With more than half of consumers in the US having already utilised generative AI (Gen AI) tools, from AI-powered chatbots to image generators, the era of Gen AI in the enterprise is upon us. Having evolved from novelty to necessity for modern enterprises, AI models that can generate human-like text, code, images and more are being rapidly adopted to boost productivity and unleash new creative capabilities.

From powering virtual assistants to boost customer experience, to leveraging intelligent search and summarisation, generative AI tools are transforming how people work. Now, ServiceNow and Microsoft have announced an expansion of their strategic alliance that combines both organisations’ AI capabilities into a seamless enterprise experience.

ServiceNow and Microsoft: Extended partnership to improve enterprise worker experience

Announced at ServiceNow’s annual customer and partner event, Knowledge 2024, the centrepiece of the partnership is the integration between ServiceNow’s and Microsoft’s Gen AI assistants – Now Assist and Copilot respectively. As a result of the alliance, both companies say the two AI assistants will be able to intuitively interact and hand off tasks to each other, based on an employee’s particular needs at any moment.

For example, a worker could start with Microsoft Copilot to draft a document, then seamlessly engage Now Assist to incorporate knowledge from enterprise systems and data. Alternatively, Now Assist could tap into Copilot’s document creation powers for tasks like building a presentation.

“We strongly believe that the next shift in Gen AI will result from the collaboration of industry leaders putting AI to work for their customers. We’re on our way to bringing the best of both worlds with the combined power of Now Assist and Microsoft Copilot to transform how work happens,” says CJ Desai, President and Chief Operating Officer at ServiceNow. “Today’s news marks a new chapter in the way businesses will operate. 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.”

Future capabilities will also enable such experiences as allowing employees to engage Copilot for Microsoft 365 from ServiceNow to create documents, such as a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint, based on ServiceNow prompts, empowering AI‑driven digital business.

“At Microsoft, we are committed to helping our customers adapt and thrive in this new age of AI,” said Rajesh Jha, EVP of Experiences and Devices at Microsoft. “Fundamental shifts are transforming productivity for every individual, organisation and industry, which is why our work with ServiceNow is so valuable. 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.”