLMs continuously.
    • Customers who prefer not to participate can opt out following provided procedures, giving them control over their data usage in AI model improvements.

    Now Assist is designed to keep user data safe and secure. You can also mask sensitive data or opt-out of sharing data for model improvements.

    How your data is sent and stored

    Your AI workloads are securely sent using Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 from your ServiceNow instance to one of three centralized ServiceNow compute hubs (datacenters with GPUs for AI workloads), where the AI prediction processing takes place. The data used to generate the response is deleted from the compute hubs after the response has been generated. The result is then returned to the ServiceNow instance.

    The input and output data isn’t cached or stored on the compute hub and is transient.

    Your data isn’t commingled with other customer data when using Now LLM Service for generative AI. Also, there’s no commingling of data for domain-separated instances when you use Generative AI services.

    Data sharing is however, not supported in regulated markets.

    When appropriate, ServiceNow might leverage third-party endpoint services (for example Azure OpenAI Service) to augment Now LLM Service to power Now Assist capabilities. Azure OpenAI is a third-party model, but policies same as the company's, apply, as it's hosted in our compute hubs.

    Further, to confirm quality of service, ServiceNow might use Azure-hosted GPUs for Now LLM Service capacity bursting in case of high customer demand. Data processed by third-party endpoints isn’t subject to use or access by third-party providers and are operated within the ServiceNow network boundary.

    To learn more about Data Sharing Programs, see Generate product compliance summaries by using Now Assist for SAM: Data Sharing Programs.

    Mask sensitive data

    Sensitive data can be masked before sending it to LLMs using Now Assist for Data Privacy. To learn more, see Configuring Data Privacy for Now Assist.

    After you enable the plugin, it’s designed to mask sensitive data before it’s sent to the LLM, but could result in less accurate results because the specific data isn’t included within the prompt.
    Note:
    This plugin, within the context of generative AI products, doesn’t mask the sensitive data that exists in records within your instance, nor does it help prevent new sensitive data from being stored on the instance itself.
    ServiceNow might use Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) for selected AI features (for example NowAssist for AI Search) and passes information to the LLM based on what the requester can access within the system. If a user searches for something in the portal using Now Assist in AI Search, AI Search finds the article and then sends that to the LLM as a part of the prompt. Because AI Search knows what the user has access to, it won't send an article that the user isn't able to access.
    Note:
    For some features, such as case summarization, the agent generating the summary might have more permissions than other people who have access to the record. If they choose to paste that summary to the work notes, the agent should check to confirm that the data they're sharing in the work notes is appropriate to share with others who have access to that record.

    Opt out of data sharing

    Data Sharing helps ServiceNow to continuously advance and improve its Now LLMs, based on the latest customer usage. If you no longer want to participate in the customer data-sharing program, you’re able to opt out.

    To opt out, follow the instructions in Opt out of data sharing for Now Assist.