ServiceNow ITOM MCP server
Integrate ServiceNow IT Operations Management with AI agents to automate event correlation, service mapping, infrastructure discovery, and operational intelligence. An AI agent connected to ITOM can process alerts, map service dependencies, discover cloud resources, execute remediation workflows, analyze capacity, and generate operational reports—all from natural language requests. Use this for automating incident response, proactive problem detection, service visibility, infrastructure automation, or compliance monitoring.
Setting up an MCP server
This article covers the standard steps for creating an MCP server in AI Gateway and connecting it to an AI client. The steps are the same for every integration — application-specific details (API credentials, OAuth endpoints, and scopes) are covered in the individual application pages.
Before you begin
You'll need:
- Access to AI Gateway with permission to create MCP servers
- API credentials for the application you're connecting (see the relevant application page for what to collect)
Create an MCP server
Find the API in the catalog
- Sign in to AI Gateway and select MCP Servers from the left navigation.
- Select New MCP Server.
- Search for the application you want to connect, then select it from the catalog.
Configure the server
- Enter a Name for your server — something descriptive that identifies both the application and its purpose (for example, "Zendesk Support — Prod").
- Enter a Description so your team knows what the server is for.
- Set the Timeout value. 30 seconds works for most APIs; increase to 60 seconds for APIs that return large payloads.
- Toggle Production mode on if this server will be used in a live workflow.
- Select Next.
Configure authentication
Enter the authentication details for the application. This varies by service — see the Authentication section of the relevant application page for the specific credentials, OAuth URLs, and scopes to use.
Configure security
- Set any Rate limits appropriate for your use case and the API's own limits.
- Enable Logging if you want AI Gateway to record requests and responses for auditing.
- Select Next.
Deploy
Review the summary, then select Deploy. AI Gateway provisions the server and provides a server URL you'll use when configuring your AI client.
Connect to an AI client
Once your server is deployed, you'll need to add it to the AI client your team uses. Select your client for setup instructions:
Tips
- You can create multiple MCP servers for the same application — for example, a read-only server for reporting agents and a read-write server for automation workflows.
- If you're unsure which OAuth scopes to request, start with the minimum read-only set and add write scopes only when needed. Most application pages include scope recommendations.
- You can edit a server's name, description, timeout, and security settings after deployment without redeploying.
Authentication
ITOM integration uses OAuth 2.0 authentication. When you register an OAuth application in your ServiceNow instance, you'll receive authorization and token endpoints in the pattern https://{instance}.service-now.com/oauth_auth.do and https://{instance}.service-now.com/oauth_token.do. You'll need your client ID and client secret to configure the MCP server. ServiceNow OAuth uses a default scope called useraccount which provides access to user account information and standard API operations across the ITOM module.
Available tools
These tools enable event management, service mapping, discovery operations, orchestration, and operational intelligence.
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Create event | Ingest an alert or monitoring event |
| List events | Query events with filtering and search |
| Correlate events | Group related events together |
| Create incident | Generate an incident from a critical event |
| Get service map | Retrieve service dependencies and topology |
| Map service | Create or update service dependency mappings |
| Get CI | Retrieve a configuration item from CMDB |
| Create CI | Add a new configuration item |
| Run discovery | Start infrastructure discovery scan |
| Get discovery status | Check discovery job progress |
| Execute workflow | Trigger a remediation or automation workflow |
| Get health score | Retrieve service health metrics |
| Get capacity forecast | View capacity predictions |
| Create compliance report | Generate operational compliance report |
| Get anomalies | Identify performance anomalies |
Tips
Create event correlation rules that group similar alerts to reduce noise and focus attention on root causes.
Map critical services explicitly so the agent understands dependencies for impact analysis and can correlate alerts across the service topology.
Schedule discovery runs during low-traffic windows to minimize network load and avoid impacting production infrastructure visibility.
Use health scores to prioritize remediation efforts on degrading services so critical issues get attention first.
Leverage anomaly detection to identify patterns the agent can act on proactively rather than waiting for alerts.