Your guide to getting a ServiceNow AI Certification in 2025

If you work in IT Service Management (ITSM), you know that AI is pretty much all anyone is talking about. ServiceNow is right at the center of this shift, which means having AI skills on your resume is more important than ever. So, you're probably thinking about getting a ServiceNow AI Certification.

Good call. But let's be real, figuring out how to do it can be a headache. Between the different courses, confusing costs, and new requirements, it’s easy to get turned around. This guide is here to cut through the noise. We'll walk you through the whole process, figure out what it actually costs, and talk about how to use your new skills to solve problems that pop up in the real world.

What is ServiceNow AI?

First things first, let's get on the same page. ServiceNow AI isn't one single thing you can buy. It's a bunch of different features built right into the platform, all designed to make work a little less manual and a lot smarter. When you get certified, you're basically learning how to master all these connected parts.

Here’s a quick look at the main components:

• The ServiceNow AI Platform: This is the engine under the hood. It’s what powers all the smart workflows on the platform by bringing together AI, data, and automation in one place.

• Now Assist: Think of this as the name for all the generative AI features you see popping up. It’s what helps developers code faster, service agents draft replies without typing them from scratch, and employees find answers on their own instead of logging a ticket.

• AI Experience: This is ServiceNow's big idea for how we'll interact with software in the future. It’s a new, conversational way to get things done. Instead of clicking through a bunch of menus, you can use voice or text to tell the platform what you need, and it works across different departments.

Getting a handle on these pieces is important. A ServiceNow AI Certification isn't about memorizing one feature, it's about showing you know how to use this whole system to make a real impact at your company.

ServiceNow AI certification paths

One of the first things you'll notice is that ServiceNow doesn't have a single, big "AI Certification." What they've done instead is weave AI skills into their existing, role-based certifications. It makes sense when you think about it, you can't really be an expert in AI on the platform if you don't know the platform itself.

How ServiceNow certifications are structured

Before we get into the specifics, it helps to know the different types of credentials they offer.

• Mainline Certifications: These are the big ones. They’re the official, proctored exams that cover major ServiceNow products. These are what most employers are looking for, like the Certified System Administrator (CSA) or the Certified Implementation Specialist (CIS).

• Micro-certifications: These are smaller, non-proctored exams on very specific topics. They’re a good way to add a few extra skills to your profile, and they’re often free.

ServiceNow also has "Career Journeys" on its ServiceNow University portal. These are basically guided learning plans that prepare you for a specific job, like a System Admin, and they now include a ton of AI-related content.

Key certifications on your AI journey

If you want to prove you know your stuff when it comes to AI, you should focus on the mainline certifications where these skills are most needed.

• Certified System Administrator (CSA): This is where everyone has to start. It’s the foundational certification for anyone serious about working with ServiceNow. You'll learn the core system, how to manage users, and basic configuration, all of which you need to know before you can even think about implementing AI features.

• Certified Application Developer (CAD): This one is for people who like to build things. If you want to create your own AI-powered apps, automate tricky workflows, or tweak how Now Assist works, the CAD is for you. It shows you have the coding and design skills to create smart solutions from the ground up.

• Certified Implementation Specialist (CIS): These certifications are for pros who specialize in rolling out specific ServiceNow products. Certs like CIS-ITSM or CIS-Customer Service Management now require a solid understanding of how to set up and deploy Now Assist features for service desks and customers.

The official training path on Now Learning

Your journey to certification starts on Now Learning, ServiceNow's official training site. And here's some great news: ServiceNow made a huge change and now offers most of its on-demand prerequisite courses for free. This is a pretty big deal, since cost used to be a major hurdle for a lot of people.

Just keep in mind that you have to complete the official training course for a certification. You can't just book the exam. You have to finish the required learning path to get an exam voucher.

Breaking down the full cost of a ServiceNow AI certification

So, what's the damage to your wallet? While the training itself is mostly free now, getting certified isn't completely without cost. Let's lay it all out so you know exactly what to expect.

