Managing knowledge sources

Manually upload knowledge base articles from the ITSM tool, ServiceNow, as CSV files into Nexthink to feed the Spark knowledge base.

Uploading knowledge base articles

Step 1 - Identify data to export within ServiceNow

1. Open the list of knowledge base articles in ServiceNow.

2. Select knowledge base articles by applying these filters:

   • Published articles only.

   • Articles available to your service-desk users. Spark indexes every uploaded article regardless of ITSM permissions.

   • Exclude translated versions of the same article.

   • Include every article you want to import—uploading a new file replaces the previous import.

Manual uploads are not incremental. Plan to export all the data required for the Spark knowledge base. When uploading a new file, the new content replaces the previous content.

Step 2 - Export data from ServiceNow

Export data from ServiceNow by performing a standard CSV export:

1. Navigate to your knowledge base articles list in ServiceNow.

2. Click Apply filter to configure the desired filters.

3. Click the cogwheel icon > Personalize list.

4. Add these required columns:

   • Number

   • Short description

   • Knowledge base

   • Category

   • Updated

   • Article body

5. Click the action menu in any column header and select Export > CSV to download the file.

Ensure the file is UTF‑8 encoded. If your ServiceNow instance is not configured to perform UTF-8 exports by default, convert the file to UTF-8 afterward.

The table below lists the fields that you are expected to add when using a personalized list.

Column name	Description
number	Identifier of the knowledge base article. Example: KB0012345
short_description	Title of the knowledge base article. Example: How to troubleshoot network issues
kb_knowledge_base	Name of the knowledge base the article belongs to Example: IT Knowledge
kb_category	Category of the knowledge base article. Example: Network
sys_updated_on	Last update date. Example: 11-06-2025
text	Article content, in one of the supported formats: plain-text, markdown or HTML. Example: <p>test kb</p>

Step 3 - Upload articles into Nexthink

1. Go to Administration  > Autopilot connector  > Knowledge base.

2. Click Upload CSV file.

3. Choose the CSV file, up to 100 MB, from your hard drive to import it into the system.

4. After you click Import, the system takes the following steps:

   • If you have already manually uploaded a file, the old content will be discarded and replaced by the new content.

   • File processing occurs asynchronously and may take up to 15 minutes for large knowledge bases.

Improving Knowledge base articles

To improve the selection of knowledge base articles:

• Keep articles current and up to date.

• Use HTML formatting for optimal results.

• Include key information in article body text.

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