> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.moveworks.com/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.moveworks.com/_mcp/server.

# Set Up Moveworks Before Configuring Employee Slate

**Before you start: Employee Slate is built on top of Moveworks.** If the Moveworks platform isn't configured yet, the Employee Slate implementation guide will not work end-to-end. **At minimum, Labs #0–#2 must be complete** before Slate can be configured at all, and Labs #3–#5 are required for Slate to provide a functional employee experience. See [Lab prerequisites](#lab-prerequisites) below.

**Per ServiceNow environment.** Labs #1–#5, plus Lab #0's ServiceNow setup, must be completed **once per ServiceNow environment** you're configuring Slate for. One Moveworks tenant connected to three ServiceNow environments (e.g., dev, test, prod) means three sets of connector, identity, knowledge, forms, and ticketing configuration on the Moveworks side. *Lab #0's Moveworks portal access and Okta SSO are one-time setups per Moveworks tenant.* This is one of the most common points of confusion — plan for it up front.

## Overview

* **What this page is:** A prerequisites and orientation guide for implementing **Employee Slate (Powered by Moveworks)**. Once the prerequisites here are complete, the [ServiceNow Community implementation guide](https://www.servicenow.com/community/employee-center-articles/employee-slate-powered-by-moveworks-implementation-guide/ta-p/3541697) walks through the actual configuration step by step.
* **Audience:** Anyone implementing Employee Slate for the first time on a ServiceNow environment that's new to the Moveworks platform — admin teams, partner implementers, Moveworks FDEs, and pre-sales engineers all welcome.
* **Estimated Time:**
  * **Moveworks platform setup (Labs #0–#5):** \~3–4 hours of active configuration, plus multi-hour wait times for Labs #2 (user identity ingestion) and #3 (initial search ingestion).
  * **Employee Slate configuration:** see the community guide for current estimates.
* **Prerequisites:**
  * A Moveworks instance and access to Moveworks Setup
  * A ServiceNow instance (Cloud Labs for ILT or PDI for On-Demand — see [Lab #0](/ai-assistant/getting-started/labs/moveworks-setup/lab-0-setup-lab-environments-c7504a812c093d1e))
  * Employee Center entitlement on your ServiceNow instance

***

## What Is Employee Slate?

**Employee Slate (Powered by Moveworks)** is a co-branded experience that surfaces Moveworks' AI Assistant capabilities — knowledge search, ticket filing, form submission, and more — inside the ServiceNow Employee Center.

Employee Slate is **not a standalone product**. It's a *surface* that sits on top of a configured Moveworks platform. Everything Slate exposes to end users (knowledge answers, form filing, ticket actions) comes from configurations you make in **Moveworks Setup** — which is what Labs #0–#5 walk you through.

***

## Lab Prerequisites

The Moveworks Setup labs build the platform Slate depends on. They fall into two tiers:

### Required to Configure Slate at All — Labs #0–#2

Without these, Slate **cannot be set up**. They establish the foundation: Moveworks portal access, the ServiceNow connection, and user identity ingestion. Slate's "who are you and how do I reach you" plumbing depends entirely on these.

| Lab                                                                                                                                                                                                        | Why it's required for Slate                                                                                                                                     |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Lab #0 — Environment Setup](/ai-assistant/getting-started/labs/moveworks-setup/lab-0-setup-lab-environments-c7504a812c093d1e)                                                                             | Moveworks portal access. Without this, you have no admin surface to configure anything from.                                                                    |
| Lab #0 — ServiceNow Setup ([Cloud Labs](/ai-assistant/getting-started/labs/moveworks-setup/lab-0-servicenow-cloud-labs) or [PDI](/ai-assistant/getting-started/labs/moveworks-setup/lab-0-servicenow-pdi)) | Working ServiceNow instance with admin access + the `admin` `sys_id`. Slate runs inside ServiceNow Employee Center and needs the underlying instance available. |
| [Lab #1 — Connectors & API Playground](/ai-assistant/getting-started/labs/moveworks-setup/lab-1-connectors-api-playground-4229833d14141f6f)                                                                | The `snow` connector that links Moveworks to your ServiceNow instance. Slate cannot read or write anything in ServiceNow without this connection.               |
| [Lab #2 — User Identity & Service Account Setup](/ai-assistant/getting-started/labs/moveworks-setup/lab-2-user-identity-service-account-300eacfcba9e6007)                                                  | Ingested user roster + service account. Slate cannot identify the logged-in employee or know who to deliver responses to without these.                         |

