--- sourceDocument: Xanadu ServiceNow AI Platform Administration sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/xanadu/platform-administration Release : - xanadu ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Xanadu ServiceNow AI Platform Administration ft:clusterId : - platadm bundleId : - platadm workflow : - Platform --- # Explore # Exploring External Content Connectors {#ariaid-title1} * Release version: Xanadu * * Updated August 1, 2025 * * ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 5 minutes to read Using External Content Connectors, AI Search applications can search content and metadata from external content repositories such as Atlassian Confluence Cloud and Microsoft SharePoint Online. Expanding search recall to include external content makes it easier and faster for search users to locate the information they need. ## External Content Connectors overview {#exploring-ext-cont-connectors__section_w3x_wtd_dzb} The External Content Connectors application adds support for indexing content and metadata from external source systems to make those systems searchable in AI Search applications. Indexing preserves the content's original user access permissions from the source system using AI Search's content security model. The current release includes these external content connectors: * Atlassian Confluence Cloud external content connector * Atlassian Jira Cloud external content connector * Google Drive external content connector * Microsoft SharePoint Online external content connector * Microsoft Teams external content connector * Predefined web sources external content connector Note: For the list of predefined web sources you can crawl using this external connector, see [Available sources for the predefined web sources external content connector](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r2cTToB3Z76zhyzHu3q0Xg "List of public web sources that search administrators can retrieve searchable content from using the predefined web sources external content connector."). * Slack external content connector * ServiceNow documentation external content connector {#exploring-ext-cont-connectors__ul_ikh_1rr_qdc} Search administrators can schedule content and user mapping crawls to suit your indexing requirements. If the need arises, search administrators can also run either type of crawl on demand. Important: The External Content Connectors application consumes Integration Hub transactions when feeding crawled content to AI Search. You can monitor available and used transactions for your Integration Hub subscription packages in the Integration Hub Usage Dashboard. For details on transaction monitoring, see [Transaction reports in Integration Hub Usage Dashboard](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=use-the-integration-hub-usage-dashboard&version=xanadu&pubname=xanadu-integrate-applications&ft:locale=en-US). Each external content connector has its own indexed source for crawled content. You can configure search sources for an external content connector's indexed source and include those search sources in your search profiles, just as you would for any other indexed source. To learn more about indexed sources, see [Indexed sources in AI Search](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/SZSmofVMr8tpLBy1qGHyHg "Indexed sources designate ServiceNow AI Platform tables and external document sets with alphanumeric text and string field content that you want to make searchable. AI Search ingests text and string fields from table records or external documents and stores their searchable alphanumeric content in its search index."). All external content connectors support semantic vector indexing of content retrieved from crawled source systems. Only features which use semantic vector search with the Now LLM Service can take advantage of this support. For details on semantic vector indexing and search, see [Semantic vector search in AI Search](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/W1VJHIoWmquUrcSKYGy~_g "Semantic vector search allows the Now LLM Service to find results based on how similar they are in meaning to your search terms. Now Assist Q&A Genius Results and Now Assist in Virtual Agent use semantic vector search to improve recall with natural language interpretation of search queries."). ## External Content Connectors workflow {#exploring-ext-cont-connectors__section_x3x_wtd_dzb} In this infographic, see a sample workflow of how different users in an organization interact with External Content Connectors to enable indexing and search of content and metadata from supported external sources. Figure 1. Configuring and using External Content Connectors In this External Content Connectors workflow: 1. Search administrators configure connection settings for external content connectors, configure crawl start points and inclusion/exclusion filters to define the scope of connector crawls, and define schedules that specify when crawls run. 2. The system runs connectors at their scheduled times or when administrators start one-time crawls. When crawling, connectors retrieve searchable content and security principals from their source systems and feed them to AI Search for indexing. 3. Search users are presented with content and metadata from external content source systems when interacting with AI Search applications. AI Search's content security model retains user and group access permissions set in the source system, so users can only view content that they have permission to access. 4. Administrators review and analyze crawl metrics, crawl histories, and user mapping data to understand how external data is crawled and indexed, allowing for more effective tuning of External Content Connectors settings. {#exploring-ext-cont-connectors__ol_hxy_hwl_31c} Important: By default, an external content connector can index up to one million (1,000,000) documents from its source system. When a connector exceeds this limit, it continues to crawl the source system, but only sends document deletions and updates to AI Search for indexing, ignoring new documents. The connector logs an error message for every 10,000 documents it crawls beyond the indexing limit.