Training course fees: Mostly free

Like we mentioned, the required on-demand courses you need for an exam are now free. For example, the "ServiceNow Administration Fundamentals" course, which you need for the CSA exam, won't cost you a dime to take at your own pace.

If you (or your company) prefer a live instructor, ServiceNow still offers paid, instructor-led classes. But if you’re fine with learning on your own, the door is wide open.

Exam voucher and fees

This is where you’ll need to pull out your credit card. Once you finish the free training, you have to buy a voucher to take the proctored exam. The pricing is pretty clear and just depends on which certification you're going for.

Item	Cost (USD)	Notes
On-Demand Prerequisite Course	$0	Free as of early 2025.
Non-Implementation Specialist Exam (e.g., CSA)	$300	This is the fee to buy the voucher for the exam itself.
Implementation Specialist Exam (CIS)	$450	A bit more for these specialist-level certifications.
Exam Retake	$100	If you need a second shot at passing.

From what people in the community say, these prices are pretty standard. For a CSA, you’re looking at about $300 total, and for a CIS, it’s closer to $450, assuming you pass on your first try.

The annual maintenance fee

The spending doesn't stop after you pass the exam. To keep your certifications active, ServiceNow has a $200 annual maintenance fee.

It might sound like a pain, but this single fee covers all the small "Delta" exams you need to take twice a year to stay up-to-date with new platform releases. It doesn't matter if you have one certification or ten, the fee is the same. It's just one flat cost to make sure your skills don't get stale.

Beyond the ServiceNow AI certification: Putting your AI skills to work

Getting certified proves you have the knowledge, but the whole point is to use that knowledge to fix real business problems. And this is where you can sometimes bump into the limits of sticking with just one platform.

The problem with siloed knowledge

Let's face it, very few companies use only ServiceNow. A typical company might use it for ITSM, but the customer support team is on Zendesk, the engineers write documentation in Confluence, and day-to-day chats happen in Slack.

Here’s the issue: an AI that’s only been trained on ServiceNow data has no idea what’s going on in those other tools. It can't answer a question about a bug report from Jira or find a company policy stored in a Google Doc. This leaves employees and customers jumping between different apps to find information, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a smart AI.

A more flexible way to use your AI skills

This is where a tool that isn't tied to one platform, like eesel AI, can make a huge difference. Instead of keeping you locked in one ecosystem, eesel's solution for AI for ITSM connects to all the tools your company already uses. It lets you apply your expertise everywhere, not just in ServiceNow.

Here’s how it helps you break out of those knowledge silos:

1. Bring all your knowledge together, instantly: eesel AI connects with over 100 different apps right out of the box. You can hook it up to other helpdesks like Jira Service Management, internal wikis like Notion, and even all those random documents in Google Docs. This gives your AI a complete picture of the business, so it can give full, accurate answers no matter where the info is stored.

2. Go live in minutes, not months: Forget about long sales calls and complicated setups. eesel AI is designed for you to set up yourself. You can sign up, connect your tools, and build an AI agent in an afternoon, without ever having to sit through a mandatory demo.

3. Test with confidence: Nervous about letting an AI loose on your users? I get it. eesel AI has a powerful simulation mode that lets you test your setup on thousands of your past tickets. You can see exactly how much it will automate and tweak its behavior before it ever talks to a real person.

Get your ServiceNow AI certification, then get flexible

Getting a ServiceNow AI Certification is a smart move for your career, especially now that the training is so much more accessible. The path is pretty straightforward: finish the free courses, pay for the exam, and keep up with the annual fee.

But certification is really just the starting line. The best IT pros are the ones who can mix their deep platform knowledge with the flexibility to use modern tools that solve problems for the whole business. Once you've earned that shiny new credential, the next step is to find ways to break down information silos and put AI to work where your team and customers already are.

Ready to put your new AI skills to the test? See how eesel AI can pull all your company's knowledge together and automate support across every tool you use. Start your free trial today.