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Release: Australia · Updated: 2026-05-26 · Official documentation · View source

Enterprise Architecture query agent

The Enterprise Architecture query agent answers natural language questions about your enterprise architecture portfolio, returning AI-generated answers grounded into their Enterprise Architecture data.

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Enterprise Architecture Workspace home page with the Now Assist panel open, displaying a prompt to enter a natural language question about enterprise architecture.

Note: Depending on your license, you will have access to certain application features, generative AI skills, agentic workflows, and AI agents. For more information, see ServiceNow product tiers.

Important: This generative AI skill is turned on by default. The skill will be automatically available to appropriate role users for the application. For more information, see Now Assist skills, agents, and agentic workflows on by default.

The Enterprise Architecture Explorer Query Agent is a Now Assist agent for Enterprise Architecture. It lets architects and portfolio managers query their EA data using natural language, without navigating dashboards or building reports manually.

The agent interprets the structure of your EA portfolio, including business applications, capabilities, value streams, technology standards (TRM), and information objects, and returns structured answers based on your data. When processing a question, the agent searches for relevant data and actions before generating a response. After answering, the agent may display suggestions for related questions to help you explore further. Responses are generated by the large language model (LLM) that your organization has subscribed to on the ServiceNow® platform. The responses may also differ depending on the selected LLM.

You can ask questions about individual records, apply multiple filter conditions, compare trends across fiscal periods, or model impact scenarios such as decommissioning an application.

Note: The Enterprise Architecture query agent is read-only. It retrieves and analyzes your EA data but does not create, modify, or delete any records in your instance.

What you can ask about

The Enterprise Architecture Explorer Query Agent answers questions across the following EA data domains:

DomainExample queries
Business applicationsOwnership, lifecycle phase, application category, CSAT and technical risk scores, retirement candidates
Business capabilitiesHierarchy, scores, capability-to-application coverage
App capability relationshipsApplications supporting a capability, applications with no capability assignments
TrendsScore comparisons for one or more applications
TRM and technologySoftware versions, lifecycle phase
Information objectsProducing and consuming applications, orphaned objects
Impact analysisCapability and information object impact of decommissioning an application
Technical debtApplications flagged for technical debt

Important information to derive the best results

To get the most accurate responses from the agent, remember the following:

  • The agent works best for questions involving one or two relationship types. For queries with three or more relationships, for example, "list all child capabilities, their providing applications, the information objects those applications use, and the services they consume", it's recommended to check the results against your source records for completeness.
  • Large-scale aggregations — For counts and percentages across large data sets, treat results as indicative figures. For precise values, verify against your source records.
  • The agent queries your enterprise architecture data using the Knowledge Graph, which is updated through scheduled jobs. If new relationship types, tables, or custom fields are added to your instance, the Knowledge Graph does a scheduled refresh to generate updated descriptions. Some specialized or less common data points may not be fully represented yet, which could lead to partial responses for certain queries.
  • For questions about a specific record, include the record name or identifier in your query (for example, "Is Order Management a leaf capability?") to help the agent return the most relevant response.

Access

The Enterprise Architecture query agent is available through the Now Assist panel across Enterprise Architecture Workspace. Select the Now Assist icon to open the panel and start a conversation with the agent directly.

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The Enterprise Architecture Workspace home page with the Now Assist icon and Ask Now Assist icons highlighted.

ServiceNow Knowledge Graph dependency

The Enterprise Architecture query agent uses the ServiceNow Knowledge Graph to answer questions about CMDB relationships and infrastructure data. An administrator must enable the required Knowledge Graph system properties before the agent can access this data.

After the system properties are enabled, Knowledge Graph runs scheduled jobs to process your CMDB data. The time required for initial processing varies by the volume of data in your instance and may take several days or longer. During this period, responses that rely on CMDB relationship data may be incomplete. Results improve progressively as processing continues. If the Knowledge Graph data processing is in progress, the Knowledge Graph Designer displays a notification. This means that the scheduled jobs required to set up the enterprise graph are still running. The Enterprise Architecture query agent is not available until this process is complete and the notification is no longer displayed.. To speed up the process, you can import enterprise graph descriptions from a sub-production instance where setup has already completed. For more information, see Initial setup for Enterprise Graph schema in production instance.

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Knowledge Graph Designer page showing a setup-in-progress notification banner indicating the Enterprise Graph is not yet available for queries.

For enable the Knowledge Graph system properties, see Enable Knowledge Graph system properties for the Enterprise Architecture query agent.

All data displayed by the Enterprise Architecture query agent is sourced directly from the ServiceNow® Knowledge Graph, which is built from and continuously updated by your instance's CMDB data. When you submit a question, the agent queries the Knowledge Graph to identify relevant records, relationships, and attributes before generating a response.

This means the agent does not draw on general knowledge or external sources. Every answer is grounded in the data that exists in your instance — such as CI relationships, application ownership, capability mappings, and lifecycle information stored in your CMDB. If a record does not exist in your CMDB, the agent will not surface it.

Note: The accuracy and completeness of the agent's responses depend on the quality and completeness of your CMDB data. Keeping your CMDB up to date ensures the most reliable answers.

For information on the ServiceNow Knowledge Graph see the links.

Parent Topic:Exploring Now Assist for Enterprise Architecture (EA)

Related topics

Use Enterprise Architecture query agent

Using AI agent agentic workflow in Now Assist for Enterprise Architecture (EA)

Enable Knowledge Graph system properties for the Enterprise Architecture query agent

Activate the Now Assist panel standard chat