Add a web search tool

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated April 30, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read

    • Add a web search tool to your skill to retrieve web content and include it as context in your prompt.

    Before you begin

    Role required: sn_skill_builder.admin

    To use web search as a tool, you must bring your own search engine API key and configure it on the ServiceNow AI Platform.

    About this task

    The web search tool queries the web and returns results that the skill prompt can use. Two search result types are available depending on the providers you have configured:

    AI answers
    Generates a single synthesized response to the search query using OpenAI, Perplexity, or Gemini. Requires a configured API key for the selected provider.
    Searching and scraping
    Generates multiple responses using Now LLM Service. Requires a configured scraping API. Default search engine is Bing; Google requires additional configuration.
    Important:
    If you select Google as your web search provider, the web search tool uses Grounding with Google Search, offered under a Global Standard deployment. Because grounding is not data resident, Google global infrastructure routes traffic to a global datacenter for each web search request. This processing may differ from your data processing location. Consider your organization data policies before enabling skills that use Google web search.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Now Assist Skill Kit > Home.
    2. Select the skill that you want to add web search to.
    3. Select the 2. Add tools tab.
    4. Select the (+) icon on the canvas connector where you want to insert the tool, select Tool node, and then select Add.
    5. In the Tool type list, select Web Search.
      If you want this tool to run simultaneously with another tool at the same level in the flow, select Add as parallel node.
    6. Select Configure tool.
    7. On the General info step, enter a name in the Name field.
    8. In the Resource field, select the web search resource to use, then select Continue.
      The Description field is automatically populated based on the resource you select.
    9. On the Tool inputs step, fill in the fields and select Continue.
      Table 1. Web search tool inputs
      Field Applies to Description
      Search result type All

      The type of search result to return. Select AI answers to generate a single synthesized response using an AI provider, or Searching and scraping to return multiple results using Now LLM Service.

      The fields shown after change depending on which type you select.
      AI Search Providers AI answers only The AI provider used to generate the search response. Options include OpenAI, Perplexity, and Gemini. The selected provider must be configured with a valid API key.
      Note:
      Although Azure OpenAI appears as an option, it does not support web search.
      Search query (required) All The query to submit to the web search provider. You can enter a static value, reference a skill input using the reference icon, or use a script to generate the value dynamically using the script icon.
      Number of results Searching and scraping only The number of search results to return. Default is 3.
      Sites or domains Searching and scraping only Restricts the search to specific sites or domains.
      Country Searching and scraping only Filters search results by country.
      Max tokens Searching and scraping only The maximum number of tokens to include from search results. Default is 1000.
    10. On the Tool outputs step, optionally select Truncate for any outputs that might exceed token limits, then select Continue.
      Note:
      Output names and types are fixed and cannot be edited. Avoid truncating the response output if it is critical to the prompt context.
    11. On the Tool conditions step, select whether the tool should always run or only run under certain conditions, then select Continue.
      Table 2. Tool condition types
      Type Description
      None (Always run) The tool runs every time the skill executes. This is the default.
      Script The tool runs only if a custom script condition evaluates to true.
      Filters The tool runs only if filter conditions based on field values are met.
    12. On the Summary step, review the tool configuration and select Add tool.

    What to do next

    After adding the web search tool, reference its response output in your prompt using the + Inputs and tools button in the prompt editor. To learn more, see Create a prompt.

    To learn more about configuring the web search capability, see Configure AI search answers capability for web search.