How ServiceNow’s Xanadu Release Uses GenAI to Solve Real-World Challenges

This article was originally published on the Beyond20 blog, written by Lindsey S. .

Despite its ubiquity these days, AI doesn’t always seem to actually make products and services better. You’ve probably seen it awkwardly tacked onto existing tech—more buzzword than solution–in a variety of industries.

We’ve noticed it, too. (Waiting with bated breath over here to see how the AI cycle on my washing machine is going to tangibly improve my life.)

Thankfully, ServiceNow took a more deliberate approach with its Xanadu release. Each AI innovation was developed with purpose and practicality in mind, ensuring every feature addresses real challenges and delivers meaningful value. Let’s dive into a few standout examples.

Key AI Functionality in ServiceNow Xanadu

Now Assist: AI Agents for ITSM, CSM, and More

These AI-powered agents, branded as Now Assist, are designed to handle repetitive tasks such as ticket resolution and customer inquiries. Unlike many AI bots that feel clumsy or unhelpful, Now Assist stands out by providing meaningful, actionable support tailored to specific workflows. These agents not only improve productivity but also help teams focus on higher-value tasks by reducing the manual workload.

For example, during a high-priority system outage, an ITSM AI agent can triage and resolve lower-priority tickets, freeing up IT staff to address critical issues faster. Similarly, in the retail sector, AI agents can handle a surge of routine customer inquiries during holiday shopping peaks, ensuring faster responses and happier customers.

What makes these bots particularly effective is their thoughtful design and deep integration with the ServiceNow platform. Unlike generic chatbots, Now Assist utilizes domain-specific large language models (LLMs) tailored to IT and customer service environments, resulting in highly relevant and accurate responses. The generative AI capabilities within Now Assist create summaries for cases, chats, and incidents, allowing agents to review and refine notes quickly. This has been shown to reduce the time needed for resolution notes by approximately 80% (source: ServiceNow), directly improving team efficiency.

Additionally, the bots are customizable through the Now Assist Skill Kit (more on this below), enabling organizations to build AI solutions that align precisely with their unique workflows. This means that whether you’re automating approval workflows in financial services or creating specialized responses for healthcare inquiries, the AI is purpose-built to address your specific needs. Combined with ServiceNow’s robust workflow automation, these capabilities allow the bots to operate seamlessly within the platform, ensuring that their support is actually helpful–even transformational.

Now Assist is also available in other ServiceNow modules, such as Human Resource Service Delivery (HRSD), Security Operations (SecOps), Field Service Management (FSM), and IT Operations Management (ITOM).

Now Assist Skill Kit: Tailoring AI to Your Business

As promised, let’s dig into the Now Assist Skill Kit a bit more:

While the Now Assist Skill Kit allows organizations to tailor AI to their workflows, its real value lies in how it enables businesses to extend and refine AI capabilities over time. Instead of settling for out-of-the-box functionality, teams can use the Skill Kit to develop AI solutions that evolve alongside their processes, addressing challenges that are unique to their industry or organization. A couple examples:

• A healthcare provider could develop a custom skill to automate insurance pre-authorization requests, minimizing delays in patient care.
• A financial services firm could streamline high-value transaction approvals by using GenAI to generate and validate required documentation.

One of the most impressive aspects of the Skill Kit is its flexibility when it comes to LLMs. Organizations can choose from ServiceNow’s native Now LLM or integrate external providers like Azure OpenAI and Google Bard. This means teams can prioritize performance, compliance, or specific data requirements when building their custom skills—trustworthy AI is the best kind.

ServiceNow provides a streamlined, developer-friendly framework for building, testing, and deploying custom AI skills. Whether it’s summarizing incident data or personalizing customer responses, the Skill Kit makes it easy to address complex workflows without lengthy development cycles.

Conversational Analytics and Data Visualization

One of the most user-friendly AI features of the Xanadu release is its ability to transform raw data into actionable insights through conversational analytics. Using natural language prompts, teams can dynamically generate charts, dashboards, and visualizations—no coding skills required. This democratizes access to data, enabling employees at all levels to make informed decisions without relying on technical teams.

What sets this feature apart is how it bridges the gap between data and decision-making. For instance, a retail chain can use conversational analytics during the holiday season to monitor sales trends in real time. With the ability to generate dashboards on demand, managers can immediately see which stores require additional staffing or inventory. In the public sector, this same functionality enables city officials to prioritize transportation resources by visualizing service requests by region.

By reducing the complexity of accessing and interpreting data, conversational analytics empowers organizations to respond more quickly to emerging trends and challenges. This not only improves efficiency but also enhances the quality of decisions, as teams can act on data insights in the moment rather than waiting for analysis from technical experts.

Industry-Focused AI Applications

What sets Xanadu apart is its ability to solve real challenges within specific industries. These are not one-size-fits-all features—they’re purpose-built tools designed to address the unique needs of targeted domains. Here are a few examples:

• Financial Services: Time is critical when resolving claims or disputes, and Xanadu’s AI tools streamline the process by summarizing case details and automating handoffs between teams. This reduces administrative overhead and allows financial institutions to deliver faster resolutions, which improves customer trust (and, I imagine, general happiness).
• Public Sector: Municipalities often struggle with resource constraints when managing services like housing assistance. By automating and streamlining case management, Xanadu significantly cuts processing times, helping residents receive the support they need much faster.
• Retail: Consistency across multiple customer channels is essential in retail. Xanadu bridges the gap between store operations and customer service, ensuring a seamless experience whether customers are shopping in-store or online.

