How does popularity sorting work in ESC? - Support and Troubleshooting

How does popularity sorting work in ESC? Issue .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } .table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5px; } .table th { background-color: #2a5d84; color: #fff; padding: 10px; text-align: left; } .table td { border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top; } .table tr:nth-child(even) { background-color: #f9f9f9; } Employee Center (ESC) – Popularity Sorting Explained Issue Cause Troubleshooting / Action Ranking not matching request count Composite scoring (requests + searches + historical data) Explain combined metrics; validate in sn_ex_sp_topic_metric Changes not reflecting immediately Daily scheduled job delay Check "Populate Topic Popularity" job; wait for next run New content not visible No historical usage data Use Featured Content or promote usage initially Low usage topics not appearing Low interaction volume Increase visibility; review content relevance Same results for all users No personalization (org-wide ranking) Clarify design; suggest "Recommended for You" if needed Record Producers ranking inconsistent Search activity impacts ranking Compare submissions + search frequency Manual ordering not applied Popularity overrides manual sort Use Featured Content to control visibility Report data not matching UI Different data sources / aggregation Validate against topic metric table Old content ranking higher High historical usage Archive outdated items or promote newer ones Inconsistent results in Dev/Test Lack of real usage data Simulate activity or test in higher environment Release .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } All

Resolution .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } body { font-family: "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; color: #2f2f2f; font-size: 14px; } .container { max-width: 920px; margin: auto; } h1 { font-size: 26px; color: #1b3a57; border-bottom: 2px solid #d6d6d6; padding-bottom: 8px; } h2 { font-size: 20px; color: #2a5d84; margin-top: 28px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5; padding-bottom: 4px; } h3 { font-size: 16px; margin-top: 18px; color: #333; } p { margin: 10px 0; } ul { margin: 8px 0 16px 18px; } li { margin-bottom: 6px; } .info-box { background: #f4f7fb; border-left: 4px solid #2a5d84; padding: 12px 14px; margin: 16px 0; border-radius: 4px; } .note-box { background: #fdf6e3; border-left: 4px solid #c09853; padding: 12px; margin: 16px 0; } .table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 16px 0; font-size: 13.5px; } .table th { background-color: #2a5d84; color: #fff; padding: 10px; text-align: left; } .table td { border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; } .table tr:nth-child(even) { background-color: #f9f9f9; } .section-divider { margin-top: 30px; } Popularity Sorting in Employee Center (ESC) is an automated ranking mechanism designed to surface the most relevant and frequently used content across the platform. Unlike static sorting methods such as alphabetical order or creation date, this approach prioritizes content based on actual employee interaction. Popularity is determined by aggregated usage signals, ensuring that frequently accessed services and content are more visible to users. Where Popularity Sorting is Applied Homepage – Popular Topics Widget Displays the most frequently accessed taxonomy topics Provides quick access to high-demand service areas such as IT Support and HR Services Topic Content Pages Content within topics is sorted by popularity by default Users have the option to switch to alphabetical sorting if required Popularity Calculation Model Content Type Primary Metric Description Catalog Items Request Count Total number of times the item has been requested Knowledge Articles View Count Total number of times the article has been viewed Topics Aggregated Score Combined score derived from all associated content Illustrative Example Topic Content Volume Total Activity Result IT Support 10 items 500 requests Higher Ranking HR Services 5 articles 50 views Lower Ranking Score Update Process Popularity scores are updated through a scheduled background job titled “Populate Topic Popularity” , which runs every 24 hours.

Aggregates usage data across the instance Updates computed scores in the sn_ex_sp_topic_metric table Ensures consistent organization-wide ranking The popularity calculation is not real-time and relies on cumulative historical data rather than recent activity alone. Factors Influencing Popularity Ranking Factor Impact Usage Volume Higher interaction leads to increased ranking Search Frequency Indicates user intent and demand Content Age Older content accumulates more historical data Content Breadth More items increase opportunities for interaction Organization-wide Activity Applies uniformly across all users Factors Not Considered Alphabetical order Creation or update date Manual prioritization (unless configured as Featured Content) Individual user behavior Record Producers and Popularity Record Producers are included in popularity-based sorting. However, ranking is not determined solely by submission count. Instead, a composite activity score is used.

Metric Description Submission Count Total number of form submissions Search Frequency Number of times the item appears in user searches Historical Usage Cumulative interaction data over time Example Scenario Record Producer Submissions Search Activity Outcome Producer A 50 200 Higher Ranking Producer B 60 10 Lower Ranking Score Computation Approach ServiceNow does not expose a formal mathematical formula for popularity scoring. Instead, the system uses an additive model that combines multiple activity signals:

Request counts View counts Search activity Historical accumulation of usage The final ranking is derived from relative activity volume rather than a fixed or weighted formula. Administrative Controls Featured Content Allows administrators to pin content above popularity-based results Useful for highlighting new or critical services Widget Configuration Controls the number of topics displayed in the Popular Topics widget Data Source for Validation Administrators can review popularity scores and metrics in the following table:

sn_ex_sp_topic_metric Key Takeaways Popularity sorting is driven by real usage data It ensures frequently used content is easily discoverable Scores are updated daily via scheduled jobs The ranking is consistent across all users Administrative controls can override default ordering when required Related Links .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/washingtondc/employee-service-management/employee-experience-foundation/rfy-ec.html

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/xanadu/employee-service-management/employee-experience-foundation/config-popular-topics.html

Also find few KB articles might help us in future

KB1189684 - Employee Center Widgets - Troubleshooting Guide

KB1120653 - Catalogs do not sort by popularity or alphabetical when changing the sort settings in Topic Content widget