Combined Now Assist in Virtual Agent release notes for upgrades from Zurich to Australia

---
title: Combined Now Assist in Virtual Agent release notes for upgrades from Zurich to Australia
description: Consolidated page of all release notes for Now Assist in Virtual Agent from Zurich to Australia.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/delta-zurich-australia/australia-zurich-nowassistinvirtualagent-release-notes.html
release: australia
topic_type: reference
last_updated: "2026-09-15"
reading_time_minutes: 12
breadcrumb: [Products combined by family]
---

# Combined Now Assist in Virtual Agent release notes for upgrades from Zurich to Australia

Consolidated page of all release notes for Now Assist in Virtual Agent from Zurich to Australia.

## How to use this page

To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Now Assist in Virtual Agent release notes onto one page. Read this summary of the new features, changes, and updated information for your product from Zurich to Australia.

**Tip:** If there were no updates for a release notes section in a certain family release, we included a short note for your reference. For example, if a product did not have any updates in Tokyo, the row says "No updates for this release."

## Important information for upgrading Now Assist in Virtual Agent to Australia

Before you upgrade to Australia, review these pre- and post-upgrade tasks and complete the tasks as needed.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## New features

Between your current release family and Australia, new features were introduced for Now Assist in Virtual Agent.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

-   **[Configure additional user interface and experience options for enhanced chat](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=ac-configure-chat-branding&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

Customize and configure the Search Toggle Button Label for enhanced chat's full-page experience. Additionally, you can configure the Enable Unread Conversation Count Display and Left Panel Header Label for enhanced chat and enhanced chat's full-page experience.

-   **[New third-party AI model provider options available for Now Assist](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=exploring-large-language-models&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

Google Gemini and AWS Claude are available for Now Assist skills and AI agents in addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI.

-   **[View agentic conversations processing steps](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=nava-enhanced-chat&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

View agentic conversational processing steps and stop the flow, if needed.

-   **[View extended entities and records](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=using-now-assist-in-va&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

View extended entities and records in standard and enhanced chat conversations that come from the additional custom tables associated with the Knowledge Graph Natural Language Query \(NLQ\) schema such as:

    -   Assets
    -   Incidents
    -   Recently viewed knowledge base articles
    -   Requests
    -   Tasks
-   **[View suggested queries in the portal’s search bar and chat window](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=nava-enhanced-chat&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

View the most frequently asked queries in the portal’s search bar and enhanced chat’s Virtual Agent. Any search query entered into the portal’s search bar or Virtual Agent is incorporated into the greeting topic for future conversations as a suggested query. Suggested queries are only included in the Virtual Agent greeting topic whenever no promoted assets are designated.

-   **[Work with suggested queries](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=nava-sys-props&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

Two system properties were added to enable the suggested queries feature: **sn\_nowassist\_va.enable\_suggested\_queries** and **sn\_nowassist\_va.max\_suggested\_queries**.

-   **[Configure AI search answers OneExtend capability for web search](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=configure-ai-search-answers-capability-for-web-search&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

Configure the AI Search answers capability via `sys_one_extend_capability.list` to establish the web search AI provider and work with API keys, if needed.

-   **[Expanding AI provider support for web search](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=configure-ai-search-answers-capability-for-web-search&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

OpenAI, Perplexity, and Google Gemini support web search.

-   **[Configuring assistants overview](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=configure-now-assist-va&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

Enhancements to Now Assist in Virtual Agent assistants and Now Assist panel Platform and Developer assistants. Options vary for Now Assist panel assistants.

[Create a chat assistant](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=create-assistant&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

    -   Configure assistants by domain.


    -   Now Assist in Virtual Agent assistants: By default, all global skill types are turned on in Now Assist Admin console.
    -   Now Assist panel Platform assistant: By default, all global skill types, except for Catalog skill, are turned on in Now Assist Admin console.
    -   Now Assist panel Developer assistant: By default, Now Assist Topic skill is turned on in Now Assist Admin console. No other skills are available for the Now Assist panel Developer assistant.
[Select a display experience](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=display-assistant-portal-channel&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

    -   Now Assist in Virtual Agent: For mobile search widgets, enable the search bar to open into a full-page experience.
[Display assistant on Platform or ServiceNow Studio](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=display-nap-assistant&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

    -   Now Assist panel Platform assistant: Enable enhanced chat for a conversational experience that includes a dynamic, movable, and resizable chat window, plus access to multiple active conversations.
    -   Now Assist panel Developer assistant: Not applicable.
[Assign search sources](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=add-info-sources-assistant&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

    -   Now Assist in Virtual Agent:
        -   Add internal and external search sources, such as catalog items and Microsoft SharePoint, from a drop-down list.
        -   Add a slot filling schema to input user information from your organization's Knowledge Graph. Add a Natural Language Query schema to enable users to perform a data query during a conversation.
    -   Now Assist panel Platform assistant:
        -   Add internal and external search sources, such as catalog items and Microsoft SharePoint, from a drop-down list.
        -   Add a slot filling schema to input user information from your organization's Knowledge Graph. Add a Natural Language Query schema to enable users to perform a data query during a conversation.
    -   Now Assist panel Developer assistant: Not applicable.
[Manage chat experience](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=manage-assistant-chat-experience&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

