Data Discovery release notes

  • Release version: Store
  • Updated April 9, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Data Discovery release notes

    Data Discovery on the ServiceNow Store is a solution designed to help organizations identify and manage sensitive data across their platforms. It offers capabilities to discover sensitive data using predefined or custom regular expression (regex) patterns, AI/ML-based models, and Named Entity Recognition (NER) to enhance data security and compliance. This tool is essential for gaining visibility into sensitive information, enabling informed data protection and loss prevention strategies.

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    Key Features

    • Pattern-based and AI/ML-powered Discovery: Supports out-of-the-box regex patterns, custom regex creation, and AI/ML models to identify sensitive data such as names, addresses, job positions, and salaries.
    • Named Entity Recognition (NER): Introduced in version 8.1.0 to detect and anonymize sensitive entities like address components, job positions, and salary information.
    • Text-to-Regex Generation: Uses Now Assist prompts to generate regex for discovering sensitive data, simplifying custom pattern creation.
    • Attachment and File Support: Enables discovery and reporting of sensitive data in Excel and CSV files attached to records.
    • Enhanced Scanning Capabilities: Offers full scans, incremental scans, and column-level discovery for targeted and efficient data identification.
    • Real-time Discovery and APIs: Supports real-time data discovery including journal fields and provides APIs for integration and automation.
    • User Interface Improvements: Revamped UI with intuitive widgets and guided setup to enhance user experience and ease of configuration.
    • Data Discovery Policies: Streamline configurations to consistently and effectively discover sensitive data.
    • Anonymization and Reporting: Supports anonymization of users by group and consolidated findings for comprehensive reporting.
    • GenAI Integration: Added support for NowLLM LTS to enhance generative AI capabilities within the product.

    Key Outcomes

    ServiceNow customers using Data Discovery can expect improved accuracy and efficiency in identifying sensitive data across their environments. The integration of AI/ML and NER models reduces manual effort and enhances detection of complex data types. Enhanced scanning options and file support expand coverage to attachments and incremental changes. The updated user interface and policy-driven configuration simplify usage and governance. Overall, these features empower organizations to strengthen data security posture, comply with privacy regulations, and mitigate risks related to sensitive data exposure.

    Version history for the Data Discovery on the ServiceNow Store.

    Important:
    For details on system requirements and family compatibility, view the application listing on the ServiceNow Store website.

    Version history

    Version 7.1.4 - April 2026
    • No New functionality
    • Patch release to handle defects
    Version 8.1.0 - March 2026
    • New Named Entity Recognition (NER) model data patterns - Address, City, State, Country, Job Position, and Salary - to detect and anonymize sensitive data.
    • New OOB Regular Expression (RegEx) data patterns - 13 new data patterns
    Version 7.1.2 - January 2026
    • No new functionality
    • Patch release to handle defects
    Version 7.1.1 - December 2025
    • No new functionality
    • Patch release to add support for NowLLM LTS for GenAI capabilities
    Version 7.1.0 - September 2025
    • Text to generate Regex feature using Now Assist prompts to generate regex to discover sensitive data.
    • Revamped Data Discovery user interface.
    Version 7.0.0 - August 2025
    • Revamped Data Discovery user interface to improve the Data Discovery experience with intuitive widgets, a streamlined user experience, and a guided setup for first time users
    • AI/ML based data patterns for intelligent discovery of sensitive data that is already on the platform
    • Text to generate Regex feature using Now Assist prompts to generate regex to discover sensitive data
    • Data discovery policies to streamline configurations to discover sensitive data
    • Additional support for Excel and .CSV files for discovery and reporting of sensitive data from attachments
    • Full scan and incremental scan support for data discovery jobs
    • Column-level discovery of sensitive data
    Version 6.0.2 - July 2025
    • AI/ML based data patterns for intelligent discovery of sensitive data that doesn't follow a pattern like name, address, etc.
    • Discovery and reporting of sensitive data from attachments.
    Version 6.0.1 - February 2025
    • AI/ML based data patterns for intelligent discovery of sensitive data that doesn't follow a pattern like name, address, etc.
    • Discovery and reporting of sensitive data from attachments.
    Version 5.0.1 - August 2024
    Data Discovery for Real time, support for journal fields.
    Version 3.0.1 - February 2024
    • Data pattern discovery using keywords and keyword proximity
    • Real time Data Discovery APIs support
    Version 2.0.0 - November 2023
    • New:
      • Full scan on the targeted tables.
      • Anonymization of users by group
      • Consolidate findings
    • Changed:
      • Users can now select a start date for data discovery jobs
      • Bug fixes
    Version 1.0.0 - May 2023

    Data Discovery gives you the ability to discover sensitive data using out-of-the-box data patterns or by creating custom regex patterns to act on: For example, to classify, report, or view. It provides sensitive data with visibility and cataloging which is an essential first step towards preventing data loss or exposure. This enables organizations to implement appropriate security measures and increase their security posture.