Connecting ServiceNow to Knowledge Management
The ServiceNow knowledge integration syncs published knowledge articles and their attachments from your ServiceNow instance into the Rezolve.ai Knowledge Base. The Virtual Agent can then use them to answer questions and link back to the article.
This page covers the ServiceNow-specific setup. For the wizard, sync status, bounced files, and other functions that all integrations share, see Knowledge Integrations.
Prerequisites
- A ServiceNow instance on
https://<instance>.service-now.com. Custom domains are not supported. - A ServiceNow integration user with read access to the knowledge tables listed below.
- Knowledge Management admin access in the Rezolve.ai console.
Step 1: Prepare ServiceNow access
Integration user permissions
The integration user needs REST API access and read access to:
| Table / API | Used for |
|---|---|
kb_knowledge_base | Listing knowledge bases and validating the connection |
kb_knowledge | Reading articles, including the text body and metadata |
Attachment API (sys_attachment) | Downloading inline images and article attachments |
| Tables of any article templates you use | Reading templated article content |
A dedicated integration user with the knowledge role, plus read ACLs on these tables, is usually enough. Rezolve.ai reads only what this user can read, so articles the user can't see are not synced.
Create OAuth credentials
Rezolve.ai connects to ServiceNow with OAuth 2.0 (refresh-token grant):
- In ServiceNow, go to System OAuth → Application Registry → New → Create an OAuth API endpoint for external clients.
- Enter a name and save. Copy the generated Client ID and Client Secret.
- Generate a Refresh Token for the integration user, for example with a
grant_type=passwordrequest tohttps://<instance>.service-now.com/oauth_token.dousing the client credentials and the integration user's login.
ServiceNow refresh tokens expire, after about 100 days by default. When the token expires, syncs fail until you generate a new refresh token and update the connection. For long-running integrations, raise the Refresh Token Lifespan on the application registry entry.
Step 2: Create the ServiceNow integration
- In the Rezolve.ai console, go to Knowledge Management → Knowledge Integrations.
- Click Add Integrations and select ServiceNow.
2a. Connection setup
Enter a Title for the integration. Then either choose an existing ServiceNow connection or select Create New Connection and enter these details:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name | A descriptive name for the connection | Acme ServiceNow |
| Client Id | OAuth client ID from Step 1 | |
| Client Secret | OAuth client secret from Step 1 | |
| Refresh Token | Refresh token for the integration user | |
| ServiceNow Domain | The instance name only, without https:// or .service-now.com | acme |
When editing a connection, you can replace the Client Id, Client Secret, and Refresh Token, for example when the refresh token expires.
2b. Content selection
Content is organized into one or more content sets. In each content set:
- Tick one or more knowledge bases. Every published article in them is synced. You can't filter by category, language, or individual article.
- Map non-standard templates if Rezolve.ai prompts you to (see below).
- To limit who can get answers from this content set, open the ⋮ menu, turn on Restrict Access, and choose Restrict by Audience. See Access control.
Non-standard templates
Articles based on the standard template keep their content in the Text field. Knowledge bases that use other article templates, such as KCS articles with Issue, Cause, and Resolution fields, store content in template-specific fields.
When the selected knowledge bases use a non-standard template, a field-mapping step appears after you select them. For each detected template:
- Review the sample article shown.
- Select the fields that make up the article content.
The selected fields are combined into the article body. To change the mapping later, use the content set's Non-Standard Templates link.
If a template isn't mapped, its articles have no text to ingest. They appear in Bounced Files with No text was extracted.
2c. Configuration
Under Sync Details, set the Frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly), Start Time, Timezone, and Schedule Start Date. Optionally turn on Subscribe to Sync Reports and add User Subscribers. Then click Save. See Knowledge Integrations → Step 3: Configuration.
What gets ingested
| Content | Details |
|---|---|
| Articles | Only articles in the Published workflow state. Draft, review, retired, and outdated articles are excluded. |
| Article body | The article's Text field, or for non-standard templates, the fields you mapped |
| Inline images and video | Kept and shown with the answer. Text inside images is not read. |
| Attachments | Supported document attachments are ingested as separate knowledge items that inherit the article's access |
Published articles past their Valid to date are still ingested. Retire expired articles in ServiceNow to remove them from the Knowledge Base.
Supported attachment types
| Category | Extensions |
|---|---|
| Documents | .pdf, .doc, .docx, .txt, .rtf, .md |
| Presentations | .ppt, .pptx |
| Web and data | .html, .htm, .xml, .json |
.eml, .msg | |
| Archives | .zip, .rar, .7z (supported files inside are extracted) |
Excel (.xls, .xlsx) and CSV attachments are not ingested.
Limits
| Limit | Default |
|---|---|
| Maximum attachment size | 25 MB |
| Archive contents | Up to 10 files and 50 MB uncompressed |
| Retries per file | A file that fails 3 times is skipped until it's resolved in Bounced Files |
Metadata and source links
Each article keeps its:
- KB number and short description (used as the title)
- meta tags
- language, knowledge base, and last-updated time
Answers link to the article in the Employee Center portal:
https://<instance>.service-now.com/esc?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0012345
Sync behavior
| Behavior | Details |
|---|---|
| First sync | Full ingestion of all published articles in the selected knowledge bases |
| Later syncs | Incremental. An article is re-ingested when its Updated time changes. |
| Retired, unpublished, or moved articles | Removed from the Knowledge Base on the next sync |
| Throttling | Rate-limit (HTTP 429) and temporary server errors are retried automatically |
Access control
ServiceNow user criteria are honored at the article level:
- Articles with "Can read" user criteria: only users who match those criteria can get answers from the article. Its attachments follow the same rule.
- Articles with no "Can read" user criteria: the content set's Audience applies.
The following are not applied:
- "Cannot read" user criteria
- User criteria set on the knowledge base rather than the article
If you rely on either one, put the affected content in a separate content set with a narrower audience.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge bases don't load, or syncs fail with a permissions error | The integration user can't read kb_knowledge_base or kb_knowledge | Grant the read roles and ACLs listed in Step 1 |
| "Failed to generate ServiceNow token" | The OAuth refresh token is expired or revoked, or the client ID or secret is wrong | Issue a new refresh token and update the connection |
| No knowledge bases listed, or every request fails | ServiceNow Domain contains a full URL | Enter only the instance name, for example acme |
| Article bounced with No text was extracted | The article uses a non-standard template whose fields aren't mapped | Map the template's fields with Non-Standard Templates, then click Sync Now |
| Some articles are missing | Not in the Published state, or not readable by the integration user | Publish the article, or check the user's ACLs |
| Source links don't open | The instance doesn't use the Employee Center (/esc) portal | Contact Rezolve.ai support |
| Attachment bounced as not supported or size limit | Excel or CSV, or over 25 MB | Convert to PDF, or split the file |
Download the CSV log for any sync run from the Sync Status tab.
Next Steps
- Manage syncs, logs, and bounced files in Knowledge Integrations
- Set up audience targeting for ServiceNow content
- Monitor usage with analytics