ServiceNow Otto for Software Asset Management (SAM) AI agent collection to help manage software asset request agentic workflow

Release version: Australia

Updated March 12, 2026

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Summary of ServiceNow Otto for Software Asset Management (SAM) AI Agent Collection for Software Asset Request Agentic Workflow

The ServiceNow Otto for Software Asset Management (SAM) AI agent collection automates the management of software asset requests by either allocating available entitlements or generating purchase orders for software models. This agentic workflow enhances operational efficiency, accelerates request resolution, and improves user satisfaction by streamlining the software sourcing process.

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Activation requires installation of the Procurement (com.snc.procurement) plugin and the ServiceNow Otto for SAM (snnowassistsam) plugin. For Microsoft 365 license assignments, the Software Asset Management - SaaS License Management store application and an active Microsoft 365 integration are also necessary.

Supported Software Request Scenarios

User-based allocations: Software models with user-based entitlements requested by users.
Device-based allocations: Software models with device-based entitlements; when multiple devices are assigned to a user, the fulfiller selects the device for allocation.
Purchase order flow: If no entitlements are available, the workflow generates a purchase order to fulfill the request.

Workflow Execution Conditions

The agentic workflow automatically triggers when:

The requested item is approved.
The item belongs to the software category.
The item is not yet sourced.
The Assigned to field on the requested item is populated.

The workflow supports both Azure OpenAI Service and Now LLM Service for AI capabilities.

Activation and Use

To enable the workflow:

Activate the Help Manage Software Request agentic workflow in AI Agent Studio by adding and turning on the trigger.
Submit and approve a software asset request through the Service Catalog. Requests under $1,000 auto-approve by default.
Assign the request to a fulfiller with the required roles (such as procurementuser and itil) in the Procurement module within the Asset Workspace or Hardware Asset Workspace.

Once assigned, the workflow initiates sourcing: it auto-allocates entitlements if available or creates a purchase order otherwise, interacting with the fulfiller when input is needed.

Microsoft 365 License Assignment

The Microsoft license assignment AI agent specifically manages Microsoft 365 subscription software requests by:

Checking license availability in Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
Assigning licenses via Microsoft Entra ID groups or individual licenses depending on availability.
Creating reservation orders or catalog tasks to manage entitlements or license creation when licenses are unavailable.
Verifying license assignments during the next subscription data sync.

License allocations performed by the agentic workflow can be reviewed in the AI Activity log within the Software Asset Workspace.

AI Agents Roles in the Workflow

Software Entitlement Allocation AI Agent: Validates license requests and allocates licenses from inventory.
Purchase Order Creation AI Agent: Creates purchase orders when entitlements are insufficient, requesting input as needed.
Microsoft License Assignment AI Agent: Manages Microsoft 365 license assignments including group and individual licenses and handles reservations.

Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

This AI-powered workflow simplifies and automates software asset request fulfillment, reducing manual effort, minimizing delays, and ensuring compliance with entitlement availability. It integrates tightly with procurement and asset management processes, supporting efficient license management and purchase order creation. The Microsoft 365-specific AI agent adds value by handling complex licensing scenarios automatically, improving accuracy and reducing administrative overhead.

Use the Help manage software request agentic workflow to fulfill a software request by either allocating the available entitlements or generating a purchase order for the software model.

Help manage software request overview

Use the Help manage software request agentic workflow to automate software asset sourcing through auto allocation or purchase order creation. The Help manage software request AI agents enable faster request resolution, improved operational efficiency, and boost user satisfaction.

To use the Help manage software request agentic workflow, the Procurement (com.snc.procurement) plugin needs to be installed along with the ServiceNow Otto for SAM (sn_now_assist_sam) plugin. To use the Microsoft license assignment AI agent for Microsoft 365 allocations, the Software Asset Management - SaaS License Management store application must be installed and an active Microsoft 365 integration must be configured in your instance.

The following three scenarios are supported for software requests:

User-based allocations: a user requests a software model with user-based entitlements.
Device-based allocations: a user requests a software model with device-based entitlements.
When a user who has requested the software has multiple devices assigned to them, the agent asks the fulfiller to select one of the user's devices for the allocation process. If the device isn’t assigned to the requested item number user during the software fulfillment, then a message appears in the ServiceNow Otto panel stating that the user has no devices associated. The user must associate a device and try again. If the device is assigned after this, then the fulfiller user should initiate a new panel chat and provide an utterance in the panel to fulfill the requested item number, rather than using the existing panel chat.
Purchase order flow: if no entitlements are available, a purchase order is created.

The Help manage software request agentic workflow needs the following conditions to execute. Once these conditions are met, the agentic workflow is automatically triggered.