### Required for a Functional End-User Experience — Labs #3–#5

Slate will configure without these, but the end-user experience will be hollow: no knowledge answers, no in-chat form submission, no ticket actions. **Complete these before letting any real users into Slate.**

| Lab                                                                                                                                   | Why it's required for Slate                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Lab #3 — Enterprise Search](/ai-assistant/getting-started/labs/moveworks-setup/lab-3-configuring-enterprise-search-de072ea4565053c4) | Indexes your ServiceNow Knowledge articles so Slate can answer employee questions in-chat. Without this, Slate cannot return knowledge results. *Note: Lab #3 has \~12-hour initial ingestion wait — start it early.* |
| [Lab #4a — Basic Forms](/ai-assistant/getting-started/labs/moveworks-setup/lab-4a-basic-forms-aa4e44cd685da10c)                       | Ingests ServiceNow catalog forms so employees can find and submit them through Slate. Without this, Slate cannot surface forms.                                                                                       |
| [Lab #5 — Ticketing (Core)](/ai-assistant/getting-started/labs/moveworks-setup/lab-5-ticketing-core-fd612bf27c8a9dfd)                 | Configures ticket file/query/update/resolve/reopen actions. Without this, employees cannot file tickets or take action on existing ones through Slate.                                                                |

***

## Validation: Confirm Moveworks Setup Before Continuing

Before you open the Employee Slate implementation guide, run this quick checklist against your Moveworks instance:

* [ ] You can log in to **My Moveworks** for your tenant (via SSO or temporary link).
* [ ] **Moveworks Setup** loads and the navigation modules are visible.
* [ ] In **API Playground**, the `snow` connector returns a `200` on a `GET /api/now/table/sys_user` call (Lab #1 validation step).
* [ ] In **Imported Users**, your own user appears and **Enabled Users** is greater than 0 (Lab #2 validation step).
* [ ] Asking the Moveworks AI Assistant a knowledge-base question returns a relevant answer with a source citation (Lab #3 validation step — wait until initial ingestion completes).
* [ ] Asking the AI Assistant for a form (e.g., *"I need a standard laptop"*) surfaces a form (Lab #4a validation step).
* [ ] Asking the AI Assistant to file, query, update, resolve, and reopen a ticket all succeed (Lab #5 validation step).

**If any box above is unchecked, return to the corresponding lab and complete it before continuing.** Skipping a lab and trying to configure Slate anyway is the most common reason setup fails — and the failure modes are confusing (incomplete answers, missing user data, "can't file ticket" errors). Save yourself the troubleshooting cycle.

***

## Next: Configure Employee Slate

With Moveworks configured and validated above, you can now follow the implementation guide:

**Next:** [Employee Slate (Powered by Moveworks): Implementation Guide](https://www.servicenow.com/community/employee-center-articles/employee-slate-powered-by-moveworks-implementation-guide/ta-p/3541697) — the ServiceNow Community implementation guide walks through the end-to-end Slate configuration. ServiceNow Zurich Patch 9 (ZP9) and a Moveworks license are required on top of the labs above.

***

## ❗ Troubleshooting

**I followed the community guide but Slate doesn't return any answers.**
The most common cause is incomplete Moveworks platform configuration. Re-run the [validation checklist](#validation-confirm-moveworks-setup-before-continuing) above. Pay particular attention to Lab #3 (Enterprise Search) — its initial ingestion takes \~12 hours, so if you tried Slate immediately after configuring search, the index may not have been populated yet.

**Slate loads but can't file or query tickets.**
This means Lab #5 (Ticketing Core) is not configured or has a misconfiguration. Re-validate Lab #5 by exercising the file / query / update / resolve / reopen actions directly in the Moveworks AI Assistant. If they fail there, they will fail in Slate.

**Slate doesn't recognize the logged-in employee.**
Lab #2 (User Identity & Service Account Setup) is the right place to start. Confirm the employee's user record exists in **Imported Users** and that they appear in the **Enabled Users** count. The Lab #2 page covers the most common identity mapping issues.

**The community guide references a feature flag or product setting I don't see.**
Feature flags are managed by Moveworks. Reach out to your Moveworks account team or the Employee Slate product contact — these are not lab-configurable.

***

## 🪞 Reflecting on the Stack

Employee Slate is a **surface** on top of the Moveworks platform:

* The **Moveworks platform** (configured by Labs #0–#5) handles identity, knowledge ingestion, form ingestion, ticket actions, and access control.
* **Employee Slate** is the experience layer that exposes those capabilities inside ServiceNow Employee Center, with co-branded packaging.

Understanding this layering makes troubleshooting much easier: when Slate "doesn't work," the question is almost always *"which platform layer is missing or misconfigured?"* — not *"is Slate broken?"* The validation checklist above is designed to surface the missing layer quickly.