An AI agent’s capabilities are determined by the information it has. To ensure optimal performance, ServiceNow has developed something called Context Engine, an enterprise-grade tool that combines AI agents with an organization’s organizational knowledge, relationships, and decision history.
This is the centerpiece of a broader announcement the company is making on Thursday, including native AI across its product suite, new Build Agent skills for developers, and a new tiered pricing model.
With 85 billion workflows and 7 trillion transactions processed through its platform, ServiceNow says Context Engine has deep enterprise insights that most competitors will have a hard time replicating. Institutional memory is what AI agents need to act—It determines the direction and ensures that it is properly managed. For example, the system knows which assets are associated with regulated processes, which approval chains have specific cost thresholds, and vendor history that affects how requests are handled.
Similar to Salesforce’s Data 360, ServiceNow’s Context Engine is intended to provide AI agents with a unified view of enterprise data, rather than stitching together the context of disconnected systems for organizations. Without this, the burden of manually identifying and connecting relevant data sources falls on humans, making the process slow, incomplete, and difficult to scale.
Promoting a unified context is at the heart of the broader transition ServiceNow is making today. The company has declared the end of the so-called “sidecar AI era.” This means AI will no longer be an add-on feature, but a default part of every app the company sells.
“Most organizations spend months assembling the pieces of enterprise AI,” Amit Zaveri, president, chief product and operating officer at ServiceNow, said in a statement. “By the time we’re ready, the goalposts have moved. ServiceNow brings everything together so every customer can start with a complete AI-first experience instead of a procurement project.”
This is a trend sweeping enterprise software. Salesforce is making a similar pivot, both enhancing existing applications and launching new ones, including the following tools: vibe coding, IT service managementand contact centerall centered around the Agentforce platform. By incorporating AI into the underlying logic of how your app works, your workflows, decision points, and automation triggers can work more effectively without having to be explicitly invoked. This injection affects the behavior of the software, making it more intelligent than just scratching the surface.
“ServiceNow is fundamentally changing the way businesses realize value from AI with the capabilities needed at enterprise scale,” said Zavery. “From Context Engine enterprise intelligence to data connectivity, governance, and execution, everything is included by default, all works within your work flow, and is open to the tools developers already use.”
ServiceNow plans to use a knowledge conference next month to introduce these updates in more detail.
And speaking of recommended tools, developers can use any tool of their choice to build apps and agent skills for the ServiceNow platform. This is different from before, when builders had to use ServiceNow’s own tools and interfaces. Currently, the platform’s SDKs and build agent skills support any development environment, including Anthropic’s Claude Code, Cursor, OpenAI’s Codex, Windsurf, and Antigravity.
Those building on top of existing ServiceNow apps don’t have to feel left out. The company says ServiceNow Studio now includes Build Agent support to provide an AI-native development experience. This means understanding your live data model, active scopes, table relationships, and business rules in real time. Additionally, you can recognize appropriate fields, dependencies, and extensions.
Finally, ServiceNow is overhauling its pricing model with a new tier structure spanning AI-assisted, agent-driven automation, and fully autonomous operations. The company says AI, data, security, and governance are included in all layers and do not need to be purchased separately.
The three tiers are outlined below.
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Foundation: We provide ready-to-use AI skills and routine agents built to help your team work faster. Move Works is Acquired ServiceNow in Decemberplays a central role here.
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Advanced: Customers can use agent workflows to collaborate with humans to complete tasks, rather than just providing assistance. This plan also offers process mining to identify where automation can have the greatest impact.
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prime: This level is aimed at companies seeking a fully autonomous workforce. We provide agent specialists who can identify and proactively resolve issues within corporate governance without the need for tickets. Plus, you can build completely new custom skills and agents from scratch.
Despite these details, ServiceNow doesn’t reveal specific prices for each tier, but does say they are “intentionally priced lower than what customers would pay if they purchased these components individually.”
All of these announcements are generally available starting today, with the exception of Context Engine, which remains in limited preview. ServiceNow has not said when it will be fully available.