    -   Now Assist in Virtual Agent:
        -   Select a custom greeting topic, closing topic, error topic, and survey for your assistant.
        -   Select one or more fallback options: live agent, web search, record producer, end this chat, and custom fallback.
        -   Enable the web search fallback option and web search mode to enable users to search the web from within a chat window.
    -   Now Assist panel Platform assistant:
        -   Select a custom greeting topic or error topic for your assistant.
        -   Fallback options don't apply to Now Assist panel Platform assistant.
        -   Enable web search mode to enable users to search the web from within a chat window.
    -   Now Assist panel Developer assistant: Not applicable.
-   **[Now Assist panel](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=now-assist-panel-overview&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

Use the enhanced Now Assist panel for a more intuitive and personalized experience. The updated Now Assist panel is resizable and can be moved anywhere on the ServiceNow AI platform.


</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Changes

Between your current release family and Australia, some changes were made to existing Now Assist in Virtual Agent features.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

-   **[UI chat updates](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=nava-enhanced-chat&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**
    -   The enhanced chat navigation area was updated. The New Chat, Chats, Support, and Settings icons were reworked into a simplified subheader. Additionally, each chat title now appears in the simplified subheader.
    -   The enhanced chat's subheader reflects conversational modes in a banner whenever you enter into a specific mode, such as web search, live agent, or document upload.
    -   In the enhanced chat's **Chats** &gt; **Closed chats** section, hover over a chat to view the delete option and complete the delete confirmation prompts.
    -   Minor animations occur in the following five enhanced chat transitions:
        -   Hovering over the chat icon.
        -   Minimizing and opening the chat icon.
        -   Transitioning from a floating chat window to a pinned chat window and vice versa.
        -   Transitioning from a floating chat window to a 90% modal and vice versa.
        -   Transitioning from a pinned chat window to a 90% modal and vice versa.

**Note:** Transition animation doesn't apply to custom icons.

-   **Coral theme**

Coral is now the default theme for new portal, web, and mobile experiences with Next Experience or Core UI enabled. This theme provides a fresh look and feel, featuring brand-neutral illustrations to enhance your user experience. A dark theme option is available for web and mobile experiences.

-   **[UI admin guided setup updates](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=configure-now-assist-va&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**
    -   The **Manage search profile** button replaces the search profile text link.
    -   The Add external search sources drop-down list has been replaced with the Add search sources drop-down list to include internal and external search sources.
    -   The simple and advanced views within the Chat experience page are consolidated into a single view.
    -   The **Copy existing configuration** button is featured more prominently, and it's shown with information about its use.

 -   **[Additional fallback options](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=using-now-assist-in-va&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

There are up to five fallback options that can be presented to end users:

    -   **Search the web**: Triggers web search mode and uses the internet to search for the results.

**Note:** Only the last query entered into the conversation is considered when entering web search mode via the fallback option.

    -   **Request a live chat**: Triggers live agent mode and routes you to a human support representative.
    -   **Create a generic ticket**: Creates a record.
    -   **End this chat**: Ends the chat.

**Note:** This option is only available to standard chat conversations.

    -   **Custom fallback option**: Presents a fallback Virtual Agent topic.
-   **[Web search mode enhancements](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=web-search-requestor&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

Manually enter into web search mode via the input bar for standard and enhanced chat conversations. Web search mode includes in-line citations and the associated sources. A web search mode banner appears in enhanced chat conversations that end users can use to end the mode.

-   **[Profanity recognition response](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=nava-enhanced-chat&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)**

If AI Guardian is enabled and the end user's request contains profane content, the Virtual Agent responds with a message prompt to re-enter an appropriate request without profanity or offensive content.


</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Removed

Between your current release family and Australia, some Now Assist in Virtual Agent features or functionality were removed.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Deprecations

Between your current release family and Australia, some Now Assist in Virtual Agent features or functionality were deprecated.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

-   In Patch 1, Bing support for the searching and scraping search result type is no longer supported when adding a web search tool in AI Skill Kit.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Activation information

Review information on how to activate Now Assist in Virtual Agent.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

-   **Activation information**

**Note:** When you upgrade to Zurich Patch 2 or later, agentic AI is the primary orchestration in Virtual Agent. For more information about agentic AI, see [Agentic conversations in Virtual Agent](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=agentic-conversations-vad&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US).

Now Assist features are available with activation of any Now Assist plugin from the ServiceNow Store. The following products are available:

    -   For more information, see [Configuring assistants overview](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=configure-now-assist-va&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US).


</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Additional requirements

If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Now Assist in Virtual Agent we have noted them here.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

-   **Additional requirements**

[ServiceNow Otto for Virtual Agent](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=now-assist-in-va-landing&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) requires a license for Virtual Agent and at least one Now Assist product.


</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Browser requirements

If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Now Assist in Virtual Agent we have noted them here.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

-   **Browser requirements**

Now Assist in Virtual Agent supports various browsers, including Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. For more information, see [Browser support](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=browser-support&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US).


