Platform Academy - February 3rd, 2026 - Platform Academy: Now Assist Usage in Subscription Managemen

[Paty Montesinos]

On February 3, 2026, the Platform Academy, hosted by Sharon Barnes and featuring Paty Montesinos, delivered a focused session on monitoring and managing Now Assist usage in ServiceNow Subscription Management. If you’re responsible for maximizing your organization’s AI investments and want to avoid overage surprises, this session is for you. The recording includes practical demos, a walkthrough of the Now Assist Usage dashboard, details on the new 365-day burn-down model, and actionable guidance for tracking entitlements, understanding usage trends, and identifying high-impact skills to operationalize AI across your enterprise.

 

 

Key Topics Covered

• Now Assist usage overview and tracking

• Subscription Management features and updates

• New 365-day burn-down model explained

• Dashboard walkthrough and demo

 

FAQ: Now Assist Usage in Subscription Management 

• What is Now Assist usage in Subscription Management? 

It refers to tracking, allocating, and monitoring your Now Assist (ServiceNow GenAI) subscription usage, entitlements, and compliance across all instances using the Subscription Management application. 

• How is Now Assist usage measured? 

Usage is measured using a 365-day burn down model, where your assist pool resets annually on your contract anniversary date. Consumption is tracked against this fixed pool throughout the contract term. 

If I have a license for 500,000 assists per year under a 3-year contract with the new burndown model, would I only be over my entitlements if my total assist usage exceeds 1.5 million over the 3-year period? 

Our usage tracking operates on an annual cycle that resets each year on your contract anniversary date. If your total assist usage exceeds your purchased allocation of 500,000 assists within a given contract year, you may incur charges for any overages during that year, regardless of your contract's overall length. 

• What changed in the AI meter model? 

The model shifted from a rolling sum of the last 365 days to a burn-down model, improving predictability and compliance visibility. 

• Where can I view Now Assist usage details? 

In Subscription Management, navigate to the Now Assist usage page via the account entitlements or subscriptions tab. This page shows aggregate account metrics, instance-level views, subscription lists, skill-level breakdowns, and usage trends. 

• What instances are included in usage tracking? 

Both production and sub-production instances are included; demo and evaluation instances are excluded. 

• How do I see which skills consume the most assists? 

The skill-level breakdown shows the number of actions, assist ratio, and total assists per skill, helping identify which skills drive most consumption. 

• Can I set up usage alerts or threshold notifications? For example, can I set up usage alerts for 50%, 75%, 85%, and 95% sent to our administrators' distribution list? 

Currently, Subscription Management does not support alerts or threshold notifications, but this feature is on the roadmap. 

• How do I decrease usage if I exceed my purchased assists? 

You may need to review which skills are consuming the most assists and, in consultation with your account team, consider turning some off or adjusting their usage. 

• How is usage counted when moving from dev to prod via update sets? 

Update sets do not carry over usage data; testing in dev, test, and prod all count toward your total usage. 

• How do I see Creator Plus analytic usage? 

The Now Assist Creator usage is shown in Subscription Management, listing allocated users and purchased entitlements. Now Assist Creator usage page displays in Subscription Management if you are entitled to Now Assist Creator. Subscription Management only shows you what you are entitled to. 

• What if I don’t see Now Assist in my Subscription Management portal? 

Confirm with your Account Team you are entitled to Now Assist. 

Confirm that Now Assist is enabled and the latest version is installed on all. Your instances, as well as the latest version of Subscription Management, are installed. 

If issues persist, repair the Subscription Management plugin. 

If issues still persist, submit a case. 

• Is there an alternative to data sharing for skill-level usage visibility? 

No, skill-level usage visibility requires data sharing to be enabled; otherwise, usage data for restricted instances is hidden. 

• What is primary and secondary entitlement type? 

Primary Entitlement is the main subscription you purchased as part of your ServiceNow contract. 

It defines: 

The core product you bought (for example, ITSM Professional or Now Assist for ITSM) 

The quantity you purchased (users, capacity, or consumption) 

The license model used for tracking usage and renewals 

Think of the primary entitlement as the anchor subscription that appears at the top level in Subscription Management. 

Secondary Entitlements represent additional capabilities included with your primary subscription. 

These entitlements: 

Are not purchased separately 

Are automatically available because they are bundled with the primary product 

Make included applications, plugins, or features visible and explainable in Subscription Management 

Secondary entitlements help clarify what’s included in your subscription without  requiring a separate purchase. 

• Why do I see both Primary and Secondary entitlements in Subscription Management? 

Subscription Management shows both to provide: 

Transparency into what you purchased and what’s included 

Clear entitlement visibility for audits and reviews 

Better explainability of platform and AI features available to you 

This structure helps you understand your full set of licensed capabilities at a glance. 

• Do Secondary Entitlements cost extra? 

No, secondary entitlements are included as part of your primary subscription and do not represent additional charges on their own. 

• Does usage get tracked differently for Primary vs. Secondary entitlements? 

In most cases: 

Usage rolls up to the primary entitlement 

Secondary entitlements exist to show eligibility, not separate billing 

For example, usage of included AI or platform features is typically tracked under the primary  subscription that grants access to them. 

• Does Primary vs. Secondary affect access or enforcement? 

No, this distinction: 

Does not change how users access the product 

Does not indicate higher or lower priority 

Does not affect enforcement behavior 

It is purely an entitlement‑modeling concept used for clarity and reporting. 

Example 

If you purchased ITSM Professional: 

Primary Entitlement: ITSM Professional 

Secondary Entitlements: Included applications, plugins, or AI features that come with ITSM Professional 

You can use all the included capabilities without purchasing them separately. 

• What does “Custom Call” mean in the Now Assist usage report? 
  Custom Call represents Now Assist usage generated by custom‑built AI skills, rather than standard out‑of‑the‑box (OOTB) Now Assist skills. This includes skills created using Now Assist Skill Kit, AI Agents, Flow Designer, Virtual Agent, or scripted integrations that invoke Now Assist directly. 

• Is “Custom Call” a specific Now Assist feature or SKU? 
  No. Custom Call is not a feature, product, or SKU. It is a usage category used in reporting to group consumption from customer‑ or partner‑built custom skills, rather than predefined OOTB skills. 

• Why does usage show as “Custom Call” instead of a skill name? 
  When Now Assist is invoked by a custom implementation, the platform does not map usage to an OOTB skill name. Instead, usage is grouped under Custom Call to indicate it originated from a custom skill or direct skill invocation. 

• Does Custom Call usage consume Now Assist assists? 
  Yes. Custom Call usage consumes assists in the same way as OOTB skills, provided the custom skill is properly licensed and mapped to a subscription SKU. Custom skills follow the same entitlement and usage tracking model as other Now Assist capabilities. 

• Why do I see Custom Call usage with low or zero assists consumed? 
  This typically indicates that the custom skill is not fully mapped to a subscription SKU or that licensing entitlement could not be resolved at the time of execution. In these cases, usage may still appear in logs but not decrement purchased assists. 
• Is there a separate webinar for AI Agent Analytics? 

At this time, there is no dedicated webinar specifically for AI Agent Analytics. 

However, you’re encouraged to attend the AI Academy, which focuses on AI and Generative AI features, including best practices, new capabilities, and practical guidance across the AI portfolio. 

AI Academy details: 

• Schedule: Every other Tuesday 

• Time: 11:30 AM EST / 5:30 PM CET 

• Format: Feature updates, practical guidance, and live Q&A sessions with product experts