AI Search for Sourcing and Procurement Operations

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of AI Search for Sourcing and Procurement Operations

    The AI Search application delivers a modern, consumer-grade search engine experience within ServiceNow’s Sourcing and Procurement Operations. It is integrated across key user interfaces including the Service Portal, Employee Center (EC), Mobile, and Virtual Agent, enhancing how users find procurement-related information such as suppliers and supplier products.

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    New ServiceNow customers receive AI Search preconfigured for Sourcing and Procurement Operations, while existing customers can enable AI Search for the PSM-specific Shopping Hub search application through configuration steps.

    Configuration

    Configuration is managed through the AI Search application under AI Search > Search Applications > Search Application Configurations, where you associate the AI Search engine with your Shopping Hub search application.

    Key configuration elements include selecting a Search Profile, which defines search sources, conditions, and criteria powering the search experience. The base system includes default search sources tailored to Sourcing and Procurement Operations:

    • Supplier and Purchasing sources are available on EC and Service Portal, enabling search across suppliers and supplier products.
    • For the PSM-specific Shopping Hub application, only the Purchasing search source is available, focusing searches on supplier products.

    Search sources appear as separate navigation tabs in the search interface. Additional configurable features under search profiles include synonyms, stop words, typo handling, Genius Results, and result improvement rules.

    Note that the UI of search results, facets, and filters in Shopping Hub cannot be customized; however, AI Search faceting is supported in Shopping Hub results displayed in Employee Center and Service Portal.

    Integration

    AI Search comes automatically integrated with Shopping Hub. It can also be integrated into other applications, enhancing search capabilities across the platform. Virtual Agent leverages AI Search to provide relevant search results in bot conversations when no predefined topics match user queries.

    Administration and Usage

    Administrators can manage AI Search indexing and behavior to optimize search performance. End users benefit from refined search results, filtering options, and intelligent Genius Result answers.

    Platform-Specific Configurations

    • Mobile: Advanced text search capabilities can be configured for ServiceNow Mobile.
    • Service Portal and Employee Center: AI Search can be enabled to enhance user experience with powerful search tools.
    • Virtual Agent: Uses AI Search to improve conversational search responses.

    Related Concepts and References

    This AI Search functionality supports and complements other Sourcing and Procurement Operations features such as Shopping Hub, Procurement Case Management, Source-to-Pay Workspace, and Spend and Savings Management, among others, enabling a cohesive digital procurement experience.

    The AI Search application provides a modern consumer-grade search engine for the Service Portal, Employee Center (EC), Mobile, and Virtual Agent.

    New customers automatically have the AI Search application configured with their base system for Sourcing and Procurement Operations. Existing customers can configure the PSM-specific Shopping Hub search application to use the AI Search application by following the configuration steps.

    For more information, see AI Search.

    Configuration
    For detailed information on configuring the AI Search application, see Configuring AI Search.
    Navigate to AI Search > Search Applications > Search Application Configurations to associate the AI Search engine with your Shopping Hub search application.
    Note:
    For more information, see Create a search application configuration for AI Search.
    In the Search Application Configuration form of your application, select a Search Profile to get started. A search profile determines the search sources, conditions, and criteria that power your search.
    Under each search profile, there are a series of tabs that enhance the AI search. The base system provides the following that you can also modify:
    • Search Sources: Along with the default search sources, Supplier and Purchasing are provided on EC and Service Portal for Sourcing and Procurement Operations, so that the applications are capable of searching through suppliers and supplier products for purchasing as well. For the PSM-specific Shopping Hub search application however, only the Purchasing search source is available, allowing you to search only for supplier products. These search sources are rendered as separate tabs when you search on these applications, and are listed under Navigation Tabs.
      Note:
      You can find more information on reviewing and updating your search sources here.
    • Synonyms
    • Stop Words
    • Typo Handling
    • Genius Results
    • Result Improvement Rules
    Note:

    For more information, see Defining search profiles.

    You cannot configure the UI of search results or change the available facets and filters from Shopping Hub. AI Search faceting is supported in Shopping Hub results in Employee Center and Service Portal.

    Integration
    AI Search is automatically integrated with Shopping Hub. For detailed information on integrating AI Search with other applications, see Integrating AI Search into your application.
    Administration
    To learn how the AI Search features and behavior affect indexing and search, see Administering AI Search.
    Using
    For information on how AI Search displays results, refinement filter options, and Genius Result answers, see Using AI Search.
    ServiceNow® Mobile
    To configure AI Search for the ServiceNow® Mobile, see Advanced text search in mobile.
    Service Portal or Employee Center
    To configure AI Search for the Service Portal or EC so that your users can take advantage of this powerful search tool, see AI Search in Service Portal.
    Virtual Agent
    Virtual Agent uses AI Search to return search results in bot conversations when there are no relevant topics to display. For more information, see Virtual Agent integration with AI Search.