{#exploring-ext-cont-connectors__store-app-external-content-connectors-indexing-limit-numeric-ph} When a connector's indexed document count exceeds 800,000, a warning message appears in the connector's UI to indicate that it's approaching the indexing limit. If the connector reaches the indexing limit, an error message appears in its UI. If one of your connectors reaches the indexing limit, you can update its crawl settings and file inclusion/exclusion filters to reduce the number of documents it retrieves. Alternately, if you need to index more than 1,000,000 documents, you can create a Customer Service and Support case at to request a limit increase for the connector. ## External Content Connectors benefits {#exploring-ext-cont-connectors__section_ajx_wtd_dzb} {#exploring-ext-cont-connectors__table_bjx_wtd_dzb__entry__3} | Benefit | Feature | Users | |-|-|-| | Configure source systems for external content indexing | [Configuring source systems for external content indexing](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/QYHbu3XW4Cq9Anrbmp5FxQ "Source system administrators configure settings to allow external content connectors to index your documents and security settings for search. These settings must be configured for a source system before you create an external content connector to crawl that source system.") | Source system administrators | | Create connectors to retrieve searchable content and security principals from supported external data source systems | [Creating external content connectors](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Ni8lELGXcOB4u4WlGqUN6g "Search administrators create external content connectors to retrieve searchable content and security principals from supported source systems.") | Administrators | | Control the scope of external content connector crawls by specifying source system locations to crawl and content types to feed to AI Search for indexing | [Configuring crawl settings for external content connectors](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/zSSTAtMfz11epkbTbLBJGw "Search administrators can configure crawl settings for each external content connector, such as which source system locations it crawls and which types of files it sends to AI Search for indexing.") | Search administrators | | Update searchable content and metadata from source systems on demand or on a scheduled recurring basis | [Run a one-time full or partial document crawl for an external content connector](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/WF27NJ6iuXMWR2w_4osxvw "Retrieve document content and metadata from all or part of your external content connector's data source on demand. A document crawl sends retrieved content and metadata to AI Search for indexing, making them available to users of your AI Search applications.") | Search administrators | | Update user security principals from source systems on demand or on a scheduled recurring basis | [Run a one-time user mapping crawl for an external content connector](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/y6XALmRIpXNR6kXFwU19LQ "Retrieve users and group access permissions from your external content connector's data source on demand. A user mapping crawl maps retrieved user and group permissions to your ServiceNow AI Platform users to facilitate content security in your AI Search applications.") | Search administrators | | Review metrics for source system items retrieved by content crawls | [Review crawl history and analytics for an external content connector](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Dg59nHo5PHtSR0wwfRlccA "View crawl history records and analytics for an external content connector. Drill into a crawl history record to see detailed metrics and errors from the crawl in question.") | Search administrators | | Review user and group access permissions retrieved by user mapping crawls | [Review user mappings for an external content connector](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/jhhR46abWrWc72J7l5gq_w "View user and group access permissions retrieved by an external content connector, and see how the connector maps those principals to your ServiceNow AI Platform instance's users.") | Search high security administrators | | Search content and metadata indexed from external data source systems | [Searching in AI Search](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/pYnJiDY86yBZDgo79tODSg "See how AI Search displays search results, refinement filter options, and Genius Result answers. Learn how to search using the AI Search query language. Understand when and how AI Search automatically resubmits queries.") | AI Search users | [ ] {#exploring-ext-cont-connectors__table_bjx_wtd_dzb} ## Interaction with Now Assist Genius Results {#exploring-ext-cont-connectors__section_xfh_dr2_m2c} If you have the Now Assist in AI Search and Now Assist in Virtual Agent ServiceNow Store applications installed, external content search results are eligible for inclusion in Genius Result answers generated for Now Assist in Virtual Agent. External content search results are ignored when generating Now Assist Q\&A or Now Assist Actions Genius Result answers. * **[Domain separation and External Content Connectors](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/BoHL92Pac3kR6GrDLnHyag)** Domain separation is unsupported for External Content Connectors. Domain separation enables you to separate data, processes, and administrative tasks into logical groupings called domains. You can control several aspects of this separation, including which users can see and access data.