ServiceNow and OpenAI partner to integrate AI agents into business software

ServiceNow and OpenAI will embed AI agents into ServiceNow’s Now Platform to automate business workflows. Both firms posted coordinated notices on January 20, 2026; media covered them on January 21, 2026 (ServiceNow, OpenAI, WSJ). The notices say agents can act for users inside task flows and business processes (ServiceNow, OpenAI, WSJ). Separately, Mastercard issued guidance titled “the new rules of the road for agentic commerce.” It outlines principles for agent-driven payments, ID checks, and risk controls, and calls for industry coordination (Mastercard, Axios). Together, these steps point to a near-term push to deploy agents in software and payments. Expect pilots that pair natural-language agents with payment rails, faster vendor partnerships, and a stronger focus on governance, logging, and contract terms. IT teams should prioritize integration tests, enforce least-privilege access, and record audit trails as proofs of concept move toward production.

Why It Matters

• Plan integration tests for the Now Platform and equivalent workflow systems to validate agent behavior in real processes.
• Security teams must enforce least-privilege access, strong credential controls, and detailed audit logging as agents gain permission to act on transactions.
• Procurement and legal should review vendor terms for agent autonomy, liability, and data use before larger deployments.
• Payments and commerce teams should monitor Mastercard’s guidance for emerging requirements on agent identity, authorization, and risk controls.