4 takeaways from Knowledge 2023

Knowledge 2023 united thousands of ServiceNow customers and colleagues from all over the world at the first single global user conference in three years. ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott opened the show, and announcements about innovations enabled by the Now Platform didn’t stop. Three days of keynote sessions, fireside chats, roundtables, and demos offered something for everyone in attendance.

Here are four key takeaways from this year’s flagship event:

1. Generative AI for enterprise is here

Generative AI (gen AI) was without a doubt the hottest topic at Knowledge 2023. Multiple sessions covered the impact of gen AI across multiple industries and showed how ServiceNow is powering practical gen AI solutions built on the Now Platform. “Change will never move this slowly again,” McDermott said during his opening keynote.

Attendees packed sessions and flocked to demo desks that showcased how ServiceNow and our partners are reaching new levels of automation and implementing machine learning to drive higher productivity, massive efficiency gains, improved employee and customer experiences, and faster return on investment.

ServiceNow and NVIDIA deliver enterprise gen AI

C-suite leaders across the world seek to architect a generative AI roadmap that drives business performance. At Knowledge 2023, we announced a groundbreaking partnership between ServiceNow and NVIDIA to do just that.

Using NVIDIA software, services, and accelerated infrastructure, ServiceNow is developing custom large language models trained on data specifically for the Now Platform. “NVIDIA’s computational power combined with ServiceNow’s enterprise reach will unleash the Intelligence Revolution,” McDermott said.

A game-changing gen AI keynote

During an exciting presentation from ServiceNow President and Chief Operating Officer CJ Desai, two new solution announcements proved that ServiceNow is ready to walk the walk when it comes to gen AI.

ServiceNow Generative AI Controller

Businesses connected to the ServiceNow ecosystem will be able to easily connect ServiceNow instances to OpenAI and Microsoft Azure OpenAI thanks to the new ServiceNow Generative AI Controller.

This development means any existing ServiceNow experiences can use gen AI capabilities to answer questions, summarize existing content, and generate new content from a single integration point.

Now Assist for Search

Now Assist for Search is a new search tool that uses gen AI to recognize intent. It provides natural language responses based on the customer's own knowledge base when users pose questions in Portal Search, Next Experience, or Virtual Agent.

Because Now Assist for Search pulls information from within a customer’s environment, results are more accurate for internal agents or external customers, greatly reducing the likelihood of error. The Knowledge 2023 audience was treated to a live demo that displayed this cutting-edge technology in action, showing the impact on both customer and internal agent experiences.

AI-powered finance and supply chain workflows 

Taking a large step toward delivering McDermott’s vision of the “exponential enterprise,” ServiceNow is using innovative AI solutions that help create truly connected organizations. Mission-critical processes such as procurement, accounts payable, and enterprise resource planning systems will now benefit from AI, machine learning, and robotic process automation.

2. Help is available for nonprofits

When nonprofits optimize their business operations, they can do more good. This was the message that Vanessa Smith, president of the newly announced ServiceNow.org organization, imparted to Knowledge 2023 attendees in her keynote address.

The Now Platform helps streamline processes and consolidate disparate systems to drive speed to value. ServiceNow.org is using these same capabilities and simplified experiences to help nonprofits do more with less, stretching every dollar to advance their important missions.

3. Skills intelligence is paramount

From the very first keynote address, we stressed the importance of employee experience in any organization’s digital investment strategy. Simply put, employee turnover drains revenue. That’s why every organization needs to deploy tech and processes that deliver great experiences throughout the employee lifecycle.

Beyond employee satisfaction, an emerging conversation in the employee experience space was the importance of investing in a scalable skills strategy that helps close talent gaps within organizations. ServiceNow Employee Growth and Development is a new AI-powered solution for skills‑based workforce management.

“Organizations are nothing without their people,” said Chief People Officer Jacqui Canney. “In this competitive market, to grow business, leaders need to enable their employees to grow their careers in equitable and dynamic ways. This can’t be done without skills intelligence.”

4. Tech skills development is available

At Knowledge 2023, we showcased RiseUp with ServiceNow, our global career development program designed to skill people worldwide from all backgrounds, experiences, and ambitions on the Now Platform. Already, we’ve trained 4 million people on the platform.

We’re doubling down on our commitment to make the world work better for everyone by working to train another 1 million by 2024.

Glean more insights in the Knowledge digital experience.

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