ServiceNow Now Assist: A complete overview for 2025

It feels like every major platform is racing to roll out its own generative AI, and the world of IT service management (ITSM) is no different. For big companies, a major player in this race is ServiceNow Now Assist, the platform's built-in suite of AI tools aimed at making teams more productive.

But what does Now Assist really do, and what’s it like to get it up and running? This guide is a straight-up look at its main features, the true cost and effort involved, and where it falls short. By the end, you’ll have a much better idea of whether it’s the right move for your company or if a more nimble tool might be a better fit.

What is ServiceNow Now Assist?

First off, let’s clear something up. ServiceNow Now Assist isn't one single product. Think of it as a collection of AI-powered experiences that are baked directly into the ServiceNow platform. The whole point is to help people work faster across ITSM, Customer Service Management (CSM), and even HR.

To get a handle on it, it helps to break the system down into two parts:

• Skills: These are the basic AI abilities. A skill is a small, focused tool that does one specific thing, like summarizing a ticket or drafting resolution notes. Some of these skills are ready to go right away, while others can be custom-built for your needs.

• AI Agents: These are a bit more sophisticated. They string multiple skills together to handle more complex tasks. For instance, an AI agent might use a few different skills to understand a user’s problem, pull up a relevant knowledge base article, and then draft a response.

Under the hood, Now Assist runs on ServiceNow's own Large Language Models (LLMs), but it's also flexible enough to connect with other models like Microsoft Copilot, Azure OpenAI, and Google Gemini if you need to.

Key features of ServiceNow Now Assist

Now Assist packs in a bunch of features for different people in an organization, and they're all designed to be used right inside the ServiceNow interface you already know.

ServiceNow Now Assist for agents and employees

• Summarization: This is one of the most practical features. It can instantly generate summaries for cases, incidents, and long chat histories. For an agent staring at a ticket with a massive backstory, this is a huge time-saver.
  

  One user on Reddit mentioned it cut their incident review time from almost two minutes down to 25 seconds.

  Reddit

• Content creation: Instead of typing out every response from scratch, agents can use Now Assist to draft emails, chat replies, and resolution notes. This helps keep the tone consistent and lets agents concentrate on solving the actual problem.

• Conversational exchanges: The platform's Virtual Agent and chatbots are powered by this same AI, which makes self-service feel a lot more natural for employees and customers who just want a quick answer.

ServiceNow Now Assist for developers and creators

• Code and flow generation: To help speed up development, Now Assist offers tools like text-to-code and text-to-flow. A developer can just type a prompt in plain English to generate a script or build out an automation, which beats doing it all by hand.

Platform-wide uses for ServiceNow Now Assist

• AI search: When you search for something, instead of just getting a list of links, Now Assist gives you a direct, AI-generated summary that answers your question. It makes finding what you need a whole lot faster.

The real cost and complexity of ServiceNow Now Assist

While the features sound great on paper, getting them running involves some serious considerations. Digging through conversations from people who actually use it, two big hurdles pop up again and again: fuzzy pricing and a really complicated setup.

Understanding the ServiceNow Now Assist pricing model

Trying to get a straight answer on how much Now Assist costs is tough. The features are bundled into ServiceNow's most expensive license packages, like ITSM Pro Plus. According to folks in community forums, making that upgrade can lead to a "horrible" price jump. One user was looking at a potential 60% increase in their licensing costs.

ServiceNow doesn't publish its prices (the official price list page is dead), so you have to go through their sales team to get a quote. That makes it really hard to budget properly. It's a big departure from newer AI tools like eesel AI, which put their pricing out in the open so you know exactly what you’re paying for.

The hidden work of ServiceNow Now Assist implementation

Maybe even more important than the price tag is the effort it takes to set up. It’s easy to think Now Assist is a simple plug-and-play tool, but that's not the case.

As one consultant on Reddit put it, it is 'not a set up and forget thing.'

Reddit

The reality is that a proper rollout is often a long, expensive project. You'll likely need pricey consultants to build, configure, and train the AI models. And once it's live, it needs "constant monitoring, evaluation, improvement, tweaking and fine tuning" to work well. This kind of months-long process is a major roadblock for teams that need to get things done now.

If you’re looking for something that delivers value right away, an alternative like eesel AI takes a much simpler path. It’s completely self-serve, connects to major helpdesks with a single click, and can be live in minutes, not months. No developers or sales calls required.

Is ServiceNow Now Assist the right choice for your team?

So, with all that in mind, how do you know if Now Assist is the right call? It really comes down to whether its deep integration is worth the big limitations, or if a more flexible alternative makes more sense.

Evaluating the limitations of ServiceNow Now Assist

• It’s tough to get started: The mix of high, hidden costs and a setup process that requires consultants makes Now Assist a realistic option mostly for huge companies. You need to be deeply committed to the ServiceNow ecosystem and have the budget and IT staff to back it up.

• It's a bit of a walled garden: Now Assist works best with data that’s already inside ServiceNow. It struggles to pull in knowledge from all the other places your teams actually work, like in Google Docs, Slack, Notion, or Confluence.

• Rollouts can be risky: As some users have pointed out, the AI is "far from perfect." Pushing new AI features straight into your live support workflows without a way to test them is a gamble. If the AI doesn't perform well, you could end up with frustrated customers and more work for your agents.

A more agile alternative to ServiceNow Now Assist

For teams that want AI power without the enterprise-level headache, a better option is often an AI platform that works with the tools you already have.

This is where a tool like eesel AI really shines. It plugs right into your helpdesk, whether that’s Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, or an ITSM platform like Jira Service Management. It automatically learns from all your company knowledge by connecting to Confluence, Google Docs, past tickets, and more.

Best of all, eesel AI has a powerful simulation mode. Before you turn anything on for your customers, you can safely test the AI on thousands of your past tickets. This lets you accurately see how it will perform, find any gaps in its knowledge, and build confidence before going live. It takes the risk out of the equation and makes sure your AI is helpful from day one.

Choosing the right path for AI automation

ServiceNow Now Assist is a potent, deeply embedded AI suite for large enterprises that are all-in on the ServiceNow platform. Its ability to automate work inside the tools you already use is a clear win for boosting productivity at a huge scale.

However, the hefty investment of both money and time makes it a tough sell for a lot of companies. The complexity, unclear pricing, and focus on its own ecosystem mean it's definitely not for everyone.

For teams looking for a faster, more affordable, and friendlier way to get started with AI, modern platforms are a fantastic alternative. If your main goal is to get powerful AI working with your current tools and knowledge in minutes, then a solution built for speed and simplicity is your best bet.

Ready to see how quickly you can get your support automated? Get started with eesel AI for free and you can build your first AI agent in just a few minutes.