Add a retriever
Add a retriever to your skill to augment your prompts with relevant context from AI Search results.
Before you begin
Role required: sn_skill_builder.admin
About this task
Using a retriever in a skill enhances the relevance and coherence of a response by pulling relevant information from a source and then feeding it to a large language model (LLM) to create the final output. This process doesn't require model fine-tuning.
A retriever enables the chatbot to access external knowledge by fetching relevant background information, resulting in more factual, in-depth, and informed responses.
Procedure
-
Navigate to All > AI Skill Kit > Home.
-
Create a skill or select the skill that you want to add a retriever to.
-
Select the Tool editor tab.
-
Select the (+) icon to add a node.
-
Select Tool node.
-
Select Retriever from the drop-down menu.
-
Select Configure retriever.
-
On the form, fill in the fields.
|
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Name |
Name of the retriever. |
|
Search query |
Information to search for. The value can be static text or a skill input. |
|
Search space type |
|
|
Search profile |
A group of search sources. |
|
Search sources |
Tables in ServiceNow that have been indexed and can be used for search. |
|
Fields returned |
Fields to return from the search sources and send to the LLM. |
|
Limit |
Maximum number of results to return. |
|
Search criteria |
|
-
Select an embedding model.
To learn about embedding models, see Configuring an external or custom embedding model.
-
If you selected Hybrid or Semantic search criteria, select a semantic index.
A semantic index enables you to search for data based on contextual meaning.
-
If you selected Hybrid or Semantic search criteria, select Advanced to change the document matching threshold.
The document matching threshold is the threshold for semantic matching. The default value is 0. You can input any value from 0 to 1. You can get more precise results with a higher value.
-
Select Next.
Note: If you selected Hybrid or Semantic search criteria, see Configure retriever chunking and reranking to complete setting up your retriever.
-
Review the retriever tool information.
-
Select Add tool.
- Configure retriever chunking and reranking
Configure chunking and reranking for a retriever that uses hybrid or semantic search to control how retrieved content is split, ranked, and passed to the LLM.
Parent Topic:Add a tool
---
title: Add a retriever
description: Add a retriever to your skill to augment your prompts with relevant context from AI Search results.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/intelligent-experiences/now-assist-skill-kit/add-retriever.html
release: australia
product: Now Assist Skill Kit
classification: now-assist-skill-kit
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-09-23"
reading_time_minutes: 2
breadcrumb: [Add a tool, Create a prompt, Using AI Skill Kit, AI Skill Kit, Generative AI skills, Enable AI Experiences]
---
# Add a retriever
Add a retriever to your skill to augment your prompts with relevant context from AI Search results.
## Before you begin
Role required: sn\_skill\_builder.admin
## About this task
Using a retriever in a skill enhances the relevance and coherence of a response by pulling relevant information from a source and then feeding it to a large language model \(LLM\) to create the final output. This process doesn't require model fine-tuning.
A retriever enables the chatbot to access external knowledge by fetching relevant background information, resulting in more factual, in-depth, and informed responses.
## Procedure
1. Navigate to **All** > **AI Skill Kit** > **Home**.
2. Create a skill or select the skill that you want to add a retriever to.
3. Select the **Tool editor** tab.
4. Select the \(+\) icon to add a node.
5. Select **Tool node**.
6. Select **Retriever** from the drop-down menu.
7. Select **Configure retriever**.
8. On the form, fill in the fields.
<table id="table_bzy_5jv_ddc"><thead><tr><th>
Field
</th><th>
Description
</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>
Name
</td><td>
Name of the retriever.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Search query
</td><td>
Information to search for. The value can be static text or a skill input.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Search space type
</td><td>
- Table-based
- Search-profile-based
</td></tr><tr><td>
Search profile
</td><td>
A group of search sources.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Search sources
</td><td>
Tables in ServiceNow that have been indexed and can be used for search.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Fields returned
</td><td>
Fields to return from the search sources and send to the LLM.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Limit
</td><td>
Maximum number of results to return.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Search criteria
</td><td>
- Hybrid
- Semantic
- Keyword
**Note:** If you choose Hybrid or Semantic, you can make selections for chunking and reranking. To learn more about chunking and reranking, see [Configure retriever chunking and reranking](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/intelligent-experiences/now-assist-skill-kit/retriever-chunking.md).
</td></tr></tbody>
</table>9. Select **Next**.
10. Select an embedding model.
To learn about embedding models, see [Configuring an external or custom embedding model](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/platform-administration/setting-up-3p-embedding-models.md).
11. If you selected **Hybrid** or **Semantic** search criteria, select a semantic index.
A semantic index enables you to search for data based on contextual meaning.
12. If you selected **Hybrid** or **Semantic** search criteria, select **Advanced** to change the document matching threshold.
The document matching threshold is the threshold for semantic matching. The default value is 0. You can input any value from 0 to 1. You can get more precise results with a higher value.
13. Select **Next**.
**Note:** If you selected **Hybrid** or **Semantic** search criteria, see [Configure retriever chunking and reranking](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/intelligent-experiences/now-assist-skill-kit/retriever-chunking.md) to complete setting up your retriever.
14. Review the retriever tool information.
15. Select **Add tool**.
- **[Configure retriever chunking and reranking](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/intelligent-experiences/now-assist-skill-kit/retriever-chunking.md)**
Configure chunking and reranking for a retriever that uses hybrid or semantic search to control how retrieved content is split, ranked, and passed to the LLM.
**Parent Topic:**[Add a tool](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/intelligent-experiences/now-assist-skill-kit/add-a-tool.md)
| title | Add a retriever |
| description | Add a retriever to your skill to augment your prompts with relevant context from AI Search results. |
| locale | en-US |
| canonical_url | https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/intelligent-experiences/now-assist-skill-kit/add-retriever.html |
| release | australia |
| product | Now Assist Skill Kit |
| classification | now-assist-skill-kit |
| topic_type | task |
| last_updated | 2026-09-23 |
| reading_time_minutes | 2 |
| breadcrumb | Add a toolCreate a promptUsing AI Skill KitAI Skill KitGenerative AI skillsEnable AI Experiences |