From AI hype to reality: Recap from World Forum London

Finding value from AI will happen only if organisations can shift from AI hype to reality.

At ServiceNow World Forum 2025 in London, business and technology leaders assembled to discover how to kick-start their AI roadmaps and bring the promises of agentic AI to life. The AI conversation needs to change if enterprises are to realise the benefits of the technology.

Where can leaders start? Let’s explore ways leaders can move from AI hype to reality based on ServiceNow Vice Chair Nick Tzitzon’s keynote session.

Balancing AI consumption and control

When facing waves of transformation, organisations have grappled with buying new capabilities versus building them. In the context of AI, the debate needs to be adjusted to focus on consumption and control.

Intelligence will come to organisations in any number of forms, including data from inside the organisation, consumer apps, and enterprise-grade systems.

“The notion of managing from where we're sourcing, and how we're consuming intelligence, is a major theme for every organisation,” Tzitzon explained.

At the same time, the technological sprawl within organisations raises challenges around the control, access, and security of information to manage risk—and it gets infinitely harder with AI. The task for those deploying AI is striking a balance between the opposing forces of consumption and control.

Recognising if AI is evolutionary or revolutionary

Is AI about an incremental change to the way things get done, or is it a revolutionary transformation?

“That's a fun debate, but when you go behind that headline, you can't really ask AI that question. You just have to ask people,” Tzitzon said, arguing that there can be a “bad habit of putting the technology first.”

It's about what we as people want new technology to accomplish. To frame if the use of AI is evolutionary or revolutionary, identify the business or human outcome you’re trying to achieve. "It’s totally up to us,” Tzitzon added.

Considering the lessons from previous waves of transformation, change should be driven from people within organisations, letting them be the inspiration for the change that the technology will bring about.

“[AI] is a different moment of capability, and we will underserve the moment if we don't use it as a chance to build a grassroots movement across our organisations of what we want from it,” Tzitzon stressed.

Delivering an AI experience

There’s a desire for a “simplified experience where you can look at one thing and see a lot of different opportunities to be productive,” Tzitzon said. “Every C-level leader I talk to dreams of being able to say that they've curated for their organisation a simplified way to engage with technology.”

So-called “swivel chairing” between different tools or platforms has the potential to harm productivity and create employee frustration. At the same time, the demands of governance and security mean visibility is required across a single pane of glass.

ServiceNow brings together AI, data, and workflows on the ServiceNow AI Platform. On top of that, we've added AI Experience, a unified, conversational front door to enterprise AI.

Mapping where you want to go

“Every organisation has this unique opportunity, at this precipice of remarkable change, to say, ‘Here's the picture of what we're building. Here's the desired end state we want our architecture to look like,’” Tzitzon said.

Attendees at World Forum London heard how companies are already putting AI to work. Adobe, for example, has seen a 30% reduction in the time to case resolution, fuelled by the ServiceNow AI Platform. Connecting HR and IT employee experiences keeps Adobe’s people in the flow of work.

A leader from Rolls-Royce joined Tzitzon on stage. Sharing the manufacturer’s AI transformation journey with ServiceNow, the leader highlighted how more than 15,000 support deflections have released IT to focus on higher-value work.

Before implementing AI, start with a vision of where you want to go. The more clarity you have, the more powerful you can become.

Find out how ServiceNow can help you put AI to work for people.