The Growing Demand for Generative AI
The demand for artificial intelligence (AI) is at an all-time high, with IDC projecting an $11 trillion USD impact from AI over the next three years. Companies are expected to invest more than $500 billion USD in AI by 2027. A recent EY survey of 1,200 global CEOs revealed unanimous plans to invest in generative AI.
This intense interest in generative AI reflects a significant opportunity for companies and investors, according to Paul Smith, Chief Commercial Officer at ServiceNow. Their cloud-based Now Platform drives comprehensive digital transformation for over 8,100 global clients, including approximately 85% of the Fortune 500. Generative AI is transforming work dynamics, significantly enhancing productivity—by as much as 34% for novice workers, according to a recent study—and streamlining processes, such as customer service response times. It has the potential to automate 60-70% of employee tasks, marking a pivotal shift in enterprise efficiency.
Strategic AI Investment as a Game Changer
“Generative AI represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for enterprises,” says Smith. “The outcomes are profound and observable across every sector. Companies that delay action while competitors advance will find themselves at a distinct disadvantage.”
While the reasons to invest in AI are evident, many CEOs grapple with how to implement these technologies effectively. A common pitfall is launching numerous small-scale generative AI pilots across the organization. Instead, Smith emphasizes that organizations making bold, strategic investments and forming partnerships with key AI providers will achieve the greatest success.
“As an enterprise leader, whether CEO or board member, investing effort in a few targeted generative AI initiatives can yield far greater outcomes compared to multiple small-scale pilots,” Smith notes. “Applying a platform strategy can vastly enhance results across critical use cases.”
Enhancing Customer Service Efficiency
ServiceNow is leveraging generative AI to optimize its operations, witnessing significant benefits in customer service, developer productivity, and employee self-service. “Our roadmap focuses on specific use cases to ensure rapid and substantial returns, saving teams considerable time,” Smith reveals.
The Now Assist feature integrates generative AI throughout the Now Platform, including the Virtual Agent chatbot and search functionalities. This allows customers to ask questions in natural language and receive clear, conversational responses, rather than mere links. Call histories are accessible for agents at the start of customer interactions, and Now Assist can summarize calls and update knowledge bases automatically.
“Since implementing our Now Assist technology, agents have halved the time necessary to produce resolution notes, while customer case deflection rates have increased by 10%. In a large call center, these productivity gains can have a tremendous impact,” Smith adds.
A Smarter Knowledge Base for Employees
As employees encounter user-friendly AI tools in their personal lives, they increasingly seek similar convenience at work. Now Assist has transitioned from basic virtual agents to a conversational generative AI interface, resulting in a 14% boost in employee request deflection rates for inquiries related to onboarding, pay slips, and time-off requests.
Smith is also using Now Assist to empower the Global Field team. The Sales Assist feature expedites the sales team’s processes for generating quotes and proposals. “Instead of searching for information manually, a conversational interface provides instant access to pricing, customer references, and relevant use cases,” he explains.
Increased Developer Productivity
ServiceNow developers are also experiencing impressive gains through generative AI. With Now Assist, the acceptance rate for AI-generated code has reached 48%, indicating that nearly half of the code produced by AI is readily accepted. This improvement is critical in an industry facing a shortage of software developers. “Enhancing developer productivity is a game changer for the whole sector,” Smith states.
Investing in Strategic Platforms
Investing strategically in platforms with built-in generative AI capabilities yields better financial returns and results than experimenting with disparate tools. “Most leaders recognize the need to focus on fewer, more impactful platforms that accommodate transformational projects,” Smith notes. He cites a major bank that invests in Microsoft for employee productivity, ServiceNow for customer service and HR, and develops domain-specific models for specialized use cases in financial services.
“The era of tolerating countless enterprise applications is over,” Smith asserts. “The only real risk is failing to act swiftly.”
“Companies must move quickly, guided by governance, security, and the right platform partners,” he says. “The fastest movers will secure the most significant advantages.”
Explore how companies worldwide are leveraging AI with ServiceNow.
Footnotes
1. IDC: “From Breakthrough Innovation to Impact: Monetizing the AI Moment,” April 3, 2024.
2. EY: The CEO Outlook Pulse – January 2024, .
3. Graduate School of Stanford Business Working Paper, Generative AI at Work, .
4. McKinsey: The Economic Potential of Generative AI: The Next Productivity Frontier, .
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