We just deployed our first AI agents with a state government client. The job? Automate travel applications. Sounds simple — until you see what actually happened.
The process was a mess: fragmented user data across platforms, tangled travel policies, layers of approvals. Perfect storm for AI.
And the AI agents crushed it.
Approval times went from over a week to a few hours. The AI didn’t just get the green light — it sent out clean, policy-compliant emails with travel options, health info, and even nearby cafes. Fully automated.
Client feedback? Best experience in a decade. Better than any human service experience. This wasn't a pilot. It was a paradigm shift.
Three big takeaways from this moment:
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AI agents are real and they’re not toys. They’re 24/7 autonomous problem solvers that can replace multi-step processes with 5-7 bulletproof moves.
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Data doesn’t have to be perfect anymore. For decades we’ve been chasing clean data lakes and structured data sources. Now, LLMs thrive in the mess. Think ChatGPT, Grok — making clear and articulate sense of the internet; the messiest data set of all.
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Governance is the next big thing. Final review layers, control towers, bias filters — all critical as agents scale. Don’t think it’s optional.
We’re on the edge of a resourcing revolution. By 2030, you’ll see roles like:
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AI Architects
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Agent Trainers
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Control Tower Ops
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Edge Reviewers or final review layers
And here’s the hard truth: these ai agents will outperform 80% of service/admin roles in public and private sectors. It’s uncomfortable. But it’s real.
If you’re in delivery, consulting, or tech strategy, rip up your old playbook. The best work will come from creative strategy, not technical plumbing or classical process mapping. Ask yourself: If I had an autonomous AI Agent that never sleeps, how would I reimagine this process from scratch?
AI Agent adoption and use cases will be slow... until it’s not. You’ll blink, and it’ll be 2030, and we’ll be living in a new world.
So what should you do right now? Experiment. Be curious. Relearn. I resisted this at first — 20 years in tech and suddenly I felt like the 18-year-old intern knew more than me. But I leaned in. And it’s the best decision I’ve made in years.
This isn’t hype. It’s not going away. The AI agent wave is building — and you want to be ahead of it when it hits.
Learn more about ServiceNow's AI Agents:
