WalkMe AI: Getting Started Guide

Last Updated August 26, 2026

Brief Overview

WalkMe AI doesn't turn on with a single switch. It rolls out in three stages, each one unlocking the next: your account gets licensed for AI, an admin turns AI on for the account, then AI is turned on system by system. This article walks through all three stages, then shows you how to configure the features that need their own setup — AI Chat, Action Bar, Smart Highlights, and AI Knowledge Sources.

Access

Every setting and feature in this article is accessed from the WalkMe Console. Open the console for your data center to get started:

How It Works

Each step depends on the one before it: you can't turn on AI for a system until account-level AI is on, and account-level AI can't turn on until your account is licensed. Work through the steps in order.

Step 1: License your account for AI

Before anything else can happen, your account needs to be licensed for AI. This isn't something you configure — it's tied to what you've purchased or agreed to, and it determines whether the WalkMe AI toggle even shows up in Step 2.

If your account isn't licensed for AI then the WalkMe AI toggle won't be visible.

Step 2: Turn on AI for your account

An account admin turns on WalkMe AI in the console:

  1. Go to the Admin category
  2. Select Security & Audit
  3. Select Security Settings
  4. Turn on WalkMe AI and agree to the terms

Turning on WalkMe AI turns on the AI Manager, unlocks account-level enabled features, and sets your account to AI-ready so you can turn AI on system by system next.

Step 3: Turn on AI for each system

With account-level AI on, choose which systems use AI:

  1. Open the system you want
  2. Go to the Products tab
  3. Turn on WalkMe Contextual AI for that system

This step is available only while account-level AI is on.

Configure Individual AI Features

Once AI is turned on, AI SmartTips, AI Conditions, AI Steps in Smart Walk-Thrus, and AI Launchers (outside the Action Bar) are ready to use immediately.

These features need their own setup before they're visible to users:

  • AI Chat
  • Action Bar
  • Smart Highlights

Additionally, if you want to use company knowledge sources to support your AI with internal knowledge, admins can upload their knowledge sources from the AI Center.

AI Chat

  1. Go to the Content category
  2. Select AI Chat
  3. Select Locations
  4. Choose where AI Chat should be available
  5. Select Publish

To set up which assistants users can access inside AI Chat, refer to the AI Chat in Console article.

AI Chat in Console

Action Bar

  1. Go to the Content category
  2. Select Action Bar
  3. Select Settings
  4. Choose the locations where Action Bar should appear
  5. Select Publish

To set up launchers in the Action Bar, refer to the Action Bar Building in Console article.

Action Bar Building in Console

Smart Highlights

  1. Go to the Content category
  2. Select Smart Highlights
  3. Select Connect a data source and choose a data provider (for example, Jira, Salesforce, or SAP S/4HANA)
  4. Enter your organization's account details and select Connect
  5. Once the connection is verified, select Publish
  6. For each entity, set which systems it appears on, then customize the card's content and preview it

Smart Highlights Setup in Console

AI Knowledge Sources

  1. Go to the Admin category
  2. Select AI Center
  3. Select AI Knowledge Sources
  4. Upload files as AI knowledge sources

AI Knowledge Sources Page – AI Center

Technical Notes

Enablement requirements

  • Admin permissions are required to enable or configure AI at the account and system level
  • System-level AI is available only while account-level AI is on — Turning off account-level AI removes access to system-level selection
  • For customers on commercial data centers, licensing happens automatically once you sign the AI legal addendum — there's nothing further to do on your end. Until that's in place, the option to turn on AI won't appear in the console.
  • For SAP customers, AI Terms are already part of your contract, so no separate sign-off is needed

Troubleshooting

  • Turning on WalkMe AI only prepares the account — AI Chat, Action Bar, and Smart Highlights each still need their own locations configured and published before they're visible to users
  • If Company AI isn't returning answers from uploaded knowledge sources, confirm all four: the knowledge source is connected to the right system, Company AI is enabled as an AI Assistant, AI Chat is configured for the relevant locations, and AI Chat has been published
  • Publishing Action Bar settings makes the Action Bar visible, but doesn't publish anything inside it — launchers and AI Actions must be configured and published separately

Was this article helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Be part of something bigger.

Engage with peers, ask questions, share ideas

Ask the Community
×
×