</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Accessibility information

Review details on accessibility information for Now Assist in Virtual Agent, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

-   **Accessibility information**
    -   **Dark theme**

The new Coral theme includes a dark theme option for web and mobile experiences. This option is commonly used to alleviate eye strain and improve readability.


</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Localization information

If there are specific localization considerations for Now Assist in Virtual Agent we have noted them here.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

-   **Localization information**

[Dynamic Translation](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=dynamic-translation-overview&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) is supported for non-streaming Now Assist Virtual Agent conversations. For details, see [Configure multilingual service for Now Assist applications](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=enable-dynamic-translation-for-now-assist-applications&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US), [Language detection and dynamic translation in enhanced chat](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=dynamic-lang-detection-translation-enhanced-chat&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US), and [Language detection and dynamic translation in standard chat](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=dynamic-lang-detection-translation-standard-chat-nlu&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US).


</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Highlight information

If there are specific highlight considerations for Now Assist in Virtual Agent we have noted them here.

<table class="custom-rows"><thead><tr><th class="filter">

Release

</th><th>

Release notes

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Zurich

</td><td>

[Zurich Patch 12](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=zurich-patch-12&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

-   ServiceNow Otto is the new AI experience brand. This change is reflected in the name of ServiceNow products, including ServiceNow Otto for Virtual Agent and ServiceNow Otto panel. Your product entitlements remain unchanged. Check your entitlements to determine your access to specific features.

 [Zurich Patch 11](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=zurich-patch-11&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

-   Prompts help users ask better questions and get more accurate answers. Admins can turn prompt library on or off and further configure the default recommended prompts for users.

 [Zurich Patch 10](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=zurich-patch-10&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

-   Opt into premium chat for your Now Assist in Virtual Agent assistants.
-   Enable voice input for Now Assist in Virtual Agent assistants \(premium chat\), and for the Now Assist panel - Platform assistant \(standard, enhanced, or premium chat\).
-   Personalize your assistant's tone, response length, and persona.

 [Zurich Patch 9](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=zurich-patch-9&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

-   Use Now Assist in Virtual Agent on your mobile device.
-   The default Employee Slate assistant comes with premium chat. Premium chat is a contextual chat experience that appears throughout the platform, adapting its behavior and interface based on where users are and what they’re doing.

 [Zurich Patch 8](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=zurich-patch-8&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

-   Use the Now Assist in Virtual Agent clarification feature to get direct answers to ambiguous requests. If your question can apply to multiple topics, the assistant asks a follow-up question to narrow down your intent before responding.
-   Opt into premium chat for your Now Assist panel - Platform assistant. Your instance must first meet certain prerequisites. Premium chat is an AI chat experience built into your ServiceNow environment that lets you ask questions, get answers from your organization's knowledge, and take action on records — all in one place. It supports file uploads, web search, and multi-step agentic tasks, so that you can handle more complex requests without leaving the panel.
-   Brand your Now Assist panel – Platform assistant, if you have premium chat set up.

 [Zurich Patch 7](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=zurich-patch-7&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

-   Start a Now Assist in Virtual Agent conversation from anywhere in the Employee Hub.
-   Provide response feedback to Now Assist in Virtual Agent responses.
-   Use natural-language questions and receive concise, synthesized answers.

 [Zurich Patch 5](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=zurich-patch-5&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

-   Review changes to Now Assist usage measurement.
-   Japanese language support for voice assistants enables Japanese-speaking users to experience natural, culturally appropriate interactions with AI voice agents.

 [Zurich Patch 4](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=zurich-patch-4&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

-   Some Now Assist skills, agents, and agentic workflows are now turned on by default.
-   Create and manage LLM-based chat and voice assistants within Assistant Designer, a centralized assistant administrator experience.
-   View a people citation's org chart in the interactive view. The interactive view opens next to the chat conversation area.
-   Notice several UI improvements to enhanced chat and enhanced chat's full-page experience, including an updated input bar, gradient borders, copy message icon for received messages, and more.
-   Turn on voice input to enable users to use a microphone to enter the input. Voice input is only available for Now Assist panel Platform assistant.

 [Zurich Patch 1](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=zurich-patch-1&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US)

-   Use Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude on AWS as AI model providers for Now Assist skills and AI agents in addition to Now LLM Service and Azure OpenAI.
-   Use agentic conversations and view agentic conversational processing flow steps.
-   View extended entities and records in standard and enhanced chat conversations if they’re associated with the Knowledge Graph Natural Language Query \(NLQ\) schema.
-   View suggested search queries previously performed in the portal's search bar within enhanced chat conversations.
-   Work with the simplified subheader of enhanced chat.
-   Delete closed enhanced chat conversations.
-   Expand the fallback options.
-   Enter into web search mode manually via the input bar.

 See [ServiceNow Otto for Virtual Agent](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=now-assist-in-va-landing&family=zurich&ft:locale=en-US) for more information.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Australia

</td><td>

No updates for this release.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>**Parent Topic:**[Products combined by family](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/delta-zurich-australia/rn-combined-intro.md)