ServiceNow Inc. on Wednesday announced new generative artificial intelligence (AI) and governance capabilities to raise confidence in enterprise use and help accelerate deployment of the company’s Now Assist platform.
The governance tools — Now Assist Guardian, Now Assist Data Kit, and Now Assist Analytics — aid organizations in managing AI deployments as they transition from proof-of-concept stages to full production.
New Now Assist capabilities are designed to drive greater visibility and controls for secure and compliant AI practices; native multilingual support that extend GenAI’s global footprint for seamless, culturally aware communications and translations; and purpose-built solutions for configuration management, contract management, legal services, and health and safety.
“We are in the process of moving from an era of experimentation with AI to deploying the technology across an enterprise,” Jeremy Barnes, vice president of platform AI at ServiceNow, said in an interview.
Widespread adoption of GenAI is considered inevitable in corporate America amid a wave of forthcoming agentic AI offerings from the likes of ServiceNow, Microsoft Corp., Box Inc., Salesforce Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., LinkedIn and others. By one estimate, AI is projected to add a staggering $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
But companies so far have taken a cautious approach to unleashing AI on operations as they grapple with IT budgets, fitting AI pieces into a complex organizational puzzle, training employees, and — most importantly — coming up with a plan that jibes with security, compliance and governance requirements.
“We’re still in the early days of the promises of AI, and today many companies have developed an AI strategy,” Gigamon CEO Shane Buckley said in an email. “Yet the right checks and balances are essential to establish guardrails and protect organizations from this powerful technology. Today these controls don’t yet exist from a regulatory perspective and, until then, organizations across sectors shouldn’t blindly trust the information generated by AI systems.”
ServiceNow’s platform navigates often tricky dynamics between different enterprise operations. The new AI governance updates help bridge the gap by providing tools and visibility that satisfy business and compliance needs, Nirankush “Kush” Panchbhai, senior vice president of product management at ServiceNow, said in an interview.
Jim Melton, vice president of alliances at SurePath AI, said AI governance embedded in enterprise ITSMs will “be very beneficial in driving more efficiency and applying guardrails for the business and operational processes integrated into those platforms.”
However, that is only one component of an AI governance framework, Melton cautioned. “Holistically governing AI for business and IT processes, app integration, system and platform APIs, and workforce use of public genAI and private models will have a much broader impact on the industry and users, and this is really what all organizations should be considering,” he said.
Ultimately, ServiceNow’s enhanced offerings are intended to glue AI with traditional workflows, giving companies a better understanding of how each system fits to achieve an expected outcome. Governance is also crucial in identifying when or if something goes wrong and the proper solution.
“Enterprises across every industry are embracing a future of greater autonomy and productivity, all in service to their employees, customers, and overall business impact,” Jon Sigler, senior vice president of Platform and AI at ServiceNow, said in a statement. “The ServiceNow platform was built to empower this transformation, offering smarter, faster ways of working through AI-enabled automation. With governance at the core, these new innovations bring more personalized, collaborative, trusted experiences to life across the enterprise.”
