New AI-powered chatbots heighten need for a service management platform

The technology behind OpenAI’s new ChatGPT service could change how humans interact with applications and machines. Tech giants such as Microsoft and Google are racing to catch up by launching their own AI-powered chatbots, realising this technology can improve their search capabilities and enhance their product offerings.

As new AI technologies and applications flood the market, strict governance will be critical. Disruptive technologies like these can have a significant impact on service delivery. Organisations will need the capabilities of a robust service management platform to manage this.

Disruptive chatbots

AI-powered chatbot technology can understand human language and generate accurate, relevant responses. This will likely change current innovation strategies, resulting in a new wave of modernised applications that eliminate the need for complex user interfaces to interact with software and machines.

For example, by incorporating ChatGPT into Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Teams, AI components would be able to assist employees in improving the quality of their content when generating summaries, writing emails, or creating reports.

Organisations will benefit from AI-powered chatbot technology that can answer complex questions, provide personalised support, and automate routine tasks. This type of technology should enhance customer experience by making it easy for customers to ask questions and receive accurate and timely responses.

These powerful AI components can also adapt to user behavior, making adjustments on the fly to provide a better experience for users across different platforms and devices.

Benefits of AI-powered chatbot technology

AI and machine learning (ML) components behind the latest AI-powered chatbots can analyse large data sets in seconds, identifying patterns, correlations, and trends that human analysts might not see. This can provide organisations with a deeper understanding of customer and employee behaviors. Enhanced insights from AI-powered data analysis can improve decision-making processes.

For organisations that develop and customise applications internally using no-code and low-code technology, AI-powered chatbots could provide contextual guidance. They could suggest integrations and troubleshoot issues to help citizen developers create more sophisticated applications without having to learn complex programming languages.

ML capabilities can help AI-powered chatbots learn and adapt over time, making chatbot assistance an invaluable resource for citizen developers moving forward.

AI-powered chatbot technology has the potential to spawn more entrepreneurs and innovation, as well as boost the productivity of internal IT development. As a result, a new generation of modernised applications that address specific business needs and improve productivity will be introduced.

AI chatbots in government

The federal team I’m part of at ServiceNow is excited about the prospect of AI-powered chatbot technology revolutionising the way government agencies serve citizens. AI chatbots could improve the accessibility and responsiveness of government services.

Intelligent chatbots can give citizens a personalised experience while providing accurate information on a range of civil services, such as taxes, healthcare, education, and transportation.

Citizens who struggle to understand government processes when filling out paperwork could receive guidance from AI-powered chatbots. In turn, government agencies could streamline government processes and improve their service efficiency by automating redundant tasks, such as scheduling appointments, processing forms, and answering frequently asked questions.

Enhanced government services also benefit employees by reducing their administrative workloads and giving them more time to focus on fulfilling and meaningful work.

The need for a service management platform

Without proper governance of AI-powered chatbot technology, however, organisations could experience an uncontrolled increase in the number of applications deployed—a problem known as “application sprawl.” By making an IT environment complex and difficult to manage, application sprawl can lead to a range of issues, such as increased costs, reduced efficiency, and security vulnerabilities.

A powerful service management platform, such as the Now Platform, can help developers design new applications, manage service transitions, and continuously improve services. It can provide real-time visibility into the status of IT operations, security incidents, and critical business processes while governing how new AI-powered chatbot technology is acquired, created, and rolled out to employees and customers.

Service management features can ensure new applications are fully optimised to meet the needs of both the business and its customers.

Features in the Now Platform can help organisations monitor and audit their existing applications. Platform features can also help administrators manage demands by giving them tools to review the business case for each demand or application that’s introduced to the environment.

The Now Platform can provide stakeholders with tools that will help them develop an overall strategy for managing the application portfolio. With an effective service management strategy in place, organisations can fully leverage the power that will be available in AI-powered chatbot applications on the horizon.

Find out more about how the Now Platform helps organisations implement and enforce governance practices.

© 2023 ServiceNow, Inc. All rights reserved. ServiceNow, the ServiceNow logo, Now, and other ServiceNow marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ServiceNow, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other company names, product names, and logos may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.