ServiceNow: Companies Are Using AI to Automate Work
ServiceNow Conference Shows AI Taking Center Stage
At the recent ServiceNow Knowledge 2025 conference, IT departments from large companies shared how they’re using AI copilots and are getting ready to implement AI agents to streamline their operations.
AIOps Legacy Paves the Way for AI Agents
Carlos Casanova, an analyst at Forrester Research, explained that IT operations teams have a solid foundation for adopting AI thanks to their experience with AIOps. AIOps tools, which use artificial intelligence to automate IT tasks, have been around for a while, and while the “NoOps” concept of fully automating IT never quite materialized, these efforts have taught IT teams valuable lessons about process automation and workflow management.
Casanova highlighted that IT service management (ITSM) tools have already made significant strides in automating tasks like notifications, request routing, and incident management. These experiences have prepared IT teams to embrace the capabilities of AI agents, which can handle even more complex tasks.
Fannie Mae: Building a Foundation for AI
Fannie Mae, a major mortgage lender, provides a great example of how platform engineering can set the stage for successful AI adoption. Over the past decade, Fannie Mae has worked to consolidate its IT infrastructure, automate governance processes, and migrate to the cloud. This foundation, built on ServiceNow’s Now platform, has enabled them to easily integrate AI copilots and agents.
Raghu Bellary, vice president of enterprise workflow technology at Fannie Mae, explained how their platform team developed self-service portals, a centralized data repository, and automated validation and approval processes. These tools have proven invaluable for managing AI governance requests and approvals, making the process more efficient and transparent.
EY Leverages Experience with AI for Now Assist
EY, a global business management consulting firm, has been using ServiceNow for over 12 years, starting with ITSM and HR service delivery. They began testing ServiceNow’s Now Assist AI copilot eight months ago and rolled it out across their service desk four months ago.
Brian Eble, principal of the EY Technology team, emphasized the importance of cleaning up knowledge bases and training AI models effectively. He shared that their experience with previous versions of ServiceNow AIOps tools, based on machine learning, helped them understand how AI learns and how to best guide its training. This knowledge proved crucial in transitioning to Now Assist, which is more adaptable and capable of handling complex tasks.
Success Stories with Now Assist
Both EY and Bell Canada have seen positive results from Now Assist. EY reported that the copilot has proven particularly helpful in generating resolution notes, summarizing incidents and chats, and drafting new knowledge base articles. Bell Canada claims that Now Assist has helped them resolve customer issues more efficiently, saving an estimated 500,000 calls.
Looking Ahead: AI Agents Take the Lead
ServiceNow customers are increasingly exploring the potential of AI agents. EY is starting with ITSM and HR, leveraging their existing RPA (robotic process automation) infrastructure to give AI agents the tools they need to automate tasks. Aptiv PLC, a global automotive components supplier, plans to use AI agents with the real-time operating systems they acquired from Wind River Systems. They envision AI agents monitoring vehicle systems and detecting potential problems before they occur.
Stellantis, a multinational automaker, is already using AI to manage vehicle scheduling and loading. They plan to expand the use of AI agents to link various manufacturing and business processes, leveraging their knowledge of both IT and operational technology (OT).
