---
title: Add a record operation tool to an AI agent
description: Add a record operation tool to an AI agent to enable it to perform record operations on tables in your instance.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/intelligent-experiences/add-database-op-new.html
release: australia
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-06-05"
reading_time_minutes: 3
breadcrumb: [Add tools and information, Create an AI agent, AI Agent Studio, Enable AI experiences]
---

# Add a record operation tool to an AI agent

Add a record operation tool to an AI agent to enable it to perform record operations on tables in your instance.

## Before you begin

Role required: sn\_aia.admin

## About this task

A record operation tool allows AI agents to perform operations on records in your ServiceNow instance. When adding a record operation tool, you can configure its table, operation, inputs, conditions, execution mode, output display, and processing messages to ensure the tool works effectively within your AI agent's workflow.

## Procedure

1.  In the Tools section, select **Add tools**, then **Create new tool**, then select **Record operation**.

2.  Choose whether to add a new record operation or an existing one.

    If you want to use an existing one, select the name of the record operation in the **Select a record operation** dropdown.

3.  Enter a name for the tool in the **Name** field.

4.  Enter a detailed description of the tool in the **Description for this AI agent** field.

    A thorough description helps the AI agent understand what the tool does and when to use it.

5.  Select an execution mode under **Execution mode**.

    Choose **Supervised** to require human oversight when the tool executes, or **Autonomous** to allow the tool to run without human intervention.

6.  Add inputs for the record operation under **Inputs**.

    Select **Add an input** to add each required input. For each input, enter the name and description.

    Input names and the field names they map to need to match exactly. A misspelled name is not caught on save. If a field is misspelled, operation fails at run time and appears in the trace log as a tool failure. Check names against the field labels on the table before testing.

7.  Select the table from the **Table** dropdown.

8.  Select an operation from the **Operation** dropdown.

9.  Define conditions under **Conditions**.

    Defining conditions is required. You can add multiple condition groups using logical operators such as **and** or **or**.

10. Toggle **Display output to users** to control whether the tool's output is shown to users.

11. If display output is enabled, select an output widget from the **Widget** dropdown.

    Widgets can only be used by assistants built in Premium Chat experiences. Select the widget type that best formats the tool's output for users.

12. Expand the **Advanced settings** section to configure output transformation and processing messages.

    1.  Select an output transformation format from the **Output transformation format** dropdown.

        Raw output data usually needs to be transformed into a format that is user-friendly and readable. You can also transform data into smaller formats to reduce the amount of data the AI agent needs to analyze. Transforming data involves tradeoffs between data completeness and latency.

        The available output transformation formats are:

        -   **None**: Output data isn't changed into a different format and users will see raw data.
        -   **Concise**: Output data is changed into the most minimal format for users, with less data for the AI agent to analyze.
        -   **Verbose**: Output data is changed into a summary-like format for users, with slightly less data for the AI agent to analyze.
        -   **Paraphrase**: Output data is changed into a format featuring direct statements for users, with no reduction in data.
        -   **Custom**: Output data is changed into a format you specify \(consider data loss and performance issues\).
    2.  Write processing messages for users under **Write processing messages for users**.

        Describe the action that happens while the tool is running in the **In-progress message** field and the final action when the tool completes in the **Completion message** field. For example, users can see "Executing operation" when the tool is in progress and "Operation complete" when the tool is done.


## Result

You have added a record operation tool to your AI agent with the appropriate table, operation, conditions, execution mode, output settings, and processing messages configured.