ServiceNow partners with OpenAI to develop and deploy enterprise-grade AI agents

Enterprise software giant ServiceNow Inc. has signed a three-year agreement with OpenAI Group PBC to integrate the ChatGPT maker’s cutting-edge artificial intelligence models into its platform.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Wall Street Journal reported that the deal includes a revenue promise from ServiceNow. The exact value of the deal will depend on how many customers end up using OpenAI’s models within ServiceNow’s platform.

The deal is a big boost for OpenAI, which has sought to build its enterprise business both by selling services directly to enterprises and through third parties. This is part of a concerted effort by AI companies to increase their revenue so that they can actually pay for all the computing resources their AI models use. But so far, the company’s computing costs have far exceeded the revenue it has been able to generate, primarily through consumer subscriptions.

Brad Lightcap, chief operating officer at OpenAI, said the deal is primarily about “agent AI,” referring to autonomous, independent bots powered by AI that can perform tasks on behalf of humans with minimal oversight. “ServiceNow is helping enterprises deploy agent AI into workflows that are secure, scalable, and designed to deliver measurable outcomes,” he said. “ServiceNow’s OpenAI frontier models and multimodal capabilities allow businesses in any industry to benefit from end-to-end intelligence that processes work, even in the most complex environments.”

ServiceNow sells software that automates and manages a variety of business workflows, primarily in information technology service management, customer service, and human resources management, and is one of several enterprise software companies driving the agentic AI narrative. Salesforce Inc. has also made AI agents a core part of its flagship sales and marketing platform, and SAP SE and Workday Inc. have also deployed AI agents that can automate various business processes. All of these companies emphasize the same idea: embedded AI agents are the key to unlocking real value from AI.

This agreement will allow ServiceNow to benefit from access to some of the most advanced AI models as an alternative to its own large-scale language models. For example, he said he will use OpenAI’s cutting-edge voice models to develop customer service agents who can converse in a near-human-like manner.

The company also hopes to take advantage of OpenAI’s pioneering agent capabilities, including a computer usage model that allows AI agents to leverage third-party software tools such as web browsers and databases. Among other things, it allows you to perform tasks such as updating your computer’s operating system software and restarting your computer to apply changes.

Amit Zaveri, ServiceNow’s chief operating officer and chief technology officer, told WSJ that the company is also developing AI agents to help businesses access data siled on older systems such as mainframes. He added that ServiceNow engineers will be able to benefit from OpenAI’s technical guidance and expertise when developing new agents, and that customers will have access to “forward-deployed engineers” to show them how to take advantage of its capabilities.

Zaveri emphasized that partnerships like this one will help accelerate the adoption of agent-based AI. “As companies move from experimenting with AI to deploying it at scale, they need the power of multiple AI leaders working together to deliver faster and better results,” he argued.

Photo: ServiceNow