Knowbler-ServiceNow: Configuration in Knowbler

The first step to creating knowledge with Knowbler is to link ServiceNow to Knowbler and then map incident fields to knowledge articles for auto-populating and auto-generating article drafts. This article covers both linking and mapping.

Add Connection

Knowbler uses a password management system to simplify authorization. This system stores the passwords linked to ServiceNow. It's recommended to store the passwords first.

  1. Login to Knowbler.

  2. Expand Administration, click Connection. Click Add Connection.

  3. Select ServiceNow in Choose Your Platform.

  4. In Connection Name, insert a descriptive label. Labels help you distinguish passwords from one another.

  5. The Client URL field is your ServiceNow instance URL. It's usually in the format https:{{your-org}}.service-now.com/.

  6. The Client ID and Client Secret fields are used to authenticate your ServiceNow credentials. Information on how to get the Client ID and Client Secret is in Create an endpoint for clients to access the instance.

  7. After entering the details, click Connect & Save.

  8. A pop-up is displayed. If you aren't already logged into ServiceNow in another tab, you will be asked to log in. Log in to your instance and let Knowbler connect with the instance.

  9. After successful linking, you can view the saved Connection in Added Connections.

Use and in Action to edit and delete a saved credential. Editing is necessary when your login credentials change.

NOTE.

Editing impacts mapping. If you have edited a Connection, don't forget to review mapping.

Configure Service Desk and Knowledge Management Tool

We will frequently come across two terms in this section: Service Desk and Knowledge Management Tool.

A Service Desk is where support agents work and resolve incidents. In comparison, a Knowledge Management Tool is where support articles are drafted and published. ServiceNow fulfills both functions, therefore it's a Service Desk and a Knowledge Management Tool.

  1. Login to Knowbler.

  2. Go to Clients, and click Add Client.

    NOTE. First-time users use Get Started.

  3. Select ServiceNow.

  4. A Knowbler can be configured for multiple service desks. Each service desk has a unique name inside the app. In the Name field, enter the name of your service desk.

  5. From Connection, select the Connection added in the previous section.

    NOTE. If you haven't added a Connection yet, click Add New and follow the instructions in the previous section.

  6. Click Next.

  7. In the Name field, enter the name of your Knowledge Management System.

    NOTE. The Next button remains disabled until data has been entered in Name and Connection, and a link between Knowbler and ServiceNow has been established successfully.

A Mapping screen is displayed and you can see two configurations.

  • Article Sharing Settings are used to configure knowledge article URLs. This configuration is optional.

  • Field Mapping is used to map article fields from any of the ServiceNow templates: FAQ, How To, What Is, KCS, and Standard. Custom templates are also supported.

Article Sharing Settings

NOTE.

This configuration is optional.

The default knowledge URL is in the format https://{{your_company}}.service-now.com/nav_to.do?uri=/kb_view.do?sys_kb_id={{article_ID}}.

In Article Sharing Settings, the URL can be changed to https://{{your_company}}.service-now.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article={{number || system ID}}&sysparm_language={{language}}. To create a custom knowledge article URL, move variables to the Drag the fields here from above to create base Href field.

For the first variable, choose between <number> and <sys ID>. It’s possible to choose both. The second variable is always <language> and the second variable is optional.

When Reference or Resolution (Article Type Input) is active, agents sharing a published article receive a pop-up asking them if the article being shared is a reference article or a resolution article:

  • A reference article helps a reader understand an issue and potentially find a solution.

  • A resolution article will solve the user's issue.

Click Save to store your configuration.

Map Fields

NOTE.

The terms “Summary”, “Short Description” and “Description” have been used interchangeably in this section.

ServiceNow offers five default templates to support agents:

  • FAQ

  • How To

  • What Is

  • KCS

  • Standard

Admins can create custom templates on top of these default templates. Knowbler supports default article templates and custom article templates.

