General guidelines for using Now Assist for app generation in ServiceNow Studio

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of General guidelines for using Now Assist for app generation in ServiceNow Studio

    Now Assist for app generation in ServiceNow Studio leverages generative AI to help you create custom applications through an interactive conversational process. It is designed to guide you from initial concept to detailed app requirements, enabling you to build applications efficiently by collaborating with AI assistance.

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    Using Now Assist Effectively

    • Initiation: Begin by stating the main purpose of your application, even with a broad or generic description. For example, you might say, "I want to manage how my employees travel within my business."
    • Ongoing Conversation: Engage actively by providing specific requirements or responding to suggestions. For example, specify tables, fields, user roles, permissions, and desired forms or workspaces.
    • Flexibility: If you are unsure about details, you can ask Now Assist for recommendations and collaborate to refine your app’s design.

    Key Features Supported

    • Creation of data tables with custom fields (e.g., employee name, destination, trip duration)
    • Definition of user roles and permissions for managing access and actions within the app
    • Design of forms for different user types, such as employees submitting requests and managers reviewing approvals
    • Option to add workspaces with dashboards displaying relevant reports (available starting with Yokohama Patch 3, May 2025)
    • Integration of record producers to enable submissions directly from the Service Catalog

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    By following these guidelines, you can effectively leverage generative AI to speed up application development, reduce manual configuration, and collaborate interactively to ensure the app meets your business workflows and user needs. The conversational approach helps clarify requirements and lets you iteratively refine your application with AI’s contextual assistance.

    Learn general guidelines for using Now Assist for app generation to create applications with help from generative AI.

    Having a conversation

    To get the most out of app generation, craft your statements thoughtfully and include details. As Now Assist for app generation makes suggestions and you see the preview, respond and add more details about your requirements.

    Initiation
    Now Assist for app generation asks for the main purpose of your application.

    You can start with a generic statement. For example, I'd like to manage how my employees travel within my business.

    Conversation
    Engage in the ongoing process of telling Now Assist how you want your app to work and respond to its inquiries.
    If you know exactly what you want, be direct and specific. For example:
    • I want a table for travel requests with fields like employee name, destination, and trip duration.
    • I want employees to be able to create and submit requests. Managers can then view these, and approve or deny them. Employees can view requests they've submitted, but not requests submitted by others.
    • I would like a form for employees to submit requests, and another form for managers to review and respond to those requests.
    • Please add a workspace with a dashboard containing relevant reports about the travel requests.
    Note:
    Adding a workspace while creating or editing an application is available beginning with the Yokohama Patch 3 (May 2025) release.
    You can also convey only what you know, and collaborate with Now Assist to fill in the gaps. For example:
    • I need to collect and monitor relevant data for each employee trip. Can you suggest anything?

      Now Assist suggests:

      Sure, we can begin with the basics. How about capturing the employee's name, destination, duration of travel, purpose of travel, and budget. Does that sound like a good starting point?

    • Yes, thanks. I need to manage permissions for my app's users. What can you do for me?

      Now Assist explains:

      We can create roles to manage permissions. Can you tell me more about the types of users for your application and what they should be able to do?

    • Sure. Currently, employees email their managers for travel approval, and the manager decides whether the employee gets to go, per budget at the department level.

      Now Assist clarifies:

      So, should employees be able to create and view their own requests, and should managers be able to view and approve all requests?

    • That sounds good, thanks.

      Now Assist understands your workflow and suggests ways to implement the desired functionality:

      Would you also like to create forms for employees to submit and update travel requests?

      Do you want to build a form for managers to approve or reject the travel request?

      We could also create a record producer. This will allow employees to submit travel requests directly from the Service Catalog. Would you like to include this feature in your application?

    Throughout the conversation, Now Assist adjusts its understanding of the application requirements based on your input.

    For more information about having productive conversations with Now Assist, see General guidelines for writing instructions for generative AI large language models (LLMs).