3 agentic AI takeaways from the London Put AI to Work Summit
To unleash the potential of agentic AI, organisations must follow the lessons learned from digital transformation (DX), according to speakers at the recent ServiceNow Put AI to Work Summit in London.
More than 350 ServiceNow customers and partners gathered to explore the future of work powered by AI agents. Let’s look at three agentic AI takeaways from the event.
1. The agentic AI vs. DX challenge
DX offered “utopian promises” but instead left businesses managing more complexity, shared Simon Morris, ServiceNow UK and Ireland’s area vice president for solution consulting, in his keynote speech.
Put simply: Businesses aren’t seeing the return on investment they were expecting from DX. Efforts to simplify work life have actually made it more complicated.
What’s the component in the middle managing the complexity, moving data from system to system, having to relearn every day how the world works? It’s the person in front of the computer.
The hornet’s nest of complexity, which DX creates, could be smashed open by generative AI (GenAI) to put AI to work for people. But, along with the potential for great change, GenAI could bring chaos if not adopted correctly.
There’s no faster way to achieve chaos than by automating a disordered environment. Deploying AI in the same fragmented, siloed manner as digital transformation efforts won't work.
Connecting AI to platforms, data, systems of record, and systems of action is essential. Most importantly, it must be integrated with the people who use it.
Putting AI to work for people therefore means solving complexity and enabling true digital and business transformation, an opportunity that’s arguably the biggest of our lifetime.
2. Bridge data siloes to put AI to work
AI needs accurate and complete data to provide meaningful and specific answers or advice. Without the right data, AI can only offer general responses.
Echoing this sentiment, Rachel Cameron, head of transformational programmes at Rolls Royce, talked about the British industry giant's transformation journey.
“Getting our data right before we deploy AI is absolutely fundamental,” she stressed. “Otherwise, it will just deliver chaos. AI and automation are only as good as the data. Completeness and data accuracy are really important.”
For many, however, data sits across disparate siloes. ServiceNow Workflow Data Fabric can connect these siloes to provide a single system of record, experience, and action. This can give AI agents the complete picture so that they can act.
The future of work will revolve around three key elements: agentic AI, data, and workflow. The transformation will be driven by an AI controller that understands the business task at hand and knows how to complete it more efficiently than humans, effectively coordinating and enhancing the process.
3. Your people elevated and in control
Morris predicts that in five years, there will be more AI agents or digital employees than there are people in most organisations. But agentic AI is not about replacing people, he stressed. It's about freeing up time so employees can focus on more fulfilling, higher-value work.
ServiceNow’s vision is a world of AI agents across your business, elevating people, and fundamentally giving them more time to do the work they love. Although it’s still early days for agentic AI and trust is likely to be low, this will shift over time.
Lloyds Banking Group is using AI to address the problem of “fragmented knowledge” to help employees save time.
“We’ve gathered all of [the company's] knowledge into a single location and wrapped an AI layer around it so that you have a single entry point to all people knowledge,” said Sean McIver, product owner for people and places at Lloyds Banking Group.
By aiming to win back just 1% of people's time, McIver believes AI can have a significant impact across the organisation, while also showing the value of AI to employees. Initiatives like this can help AI adoption increase.
How to get started
What’s the best approach to AI, you may be wondering. “Be curious,” McIver advises. “One of the most amazing things with AI is the art of the possible.” He encouraged people to think about the phases of “discovery and delivery.”
Cameron stressed the importance of bringing the rest of the business along for the journey: “The impact has to be measurable and tangible,” she said, communicated in a way the C-suite understands, with clear business outcomes.
Find out how ServiceNow can help you put AI to work for people.