The Overlooked Key to Now Assist Success—Organizational Change Management (OCM)

Miguel Donayre · ‎03-19-2025

The Key to Maximizing Now Assist—Organizational Change Management (OCM)

You turned on Now Assist by ServiceNow—so why isn’t anyone using it?

If adoption is low, here’s a hard truth: AI doesn’t magically change behavior. If users don’t understand it, they won’t use it. If they don’t see the value, they’ll ignore it.

I’ve had conversation after conversation with teams saying:

“We implemented Now Assist, but users aren’t engaging with it.”
“They expected something different.”
“It’s not doing what they thought it would.”

Here’s the reality—activating Now Assist is just the first step, but adoption doesn’t happen on its own.

The difference between success and struggle? A strong Organizational Change Management (OCM) plan. Research from Prosci shows that projects with strong change management are up to seven times more successful than those without it (Prosci).

The good news? Implementing Gen AI through Now Assist is significantly easier than integrating a third-party AI solution. Since it’s built into the ServiceNow platform, there’s no need for complex integrations, extra customizations, or additional security configurations or considerations. The technology works—what often fails is the human side of adoption.

Now Assist is a powerful, built-in AI tool that can drive real efficiency, but only when users know how to leverage it. Let’s break down exactly how to drive adoption and make Now Assist a game-changer in your organization.

A strong OCM plan ensures:

Key stakeholders and champions are involved to drive adoption.
Users clearly understand how Now Assist benefits them.
Training is in place to help users feel confident.
Adoption is reinforced through ongoing feedback and optimization.

Without OCM, you’re just hoping people will use Now Assist. And as we all know, hope is not a strategy.

Let’s break down exactly how to drive adoption and make Now Assist a game-changer in your organization.

What is Organizational Change Management (OCM)?

OCM is a structured approach to helping people adapt to new technology and workflows. It’s not just about training—it’s about:

Identifying key stakeholders and champions – The people who will drive adoption.
Crafting clear messaging – Helping users understand why Now Assist matters and how it makes their lives easier.
Providing effective training – Ensuring users are prepared to use the tool successfully.
Reinforcing and optimizing – Tracking progress, gathering feedback, and making adjustments.

Most of the time, it’s not the technology that fails—it’s the lack of structured change management.

OCM Framework for Successful Now Assist Adoption

1. Identify Key Stakeholders & Champions

Appoint Now Assist Champions – These influential employees advocate for adoption, help train colleagues, and provide valuable feedback.

To help you get started, here are some ideas:
1. A senior customer support agent, already known for mentoring others, becomes a Now Assist Champion. They help troubleshoot issues and share best practices, building trust among their peers.
2. The finance department selects an analyst who has successfully used Now Assist to generate quick insights from case summaries. They now lead training sessions for others in the team.

Engage Executive Sponsors – If leadership isn’t invested, why should employees be? Senior-level support reinforces the importance of Now Assist and signals that it’s a priority for the company.

To help you get started, here are some ideas:
1. The CIO announces Now Assist’s rollout in a company-wide meeting, emphasizing how it aligns with the organization’s digital transformation goals.
2. The Head of HR integrates Now Assist into department-wide initiatives, ensuring that employees see it as a core tool, not just an optional feature.

Include End Users in User Acceptance Testing (UAT) – The people most affected by Now Assist should be involved in testing and rollout decisions.

To help you get started, here are some ideas:
1. IT support specialists who handle high case volumes participate in UAT to ensure Now Assist generates helpful case summaries. Their feedback is used to fine-tune configurations before full deployment.
2. HR representatives test Now Assist’s AI-generated responses to employee inquiries, providing input on tone and accuracy to ensure alignment with company policies.

2. Craft Clear Messaging

Address the question: “What’s in it for me?” – Users don’t care about AI unless it makes their job easier. Show them how Now Assist simplifies workflows, reduces manual effort, and enhances productivity.

To help you get started, here are some ideas:
1. IT support agents receive an email showing how Now Assist reduces average response time by 30 percent, allowing them to focus on complex issues instead of repetitive tasks.
2. A manager realizes that their team is spending too much time manually summarizing case histories. After implementing Now Assist, the team can quickly access AI-generated summaries, reducing time spent on case reviews by 40 percent and allowing them to focus on higher-priority issues.
Use real success stories – Highlight teams who have seen tangible improvements from using Now Assist.

To help you get started, here are some ideas:
1. A customer service team using Now Assist sees a significant drop in response times. Their experience is shared in a newsletter to encourage adoption across departments.
2. A technical support team leverages Now Assist to summarize long case histories, allowing agents to quickly understand past interactions. This results in 40 percent faster resolution times and is highlighted in an internal newsletter to encourage broader adoption.

3. Provide Effective Training

Meet users where they are – Every organization has different communication preferences (virtual, in-office, remote-first). Training and communication need to align with company culture.

To help you get started, here are some ideas:
1. A fully remote company hosts virtual “Lunch & Learns” using their existing video meeting platform, where employees see live demos of Now Assist and ask questions in real time.
2. A company creates a shared digital folder with short how-to videos, FAQ documents, and quick reference guides so employees can access training on their own schedule.
3. A hybrid workforce adds a five-minute Now Assist demo to regular team meetings, keeping training lightweight and integrated into existing routines without additional cost.

4. Reinforce & Optimize

Monitor adoption metrics – Track usage rates, feature engagement, and workflow improvements.

To help you get started, here are some ideas:
1. If reports show low adoption in the HR team, follow-up sessions are scheduled to address barriers and highlight specific benefits.
2. Before-and-after comparisons show that support agents using Now Assist resolve cases 20 percent faster. These results are shared company-wide.

Celebrate early wins – Showcasing success stories builds momentum.

To help you get started, here are some ideas:
1. A team that significantly reduces ticket resolution time with Now Assist gets highlighted in an internal blog post, reinforcing the value of adoption.
2. A department that improves customer response times by 35 percent using Now Assist is recognized during an all-hands meeting, encouraging broader adoption.

Conclusion

Now Assist has the potential to transform workflows, but only if people actually use it. And let’s be honest—expecting employees to adopt new technology without a structured change management approach is wishful thinking.

Lately, I’ve seen too many implementations where OCM was completely left out, and now those organizations are struggling with adoption. If we want Now Assist to succeed, we need to stop treating change management like an afterthought.

So before you roll out Now Assist, ask yourself:

Do my users understand why this matters?
Have I provided the training and support they need?
Am I tracking adoption and reinforcing engagement?

If the answer is no, it’s time to rethink your approach. Now Assist doesn’t just work because you turn it on—it works because people use it.