Model management

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated April 16, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Model management

    Model management in the NLU Workbench enables ServiceNow customers to effectively build, test, publish, and tune Natural Language Understanding (NLU) models. The process is structured into iterative phases tailored to the model’s application, such as Virtual Agent or AI Search. Customers can revisit earlier phases to refine and maintain their models as needed.

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    To utilize model management features, ensure all required NLU plugins are activated, including NLU Workbench - Advanced Features and Intent Discovery, which are available from the ServiceNow Store. These advanced features are essential for testing and performance monitoring.

    Creating a Model

    Models can be created from the NLU Workbench interface under the Models section. Customers can build models for different applications by selecting the appropriate tab. Three creation options are available:

    • Use prebuilt model: Copy an existing read-only model and customize it for your business.
    • Import data from CSV: Upload training utterances and intents from a CSV file.
    • Start from blank: Create a model from scratch through guided setup.

    Model Management Phases

    After model creation, management phases guide customers through development and deployment:

    • Build and train your model: Add and manage intents, entities, vocabulary, and test sets to expand and refine the model’s understanding. Train the model using relevant utterances to improve accuracy.
    • Test and publish your model: Test model performance to identify improvements. Testing requires the NLU Workbench - Advanced Features plugin. Once testing meets expectations, publish the model to make it available for use in applications.
    • Tune your model: For Virtual Agent models with Advanced Features installed, use the Expert Feedback Loop to incorporate real user utterances, enhancing model accuracy. Models for Issue Auto Resolution can be tuned via the IAR Tuning interface.

    Model Settings

    Within the model overview, customers can adjust key settings such as the model’s name, description, and confidence threshold. The confidence threshold controls how certain the model must be to predict an intent, allowing customization of sensitivity based on business needs.

    Manage your NLU model's life cycle in the NLU Workbench. Model management phases guide you through the iterative process of building, testing, and publishing your model.

    Bringing your NLU model from creation to deployment requires multiple steps, separated into phases. You can return to earlier phases when you want to adjust and maintain your model.

    The phases available for your model depend on the model's application. The system will display a phase, button, or function only when it applies to your model's application.

    To use the model management phases, ensure you have all the necessary NLU plugins. For more information, see the following resources:
    Note:
    NLU Workbench - Advanced Features and Intent Discovery are available from the ServiceNow Store. NLU model testing and performance monitoring require NLU Workbench - Advanced Features.

    Create a model

    To create a model for Virtual Agent or AI Search, navigate to NLU Workbench > Models. The Virtual Agent tab opens by default. Select the appropriate tab for the model you want to create.

    In the NLU Workbench, Virtual Agent tab, the Create new model button is highlighted. You can choose different ways to create a model:
    • Use prebuilt model: Copy one of the included read-only models, and add content specific to your business.
    • Import data from CSV: Upload a CSV file that contains training utterances and matched intents.
    • Start from blank: Go through the process of setting up a new model from scratch.

    To get started, see Creating models.

    Model management phases

    After creating a model, access its management phases by navigating to NLU Workbench > Models. Select the tab for your model's application, then the name of the model to open the Model details page on the model overview.

    There are three phases on a Virtual Agent model's overview page: Build and train your model, Test and publish your model, and Tune your model. These phases guide you as you build and improve your model.

    Model management phases for a trained NLU model.

    Build and train your model

    Build the model by adding and managing content:
    • Intents: Add more intents to broaden the range of user requests that your model can understand.
    • Entities: Add more entities so that your model can extract more contextual details from your users' requests.
    • Vocabulary: Add vocabulary to enable the model to better understand words and phrases that are specific to your business, such as industry terms and acronyms.
    • Test set: Add test utterances and their expected intents to your model's default test set.

    To learn more, see Build and train your model.

    Train your model using utterances that the model is likely to encounter from your users. To learn more, see Train and try your NLU model.

    Test and publish your model

    Test your model to gauge the performance and identify areas for improvement.

    Note:
    Model testing requires the NLU Workbench - Advanced Features store application. For more information, see NLU Workbench - Advanced Features.

    For more information on testing and thresholds, see Test and publish your model.

    When you're satisfied with the results of testing, publish your model to make it available for use by other applications. For more information, see Publish your NLU model.

    Tune your model

    If NLU Workbench - Advanced Features is installed, and your model is created for Virtual Agent, the Tune your model phase is enabled. With this phase, you can use Expert Feedback Loop to incorporate actual user utterances into your model.

    For more information, see Tune your model.

    If your model is created for Issue Auto Resolution, you will be taken to IAR Tuning by selecting the name of your model in the IAR tab of the NLU Workbench homepage. For more information, see Issue Auto Resolution Tuning in NLU.

    Model settings

    Use the Settings page of the model overview to change the name and description of the model. You can also modify the confidence threshold of the model. The confidence threshold determines how confident the model must be to predict an intent.

    For more information, see NLU model settings.