By tailoring AI solutions to the specific pressures and priorities of each industry, Xanadu delivers practical tools that produce measurable improvements where they’re needed most. See? Useful!

Microsoft Copilot Integration

The integration of Microsoft Copilot into the ServiceNow platform exemplifies how thoughtfully designed AI can enhance collaboration without disrupting workflows. Instead of requiring users to switch between applications, this feature brings AI-driven insights directly into Microsoft Teams, where employees are already working.

For example, a project manager reviewing a dashboard during a team meeting can use Copilot to generate actionable insights on the spot, ensuring alignment and quick decision-making. This seamless integration eliminates the time wasted toggling between systems, allowing teams to stay focused on their goals.

What makes this integration unique is its emphasis on accessibility. By embedding AI into familiar tools, Xanadu ensures that insights are not siloed within specific teams or roles. Everyone can contribute to data-driven discussions, making collaboration more inclusive and productive.

Proactive AI in Security and Procurement

Security Operations

Xanadu’s AI capabilities in security operations are designed to prioritize and streamline incident response. By generating summaries of security events, the system provides teams with clear, actionable insights, reducing the time spent sifting through raw data. For example, a manufacturing company can use this feature to identify and respond to cyber threats targeting its supply chain, mitigating risks before they escalate.

This functionality is particularly valuable in environments where speed is critical. By automating repetitive tasks like generating resolution notes, Xanadu allows security teams to focus on addressing high-priority threats rather than administrative work.

Procurement

In procurement, Xanadu simplifies the often cumbersome process of finding, requesting, and ordering resources. Its natural language tools make it easy for employees to specify what they need, while automated workflows ensure faster approvals and fewer errors.

For instance, a global enterprise with regional procurement teams can use Xanadu to standardize and accelerate vendor approvals, reducing delays across multiple locations. By automating these processes, organizations save time and ensure consistency, even in highly complex operations.

What makes these AI capabilities unique is their ability to handle the nuanced demands of security and procurement workflows. Instead of simply automating tasks, they deliver context-aware solutions that reduce risk and improve operational reliability.

Addressing Common Concerns

It’s understandable to be cautious about integrating AI into your workflows. Many organizations worry about whether these tools will truly deliver value, if they’ll be easy for teams to use, or how they might impact data security. ServiceNow’s Xanadu release directly addresses these concerns, offering AI capabilities designed with usability, relevance, and security in mind.

Usability

One of the most significant barriers to adopting AI is the fear that it will be too complex for non-technical employees. With Xanadu, ServiceNow eliminates this challenge by focusing on natural language tools that make advanced functionality accessible to everyone. Instead of needing to write complex queries or rely on technical teams, users can simply ask questions or issue commands in plain language.

For example, a team lead could generate a dashboard summarizing project milestones with a single prompt, or an HR manager could use natural language tools to automate common tasks like generating employee onboarding workflows (I personally asked it last week to do a v-lookup between two massive spreadsheets for me and it was an absolute dream). This intuitive interface ensures that AI becomes a tool for empowerment rather than frustration, reducing the learning curve and encouraging widespread adoption.

Relevance

Another common concern is whether AI tools will be useful or feel like a generic solution shoehorned into a specific workflow. Xanadu addresses this by offering deep customization through the Now Assist Skill Kit, allowing businesses to tailor AI applications to their specific processes and goals.

For instance, while a retail company might use Now Assist to enhance inventory management and customer service, a financial services firm could focus on creating skills that streamline compliance workflows or accelerate claims processing. This flexibility ensures that AI solutions aren’t just relevant—they’re indispensable to your unique needs. By aligning AI with real-world challenges, ServiceNow helps organizations avoid the pitfalls of irrelevant or inaccurate outputs often associated with less tailored solutions.

Security

Incorporating AI often raises questions about data privacy, particularly in industries handling sensitive information such as healthcare, finance, or government services. ServiceNow’s AI tools are built with strict data privacy and compliance standards, ensuring they meet or exceed regulatory requirements.

The flexibility to integrate ServiceNow’s own large language models (LLMs) or external providers like Azure OpenAI and Google Bard adds another layer of control. Organizations can select the AI engine that best aligns with their security policies, ensuring data integrity and compliance with standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO certifications. Moreover, ServiceNow’s platform architecture ensures that sensitive information remains compartmentalized and protected, providing peace of mind for even the most risk-averse organizations.

The Bigger Picture

For organizations weighing the decision to adopt Xanadu, the question isn’t whether AI is worth it—it’s how these tools can deliver immediate, practical results. With features that tackle real-world challenges and streamline operations, Xanadu ensures teams can focus on what matters most.

Ready to see how ServiceNow Xanadu can work for you? Let’s start the conversation.