ServiceNow and Microsoft to Integrate GenAI-Powered Assistants

Enterprise AI platform ServiceNow and Microsoft have announced an expanded strategic alliance to combine their generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) capabilities and enhance employee choice and flexibility.

The integration of ServiceNow’s Now Assist and Microsoft’s Copilot will allow employees to interact with both AI assistants to meet their needs wherever they are, the companies said in a Wednesday (May 8) press release. Employees will be able to receive help from the most relevant GenAI assistant, regardless of the platform they are using.

The Now Assist and Copilot integration will be generally available in the fall, according to the release.

“With Microsoft as our partner, we’re enabling a smarter way to work, where generative AI assistants can cohabitate and interact to unlock new levels of productivity,” CJ Desai, president and chief operating officer at ServiceNow, said in the release.

Rajesh Jha, executive vice president of Experiences + Devices at Microsoft, added: “The seamless integration of our AI-powered assistants will help usher in improved levels of employee and IT productivity, reduce context switching and ensure easier execution of everyday work tasks, adding to the value of our customers’ technology investments.”

Now Assist will provide employees with responses to questions, recommend actions and suggest next steps in a conversational manner, according to the release. The integration combines Now Assist’s domain knowledge of the enterprise with the user’s context and organizational data from Microsoft 365 chats, email, calendar and files.

Future capabilities will enable employees to engage Copilot for Microsoft 365 from ServiceNow to create documents based on ServiceNow prompts, the release said.

ServiceNow and Microsoft have been strategic partners since 2019, working together to help customers work better and achieve more, per the release. This expanded partnership represents the next phase of innovation for their customers.

When announcing one application of its Now Assist technology, ServiceNow Chairman and CEO Bill McDermott said that the company is building GenAI into its platform so customers can maximize their return on investment (ROI).

“This is all about thoughtful, high-trust co-innovation as we find the balance between machine speed and human judgment,” McDermott said at the time.

Microsoft began the rollout of its Copilot in September, saying the AI-powered assistant would transform how users interact with technology.