ServiceNow AI Agents

What are... AI agents anyway?

An AI agent is an intelligent program that is able to autonomously interact with its environment to collect data, make decisions, and perform tasks.

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AI agents can determine the best course of action to achieve their goals and can incorporate new data to improve their performance over time. In contrast to conventional AI assistants, AI agents are intelligent AI that acts — and not just assists.

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Funktionsweise eines ServiceNow AI Agents

How do AI agents work?

The key technology behind an AI agent's ability to understand goals, break them down into tasks, and communicate their solutions effectively is Large Language Models (LLM). Calling external tools, such as APIs, databases, or even other AI models, supports the execution of complex, multi-level tasks. In these tools, the AI agents collect real-time information, analyze data and adapt their work processes.

AI agents improve their performance through feedback loops and iterative refinement. They learn from their actions and adapt based on results and human input. To improve decision-making and optimize performance, AI agents follow a specific sequence of steps.

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Are there different types of AI agents?

Yes, depending on the complexity of their goals and the environment in which they operate, AI agents can take different forms. The capabilities of AI agents range from simple, reactive functions to highly autonomous decision-making processes and from following simple rules to advanced learning.

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What is the difference between AI Agents and Now Assist?

NowAssist was developed with the aim of helping service workers by offering them quick, AI-powered suggestions and solutions and automating manual tasks. NowAssist assists service staff, e.g. by providing suggestions for answers to incidents, inquiries, and problems. This should help to speed up support.

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AI agents, on the other hand, are autonomous chatbots or virtual agents designed to directly support end users. As intelligent programs, AI agents are able not only to assist people, but also to interact autonomously in their environment, make decisions and perform tasks independently.

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What are the benefits of using AI agents for a company?

This case was resolved by a ServiceNow AI Agent

AI agents can be used well to independently do repetitive work that would otherwise have to be done by a human. For example, they can reduce the average time it takes to solve a problem and streamline internal company processes and increase efficiency. The big advantage of AI agents is that they can be used 24/7. Productivity around the clock, without working time limits and breaks, should be ensured on a large scale in application areas such as IT, customer service, procurement, human resources, software development and more. They offer reliable consistency in their working methods and results, reduce costs, increase productivity and scalability, often deliver higher quality work results and an optimal customer experience.

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Challenges and potential issues when using AI agents

While AI agents offer undeniable benefits, they can also present certain challenges. This raises questions in the area of data protection, ethical concerns and technical complications.

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AI agents are not “plug & play” — implementing an AI agent and adapting to the circumstances within the company can involve significant effort.

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Implementing AI Agents

Implementing AI agents effectively requires careful planning, clear goals, and continuous optimization. To avoid the challenges mentioned above and provide the best possible opportunity for successful digital transformation, consider the following steps:

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1. Set yourself clear goals

2. Organize and evaluate relevant data

3. Select the appropriate AI agent

4. Integrate the AI Agent into existing systems

5. Prioritize user experience

6. Ensure continuous monitoring and improvement

7. Schedule an employee to control the AI agent

8. Observe data protection and security concepts — AI agents access sensitive data!

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Requirements for implementing AI Agents are:

· A Pro Plus or Enterprise Plus license

· Xanadu patch 3, AI Agent Store app, sn_aia.admin role

· AI agents need access to KBs, structured, and other unstructured data

· NowAssist agents and tools

· AI expertise through Enterprise AI Champions, GenAI training, and GenAI best practices

· First identified use cases

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ServiceNow schedule — a glimpse of what's to come

ServiceNow plans to make thousands of AI agents available for IT, CRM, HR, security, finance, Appdev, and more.

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From March 2025, the AI Agent Orchestrator and AI Agent Studio will also be available to customers on the ServiceNow platform.

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The AI Agent Orchestrator ServiceNow should act as a “control tower” for AI agents. Orchestrator enables communication between agents and centralized coordination to share information and pass on tasks to manage complex workflows. It ensures that teams of specialized AI agents work together across tasks, systems, and departments to achieve a specific goal.

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that AI Agent Studio will enable organizations to build and deploy custom AI agents without code using an intuitive, voice-based interface. Describe the desired outcome, the role of AI agents, and the processes you want to build, and the AI Agent Studio automatically builds a team of AI agents managed by the AI Agent Orchestrator. Users are guided through creating, testing, and activating AI Agents.

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ServiceNow also announced updates that include AI Agents for all Pro Plus and Enterprise Plus customers, and the new Now Assist Skill Kit to expand existing Now Assist AI capabilities. With the Now Assist Skill Kit, companies can create, test, and deploy custom GenAI skills that meet their organization's needs.

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