ServiceNow extends generative AI to self-service experiences

Generative AI self-service: smiling man working on a laptop

Hot on the heels of the ServiceNow^® Generative AI Controller and Now Assist for Search product announcements, I’m excited to announce our latest generative AI product: Now Assist for Virtual Agent. It builds on ServiceNow’s strategy to embed generative AI across the Now Platform^® by helping to enable truly conversational self-service experiences.

Virtual Agent already uses intelligence to address user queries with knowledge articles and catalog items. The addition of generative AI will help make responses more relevant and contextual, interpreting a customer’s need to provide a humanlike response. Customers won’t have to slow down to understand where and how to get the help they need—they can get it at the speed of their work and benefit from:

More direct responses: Generative AI can provide more direct, clear answers to questions, reducing customer confusion and time to resolution. Now Assist for Virtual Agent is designed to help customers get the specific information they need versus combing through endless article links or search results.
Querying general knowledge: Users will no longer be limited to information that’s inside their ServiceNow instance. They can also ask questions that pull information from outside their organisation’s knowledge base with general-purpose large language models such as Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service or OpenAI API.
Enhanced conversational design: You can easily enhance your existing conversations or create new ones with generative AI experiences through drag-and-drop functionality to solve user issues and answer questions.

Now Assist for Virtual Agent screenshot

The potential in generative AI lies in efficiency and time to value. Agents will benefit from the ability to let Virtual Agent address high-volume issues so that they can focus on the highest-priority cases. Users can rest assured knowing that generative AI is acting in the background as their always-on assistant.

Built on a solid, scalable foundation

Now Assist for Virtual Agent is built on Generative AI Controller. This underlying technology layer is the core generative AI engine of the Now Platform. It allows organisations to change the way they work, collaborate, and serve their customers and partners—through intuitive, integrated, and conversational AI.

Through Generative AI Controller, you can plug into your favorite generative AI tools, such as OpenAI API or Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service large language models.

Generative AI Controller eliminates the need to rely on tedious script and code. All you need is an API key, and you can quickly begin to integrate generative AI into your workflows. Users automatically receive capabilities that will help them generate meaningful customer-facing content, such as answers to questions.

Because Generative AI Controller is native to the Now Platform, it reduces integration complexity. For customers experimenting with generative AI to see what it can do for their business, this integration is key to providing a safe and supported environment in which to explore.

A culture and history of AI

AI is nothing new to ServiceNow. We’ve been using it for years to set the foundation for what we’re experiencing today: AI at scale. We have a deep understanding of our customers, their data, their needs, and how generative AI can complement their workflows. Now we’re pairing that with the next logical enhancement: an intelligence layer that can level up the entire customer experience.

Technology like Generative AI Controller enhances the entire Now Platform and results in a comprehensive feedback loop, putting more power and precision behind existing AI features and functions. We’re dedicated to responsible AI governance, including data privacy, ethics, transparency, and accountability.

The future is happening now. Whether you’re an IT help desk administrator, an HR agent, a customer service agent, or a user, ServiceNow Generative AI Controller exists to streamline the way you work and make generative AI accessible and impactful across every touch point.

Find out more about ServiceNow generative AI.