Trigger ServiceNow AI Lens from the desktop app

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated July 17, 2025
  • 4 minutes to read

    • Trigger ServiceNow AI Lens from a desktop by using a Lens action to preview the extracted data and initiate post processing or auto-fill a form.

    Before you begin

    To access the ServiceNow AI Lens functionality, perform the following steps:

    Verify that ServiceNow AI Lens has access to record the screen on your system. For more information, see Providing permission to ServiceNow AI Lens.

    You must have create and update access privileges for creating or updating a record using ServiceNow AI Lens.

    Don't scan any personally identifiable information, such as medical reports, financial reports, or other sensitive data, when using ServiceNow AI Lens as you don't want to expose the large language model (LLM) to any sensitive information.

    Role required: lens_user

    About this task

    By using Lens actions, you can perform one of the following tasks:
    Fill a form
    In the Lens action configuration, when Trigger From is Desktop and Trigger For is Form, and a table is selected, ServiceNow AI Lens can be triggered from the desktop to auto-fill a form. It first shows a preview of the data, and if the preview is editable, you can edit the fields before saving. After you select Submit in the preview window, it saves the form with the updated data on the ServiceNow instance.
    Preview the extracted data
    In the Lens action configuration, when Trigger From is Desktop and Trigger For is Others, ServiceNow AI Lens can be triggered from the desktop to show preview of the extracted data. If the preview is editable, you can edit the fields before saving. After you select Submit and close preview in the preview window, it saves the data and initiates post processing.

    Procedure

    1. From your system, launch the ServiceNow AI Lens application.
    2. On the login page, in the Instance URL field, enter the ServiceNow instance URL.
      For example, https://<instance name>.service-now.com.
    3. Select Proceed.
    4. Log in to your ServiceNow account by entering your username and password.
      Your account must have the lens_user role.
    5. Optional: On the onboarding journey widget, complete the onboarding and select Got it.
      Onboarding journey widget with three pages to show you the highlights of the application.

      If you launch the ServiceNow AI Lens for the first time, the onboarding journey widget appears. You can select Don't show me again to hide the widget the next time you launch ServiceNow AI Lens.

    6. Select a Lens action.
      When ServiceNow AI Lens is triggered from the desktop app, it does one of the following things:
      • Shows preview of the extracted data.
      • Creates a record on the ServiceNow instance.
    7. Select Proceed with Lens.
      Proceed with Lens button.
      Lens scanner opens in a separate window.
    8. On your system, open an artifact that you want to scan.
      An artifact can be an image, scanned or handwritten note, website, or application.
    9. Place the ServiceNow AI Lens scanner window on the top of the artifact.
      You can resize the ServiceNow AI Lens scanner window by dragging its borders.
    10. Optional: Extract data from a single screen.
      1. Enter additional instructions to extract, analyze, and organize data by selecting the Instructions icon (Instructions icon.) and then enter the instructions.
        The default character limit is 500. Users with the admin role can increase this limit to up to 5000 characters by navigating to the sn_lens_user_prompt_max_length system property.

        Lens incident email.

      2. Select Analyze.
        The ServiceNow AI Lens preview window displays the extracted output.

        Preview window showing output.

    11. Optional: Extract the data from multiple screenshots.
      1. Select the Multi-capture button .
      2. Continue to take the required screenshots by selecting the Capture button .
        You can capture up to 10 images to ServiceNow AI Lens.

        You can take multiple screenshots of the same artifact or different artifacts.

      3. When you're finished taking screenshots, select Done .
        Done button after capturing multiple screenshots.

        The window shows the thumbnails of the images that ServiceNow AI Lens captured.

        Multiple screens captured.

    12. Optional: In the Additional directions for Now Assist field, provide further instructions for analyzing and comprehending data.

      The default character limit is 500. Users with the admin role can increase this limit to up to 5000 characters by navigating to the sn_lens_user_prompt_max_length system property.

      The instruction text is used by the ServiceNow AI Lens skill to extract data or generate output according to your requirements. Use short, direct, and clear sentences to describe the expected outcome. Be specific, provide detailed descriptions, and avoid jargon and abbreviations.

      Example: You can use ServiceNow AI Lens to extract data from multiple screenshots and provide you with an output in the JSON format. You can see this output in the Preview window.

      Extract name, user email ID, and designation from the resumes and present data in a JSON format.

      Field for inserting Now Assist instructions to extract data in a specific way.
    13. Analyze and comprehend the data by selecting Analyze.
      Figure 1. Analyzing the single image
      Analyze button on the scanner window for the single capture.
      Figure 2. Analyzing the multiple images
      Analyze button on the Home page window for the multi-capture.

      The extracted data is shown in the Preview window. ServiceNow AI Lens uses Now Assist to extract, comprehend, and show a preview of the data.

      Figure 3. Editable preview of the form
      Editable Form preview.
      Figure 4. Editable preview of the extracted data
      Editable preview of the extracted data.
    14. Depending on the type of Lens action selected, perform the following steps.
      TaskSteps
      Filling form
      1. (Optional) In case of editable preview, if necessary, edit the auto-filled field values before saving.
      2. On the form header in the Preview window, select Submit to save the filled form on the instance.
      Previewing extracted data
      1. (Optional) In case of editable preview, if necessary, edit the auto-filled field values before saving or copying the values.
      2. (Optional) Copy the previewed data by selecting the Copy icon .
      3. Select Submit.
    15. End the current session by selecting Start new session.