The requested item is approved.
The requested item belongs to a software category.
The requested item isn’t sourced.
The Assigned to field in the Requested item [sc-req item] table isn’t empty.

The Help manage software request agentic workflow supports both Azure OpenAI Service and Now LLM Service.

Help manage software request agentic workflow

By automating the sourcing of software assets through auto-allocation or purchase order creation, the agentic workflow speeds up request resolution and boost operational efficiency.

A one-time manual activation is required before the Help manage software request workflow can run automatically. To activate the workflow:

Navigate to the AI Agent Studio and select the Help Manage Software Request agentic workflow.
Select Add triggers.
Select the Help manage software request link, in the Name column.
In the Edit a trigger dialog box, toggle the trigger status from Off to On.
Save your changes. The status of the Help manage software request agentic workflow changes from Inactive to Active

To automatically trigger the Help manage software request workflow for sourcing software requests, follow these steps:

Initiate and approve a software asset request:
1. A user with any role creates a software asset request in the Service Catalog application.
2. If the requested items in the cart amount to a thousand dollars, the request is automatically approved. For amounts more than a thousand dollars, the request must be approved. Auto-approval rules can differ from organization to organization; the default amount for auto-approval is a thousand dollars.
Assign the software asset request for sourcing:
1. Once the request is approved, the procurement_user role, navigates to the Procurement module that resides in the Asset Workspace. If the Hardware Asset Management application is installed, the name of the workspace changes to Hardware Asset Workspace.
2. The procurement_user role selects the Items tab in the Procurement module and selects a value in the Assigned to field for the requested item.
  Note:
  The itil, the procurement_user, and the now_assist_panel_user roles have access to the panel. The fulfiller needs the itil and procurement_user roles if you have the ServiceNow Otto for IT Service Management (ITSM) store application installed. If you have the ServiceNow Otto for Software Asset Management (SAM) store application but not the ServiceNow Otto for IT Service Management (ITSM) store application, then the fulfiller requires the itil, procurement_user, and now_assist_panel_user roles to fulfill the request via the panel trigger.
The procurement_user role gets notified in the panel that the software request is getting fulfilled.
Once the software asset request is assigned, the Help manage software request agentic workflow gets triggered to source the request.
- If entitlements are available for the software request, allocations are automatically made.
- If entitlements aren’t available, a purchase order is generated. The AI agents take inputs and confirmation from you when needed.
Assign Microsoft 365 licenses based on availability:
If the requested item is identified as a Microsoft 365 subscription software, the Microsoft license assignment AI agent gets triggered. The AI agent checks for license availability, assigns available licenses to users, and creates a reservation order if there are no available licenses.
The AI agent veriﬁes if there are available licenses for the requested item on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
1. If the licenses are available, the AI agent then checks whether group licenses are available for the requested item.
  - If licenses assigned to Microsoft Entra ID groups are available, then the AI agent checks for single or multiple groups.
    - If there are multiple groups, the AI agent prompts the user to select a Microsoft Entra ID group. The user gets assigned to the selected group and the license gets assigned to the user.
    - If there's a single group, the AI agent assigns the user to that group, and the license gets assigned to the user.
  - If licenses assigned to Microsoft Entra ID groups aren’t available, the AI agent proceeds to check for individual license availability. If individual licenses are available, the AI agent assigns the user to the license in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. The license assignment is verified at the next user subscription data pull through the Microsoft 365 integration.
2. If the licenses aren't available, the AI agent checks for available entitlements.
  - If the entitlement is available, the AI agent creates a reservation order using the existing entitlement. It generates a catalog task to replicate that reservation within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
  - If the entitlement isn’t available, the AI agent generates a catalog task to create entitlement in ServiceNow.

To view the licenses allocated by the agentic workflow, navigate to the AI Activity log in the Activity center of the Software Asset Workspace. Select the Licenses allocated link in the AI Activity log to open the Procurement request items page in the Asset Workspace or the Hardware Asset Workspace.

AI agents used in the Help manage software asset requests agentic workflow

The Help manage software request agentic workflow uses the following AI agents to execute instructions.

Table 1. AI agents and their role in the Help manage software request agentic workflow
AI agent	AI agent role
Software entitlement allocation AI agent	Validates software license requests and allocates licenses from existing inventory when available, using the request item number (RITM).
Purchase order creation AI agent	Sources a request item by creating a purchase order. Asks for inputs sequentially and takes user input in case there are multiple options such as with stockrooms, vendors, metric group, or license metrics.
Microsoft license assignment AI agent	Assigns a Microsoft 365 license from the existing inventory when available, using the RITM. The AI agent checks for both group and individual licenses. If the licenses aren't available, the AI agent creates a reservation order.