Unlocking IT Efficiency: How Now Assist Uses GenAI to Cut Ticket Volume
May 28th, 2025
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In today’s fast-paced digital enterprises, lengthy ticket queues and overburdened agents are common pain points, especially in high-stakes sectors like BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance) and government. ServiceNow’s Now Assist – powered by generative AI (GenAI) – is designed to tackle these issues head-on. At its core, Now Assist is an AI-driven assistant built on the ServiceNow AI Platform, combining large language models (LLMs) with workflow automation to supercharge IT service delivery. In practical terms, it gives IT teams an “AI co-pilot” that can summarize incidents, answer queries, suggest solutions, and even generate knowledge articles automatically. As ServiceNow explains, Now Assist uses domain-specific GenAI models to improve productivity and deliver better self-service by recommending actions and providing contextual answers.
Gen AI at ServiceNow
Now Assist seamlessly integrates with ServiceNow ITSM. For example, it can appear as a panel on the Next Experience interface or within the Virtual Agent chatbot for IT support servicenow.com . It also provides features like AI-powered search and automated content creation. A guided setup in the Now Assist console lets administrators quickly enable GenAI skills (incident summarization, AI chat, email drafting, code generation, etc.) for their workflows servicenow.com. In the context of IT teams, ServiceNow notes that Now Assist “empowers organizations to improve self‑service, resolve incidents faster, and boost productivity by summarizing activities and providing contextual answers”. In other words, routine ticket information is distilled automatically, freeing agents to focus on complex problems rather than rote work.
Now Assist in Action: Reducing Ticket Volume in ITSM
Implementing Now Assist within ITSM has a dramatic deflection effect on ticket volume. According to ServiceNow’s own “Now on Now” data, deploying Now Assist to power the IT service portal led to a 54% deflection rate on the “Report an Issue” form – meaning over half of potential incidents were resolved via AI self-service, without human interventions. The same analysis found nearly 20% case avoidance through AI-driven search. This shift to self-sufficiency yields huge benefits for support teams and end users. Instead of drafting new tickets, employees get immediate AI answers or knowledge articles tailored to their issue.
Reducing Ticket Volume
CIOs and IT managers prize such metrics. Fewer tickets mean less time spent on trivial issues, more resources for strategic work, and faster response for critical problems. In practice, ServiceNow observed that after enabling Now Assist, employees’ self-service use jumped (14% more on employee issues, 10% more on customer issues). Each avoided ticket saves time (roughly 45 minutes per incident on average) and translates to major savings. ServiceNow’s digital transformation team calculated an annualized cost avoidance of $5.5 million thanks to Now Assist’s case and incident avoidance alone.
Beyond deflection, Now Assist directly accelerates ticket resolution. By automatically generating incident summaries and resolution notes, agents close cases faster. For example, ServiceNow reports that using Now Assist halved the time it took their team to close incidents. A case summarized by Now Assist saves agents roughly 12–17 minutes each (about 80–110 minutes per agent per day). In a recent ServiceNow study, support teams saw a 15% improvement in per-case productivity after enabling AI summarization. In short, agents spend less time reading tickets and writing replies (even freeing up to 6 hours weekly on average), which boosts overall service capacity.
Business Outcomes: Saving Time, Costs, and Boosting Morale
Business Outcomes: Saving Time, Costs, and Boosting Morale
The business impact of these efficiencies is significant. By reducing manual effort, Now Assist drives down operating costs and improves employee experience. Key benefits include:
- Faster Resolutions: Agents equipped with GenAI close incidents in half the time compared to traditional ITSM. Automated summaries and AI-suggested solutions mean more issues solved per day.
- Deflection & Self-Service: Organizations often see double-digit deflection gains. ServiceNow’s internal support desk recorded a 54% ticket deflection rate, while other adopters report a 10–20% increase in case deflection after launching Now Assist recommendations. Empowering users to get instant answers greatly reduces helpdesk load.
- Cost Reduction: The higher the deflection rate, the lower the total support cost. As one analysis noted, Now Assist’s self-service boost translated into over $5M in annualized savings. These savings come from needing fewer support agents and faster case closures.
- Agent Productivity: Tedious tasks take a back seat. Now Assist’s AI-driven tools (case summarization, knowledge search, automated content) can save 12–17 minutes per ticket, allowing agents to tackle 15% more tickets in the same time. Less busy work also means higher morale and better retention for IT staff.
- Better Employee Experience: For end users, on-demand AI support means instant solutions and fewer frustrating wait times. One ServiceNow case study found that 56% of users gave positive feedback on AI-generated answers. Faster fixes and clear communication (via autogenerated emails and chat responses) heighten satisfaction in both customers and employees.
Each of the above benefits compounds: agents handle more, costs shrink, and user satisfaction climbs.
AI Agents in Servicenow
In highly regulated industries like BFSI and government, reducing backlog isn’t just nice-to-have, it’s mission-critical. Faster ticket resolution directly impacts customer trust and compliance. For example, banks and insurers can use GenAI to automate card dispute and insurance claim processes, accelerating customer service without cutting corners. Government and public sector IT teams similarly benefit: ServiceNow even announced that U.S. federal agencies and Microsoft 365 Government Community Cloud (GCC) customers can access Now Assist (with FedRAMP compliance) as of 2024. This means public-sector CIOs in India, ANZ, and beyond can deploy AI-enabled support under strict security standards. In short, enterprises that adopt Now Assist gain a competitive edge by delivering faster IT services, at lower cost, while staying compliant.
