Purge stale records from the AI Search index

---
title: Purge stale records from the AI Search index
description: Execute a scheduled job to delete stale records from the AI Search index.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-administration/ai-search/purge-stale-records-ais-index.html
release: australia
product: AI Search
classification: ai-search
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Indexed source retention policies and filter conditions, Indexed sources, Configure, AI Search, Search administration, Configure core features, Administer the ServiceNow AI Platform]
---

# Purge stale records from the AI Search index

Execute a scheduled job to delete stale records from the AI Search index.

## Before you begin

Role required: admin

**Note:** If the **glide.script\_processor.admin** system property's value has been changed from the default value, you need the role specified by that property value. For details on this property value and its effects, see [Restrict access to background script](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/platform-security/sc-restrict-access-to-background-script.md).

## About this task

If either of these conditions is satisfied for a record in the AI Search index, AI Search marks the record as stale.

-   The time since the record's last update exceeds the age limit from its indexed source's retention policy
-   The record no longer satisfies the filter conditions defined for its indexed source

AI Search automatically purges stale records from the index daily. Administrators can purge records manually by running a background script.

For more information on running background scripts, see [Scripts - Background module](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/api-reference/scripts/c_ScriptsBackground.md).

## Procedure

1.  Navigate to **All** > **System Definition** > **Scripts - Background**.

    **Note:** If the **glide.script\_processor.admin** system property's value is set to security\_admin, you must elevate to that privileged role to access this module. For more information on elevating privileges, see [Elevated privilege roles](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/platform-security/c_ElevatedPrivilege.md).

2.  In the **Run script \(JavaScript executed on server\)** text field, enter one of the following background scripts.

    -   To purge stale records indexed from a specific table, enter this script, replacing `TABLE_NAME` with the name of your chosen table:

        ```
        new sn_ais.IndexEvent().purgeFilteredDocuments('TABLE_NAME');
        ```

        For example, to purge all stale records indexed from the Knowledge Table indexed source, replace `TABLE_NAME` with `kb_knowledge` in the script.

    -   To purge all stale records in the index, regardless of which table they were indexed from, enter this script:

        ```
        new sn_ais.IndexEvent().purgeFilteredDocuments();
        ```

3.  Select **Run script**.

    The script creates an event that the index handler processes, so the script completes without blocking on completion of the purge job.


## Result

The background script executes, deleting stale records from the AI Search index.

**Parent Topic:**[Indexed source retention policies and filter conditions](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-administration/ai-search/retention-policies-conditions-ais.md)