  1. To map incident fields to article fields, open a template by clicking Mappings.

  2. Drag knowledge fields to the right to map them. Title and Description are mandatory fields in all templates. The field short_description is mapped with Description. The field text is mapped with Title.

    In some templates, other fields may be mandatory and cannot be removed. In the above image, the kb_knowledge_base is mandatory and so you cannot remove it.

  3. If you have integrated Knowbler with an LLM, then you can generate the text in the Title and Description fields using AI. To start, drag a field to select Title and Description. In the image given below, the field “introduction” has been dragged to Description.

    The Auto-Generate Summary dialog is displayed. The Description is generated using the data stored in the fields specified in the Map Case field section. To select a field, click on it.

    You can define maximum length of the description and the label support agents using Knowbler will see in ServiceNow. The most popular label is "Summary."

    Checking Generate a description in the format of a problem statement followed by resolution is optional.

  4. You can define the maximum length of the description. It’s a normal practice to use the maximum character limit available in ServiceNow. When the maximum character limit is in place, then Knowbler stresses that the descriptions received from the third-party LLM are within this limit. In the absence of a limit, the descriptions can be arbitrarily long and not fit into the description field of your platform. It means that the platform will crop the description at a random point, resulting in the loss of context and information.

    Checking Generate a description in the format of a problem statement followed by resolution is optional.

    When the field is checked, then the structure of the Description changes. Instead of a monolith, knowledge article description is clearly divided into two parts:

    Problem resolution to capture the core problem in a sentence.

    Resolution to offer a solution to the problem.

  5. Save your settings.

  6. Activate the template on the Mapping screen and click Complete.

  7. Return to Your Knowbler Clients screen and activate the configuration.

Configuration in ServiceNow

Support agents in ServiceNow can see a button to launch Knowbler. In this section, we will configure how to get that button appear in ServiceNow.

  1. Click Add. Find System UI > UI Actions.

  2. Click New.

  3. Enter the following details:

    • Name: Knowbler

    • Application: Service Operations Workspace Core

    • Table: Incident

    • Form button: Checked

    • Order: 100

    • Active: True

    • Form style: Primary

    • Show update: Checked

    • Client: Checked

  1. Scroll down. Under the Workplace tab, check Workspace Form Button and Format for Configurable Workspace.

  1. Return to Knowbler. Download the ServiceNow client. Unzip and copy the script.

  2. Insert the script into Workspace Client Script and click Submit.

  3. Go to Service Operations Workspace and open an incident. If the configuration has been successful, you will see a Knowbler button on the incident page.

Changes after Configuration (Optional)

The configuration changes listed in this section are useful when:

  • A Knowbler admin has to update incident-to-case mapping

  • A ServiceNow admin has added or removed fields from a knowledge article template and the template is already mapped in Knowbler

  • A ServiceNow admin has added or remove a new knowledge article template

Let’s cover each one.

Update Incident-to-Case Mapping

  1. Open a ServiceNow Knowbler client for editing.

  2. Click Mapping in the Actions column.

  3. Map the incident fields to the knowledge article fields again.

  4. Save the new template.

Update Already-Mapped Template

  1. Open a ServiceNow Knowbler client for editing.

  2. Click Refresh in the Actions column. In the image, the template "KCS Article" is updated when you click Refresh. All the knowledge article fields added or removed by a ServiceNow admin will be displayed in Knowbler.

Update Knowledge Article Templates List

  1. Open a ServiceNow Knowbler client for editing.

  2. New templates are displayed and old templates disappear when you click Refresh Template List. An icon appears before the newly-added templates. If no new templates have been added or removed in ServiceNow, the list doesn't change.

  3. The actual template names seen by the support agents using Knowbler in ServiceNow are configured in the Template Label column. This configuration is optional. However, admins can change the labels. In the image below, the “How To” template has been renamed to “Processes” and the “What Is” template has been renamed to “Definitions.”