Real-World Success Stories
Theoretical advantages are great, but what have organizations achieved in practice? ServiceNow and its customers report impressive real-world outcomes. Consider Kainos, a ServiceNow partner: by leveraging Now Assist’s GenAI portal, Kainos dramatically lifted customer support metrics. Its employees can now get instant AI answers via an internal portal, and Kainos automated Tier-0 support for basic tickets that would have required an agent previously. As a result, Kainos saw an operational efficiency increase of 17% and customer satisfaction jump from 80% to 99% across its EMEA clients. “Using GenAI to search the portal is so much faster…and GenAI can actually make interactions between agent and customer more personal,” noted Kainos’s Director, highlighting how Now Assist “effectively delivering senior consultancy support for juniors”.
In ServiceNow’s own IT organization, Now Assist drove similar gains. Their support agents reported saving 12–17 minutes per ticket and saw case deflection improve by 10% (and even double under some AI-assisted workflows). These efficiencies translated to an expected $5.3 million in annualized savings – freeing budget to invest in innovation rather than routine fixes. Industry customers echo this sentiment. For instance, the Mears Group (a large engineering services firm) calls Now Assist “a game changer…in saving time and money for the business”.
“Now Assist is a game changer, in the user experience and in saving time and money for the business.” – Mark Blyth, Head of Business Solutions, Mears Group.
These stories highlight tangible ROI: fewer tickets, happier users, and more strategic IT work.
Traditional ITSM vs. AI-Enhanced ITSM
The difference between traditional ITSM and AI-enhanced ITSM is stark. In a legacy model, helpdesk agents rely on manual searches through static knowledge bases and spend valuable minutes reading logs and typing updates. Now Assist flips that script. It provides instant AI-driven answers (not just search links) and automates content creation. For example, Now Assist’s AI Search uses a GenAI model to return actionable, summarized answers from knowledge articles, rather than forcing users to sift through results. Its Virtual Agent chat interface can hold natural language conversations, answering employee questions immediately. When a ticket does get created, Now Assist can auto-generate incident summaries and resolution notes, so agents no longer type every detail. It can even draft knowledge articles from solved cases to prevent future tickets.
In practice, this means routine tickets become “handled” by AI. An employee who experiences a common issue (like a forgotten password or software glitch) can interact with Now Assist’s Virtual Agent and receive a solution in seconds. Only complex, novel issues ever reach a human. The result is a much lighter load for IT staff. A simple way to see the contrast: a service request that used to take 30 minutes of an agent’s time might be completely resolved by an AI prompt, saving half an hour of labor. For decision-makers, the math is clear: less churn on mundane work, and a sharp boost in agility and user satisfaction.
A Competitive Advantage for BFSI and Beyond
For enterprises in BFSI and the GCC region (government & finance), early adoption of Now Assist can be a true differentiator. The BFSI sector is under constant pressure to modernize customer support (e.g. faster loan approvals, 24/7 banking help) and comply with regulations. By using Now Assist, banks and insurers can automate workflows like fraud dispute handling, thus reducing turnaround times for customers servicenow.com. Financial firms that were slow to deploy AI-run service desks risk falling behind fintech-savvy competitors.
Similarly, GCC (including government and public sector) organizations must balance innovation with strict security. It’s therefore notable that ServiceNow explicitly supports Now Assist for US federal FedRAMP and Microsoft GCC environments servicenow.com. This means that government agencies and defense sectors around the world can adopt Now Assist without violating compliance requirements. In practice, a government agency could deploy AI-based self-service portals to citizens or employees, improving public service efficiency while meeting regulatory mandates.
Furthermore, support for multiple languages in Now Assist makes it suitable for diverse global workforces in APAC and ANZ. Migrating from legacy phone- and email-based help desks to an AI-powered service center can lead to better employee experience — an important factor in competitive talent markets. In short, ServiceNow Now Assist is not just a nice-to-have add-on; in enterprise IT it’s fast becoming a must-have capability. Early adopters gain cost and speed advantages, freeing up their people to innovate.
Getting Started: Next Steps and Kumori’s ServiceNow Expertise
Adopting Now Assist is relatively straightforward for any organization already on the ServiceNow platform. A guided admin console configures the GenAI skills you need, and the Now Platform ensures a single, secure data environment. CIOs and IT directors should evaluate their top ticket categories (password resets, common errors, etc.) to prioritize Now Assist deployment.
For support or custom implementation, turn to experienced partners. Kumori Technologies is a specialist in ServiceNow ITSM solutions. Our ServiceNow consulting services cover everything from initial planning to configuring Now Assist skills. We can help your team integrate Now Assist with your existing workflows (including FSM, SPM, HRSD, and more) and ensure you’re using the latest Now Platform releases (like Vancouver and Xanadu) which include these AI capabilities.
Key Takeaways:
- Now Assist leverages GenAI to enable self-service and AI-augmented support, slashing helpdesk tickets by 50%+ in many cases.
- It boosts agent productivity (agents save ~15 minutes per ticket) and cuts resolution time in half, leading to multi-million-dollar annual savings.
- Deploying Now Assist signals a commitment to innovation. BFSI firms and GCC agencies gain faster issue resolution, improved compliance, and a clear ROI on IT spends.
By automating routine workflows and putting AI-powered answers at the fingertips of your users, ServiceNow Now Assist transforms your IT support model. The data is compelling: fewer tickets, faster fixes, and happier teams. In a world where digital services differentiate industry leaders, Now Assist gives your enterprise the edge it needs – and Kumori is here to help you unlock it.
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