Getting started with process automation

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 1 minute to read

    • Learn how Process Automation applications can help you use the ServiceNow AI Platform® to transform your manual business processes into digitized, automated workflows.

    ServiceNow Process Automation applications help you digitize, visualize, and manage the cross-enterprise workflows for your business. Digitizing your business processes with Process Automation applications gives you these benefits:
    • Management of process compliance
    • Ownership of continual process improvement
    • Collaboration across divisions and departments
    • Visibility into process outcomes

    Process Automation applications

    The ServiceNow Process Automation applications that you can use to digitize your business processes into automated workflows on the ServiceNow AI Platform include:
    Flows
    Flows enables process owners to automate approvals, tasks, notifications, and record operations without having to code.
    Playbooks
    Workflow Studio playbooks enable process owners to author cross-enterprise workflows and create a single, unified process. Build the underlying processes for playbooks that Playbook Experience agents and fulfillers use.

    Roles involved in Process Automation

    Depending on the Process Automation application that you use, you may need to coordinate with other teams or individuals to ensure that your automated processes run smoothly. One possible way in which you could organize the roles for Process Automation applications is:
    • A developer uses Workflow Studio to work on flows, actions, and activity definitions to automate individual pieces of a business process.
    • A playbook owner uses Playbooks to organize the pieces of the business process into a digitized, cross-enterprise workflow.
    • A Playbook Experience administrator configures the appropriate views of the business process for the right system users in playbooks.
    • A Playbook Experience agent, the end user in this case, works on and manages the individual tasks of the business process in playbooks on the ServiceNow AI Platform.
    Figure 1. User roles
    Description of user roles for developer, process owner, workspace admin, and agent.

    Many different user roles are involved in creating effective digitized, automated processes on the ServiceNow AI Platform.

    Learn more about Process Automation

    To find out more about how you can use Workflow Studio and Playbooks to digitize your business processes, try checking out these resources: