AI Description Field on Custom Records, Transactions, and Fields

What changed

A new AI Description field is now available on the definition forms for:

• Custom record types
• Custom transaction types
• Custom fields (all subtypes)

This field is consumed by NetSuite's platform AI features (e.g., AI-assisted search, natural-language analytics) so they can understand what a custom object represents in the context of your account. Without it, AI features treat custom objects as opaque IDs and internal labels, which limits their ability to surface relevant answers.

The source documentation does not specify a release version for this feature. It also does not clarify whether the field is exposed via SuiteScript (N/record), REST, or SOAP, or whether it is included in SDF custom object XML definitions. These details should be verified in your environment.

Technical details to verify

• SDF/SuiteCloud projects: Check whether the AI Description field appears in SDF object XML (e.g., <customrecordtype>, <customfield> definitions). If it does, existing deployment scripts and CI pipelines may need updates to include it.
• SuiteScript access: Determine whether the field is readable/writable via record.load() / record.setValue() on the custom object's definition record (e.g., customrecordtype internal ID). If so, you could populate it programmatically across all custom objects.
• REST/SOAP metadata APIs: Confirm whether the field surfaces in GET /services/rest/record/v1/customRecordType/{id} or in the getCustomizationId / getCustomization SOAP calls.
• Governance and permissions: The source does not mention any new role or permission requirement. Verify that the Customization permission level needed to edit the AI Description matches the existing permission for editing the parent custom object.

What to do

1. Audit your custom schema. Identify high-value custom record types, transaction types, and fields that end users or AI features are likely to query. Prioritize objects with cryptic internal IDs (e.g., custrecord_xyz_17) that AI cannot infer meaning from.
2. Write clear, structured descriptions. Oracle's guidelines (linked from the source) recommend explaining the business purpose, expected values or ranges, and relationships to other records. Treat it like a docstring: if a developer unfamiliar with your account read only this description, they should understand what the object does.
3. Plan for bulk population. If you have hundreds of custom objects, manually filling in descriptions is impractical. Investigate SuiteScript or CSV-based approaches once you confirm API access to the field.
4. Update SDF projects. If the field is part of SDF object definitions, add it to your version-controlled customization files so it deploys consistently across sandbox and production.
5. Test AI feature behavior. After populating descriptions, test any AI features you use (SuiteAnswers AI, analytics assistants) to confirm they return improved results for queries involving your custom objects.

Note: The source page reads as product documentation rather than a versioned release note and does not specify which NetSuite release introduced this field. Check your account's release version and the field's availability before planning rollout.