Table of Contents
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Blog Summary
- ServiceNow Now Assist helps users take actions and define workflows to automate continuous processes.
- Microsoft Copilot is a productivity-enhancing tool used in Microsoft 365 applications.
- The integration of ServiceNow Now Assist and Microsoft 365 has enhanced capabilities and made it easier for users to work in a single space with two GenAI tools.
The use of AI technologies has been quite aggressive in today’s world. Many AI users have a major question: why do we need ServiceNow Now Assist when we already have Microsoft Copilot? Do one replace the other, or do they both work together, or do they work on different things?
In this blog, we answer all these questions and break down the important features, key differences, and use cases of both AI tools. Before that, let us understand what these platforms are.
What is ServiceNow Now Assist?
Now Assist is a native ServiceNow AI assistant designed to take action in the enterprise. It works across different workflows, such as resolving incidents, fulfilling service requests, summarizing, and creating automated multi-step processes. Now Assist works across ITSM, HRSD, CSM, FSM, and custom ServiceNow applications.
The core ServiceNow Now Assist features are:
- Summarization: Helps create short, crisp summaries of incident records, live chat histories, and post-call notes.
- Agentic Workflows: They identify problems, analyse trends, segregate issues, and generate resolution plans independently.
- Workflow Context: As it is native to ServiceNow, it understands the overall process of HRSD, ITSM, and CSM. No integration is required to work with business rules, approvals, and tickets in ServiceNow.
- Virtual Agent: Now Assist also helps answer employee or customer queries through simple, conversational searches.
What is Microsoft Copilot?
Microsoft Copilot is a personal and team productivity tool inside Microsoft 365. It helps users draft emails, create MOMs, and generate reports and documents. The tool is known to work across Outlook, Teams, Excel, SharePoint, and Power Platform.
The core Microsoft Copilot features are:
- Copilot Studio: Offers access to building conversational agents across Microsoft.
- Graph Connectors: Allows users to connect external data inside M365 search or chats.
- Integration: A strong connection is built with everyday tools users use daily.
- Copilot pages: These are interactive workspaces that help organize information and collaborate on different ideas.
Key Differences
The ServiceNow Now Assist vs. Microsoft Copilot can be better understood by knowing the core differences between the two.
| Differences | ServiceNow Now Assist | Microsoft Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Environment | Service portal, Now Mobile, Virtual Agent | Outlook, Teams, Excel, SharePoint, Word |
| Strengths | Action-driven for resolving tickets, completing requests, and managing workflows. | Productivity focused by summarizing, drafting, and generating different things. |
| Model | NowLLM, along with Azure OpenAI, Claude, or Gemini | Azure OpenAI models through Microsoft’s own stack |
| Who Builds Agent | ServiceNow admins/developers via AI Agent Studio, Workflow Studio, and Virtual Agent Designer | Power Platform makers/business users using Copilot Studio with Power Automate and Dataverse |
| Governance Model | Data stays inside ServiceNow by default. | Data is accessed through Microsoft Graph, M365, and Azure policies. |
| Licensing | Requires Now Assist licensing | Requires Microsoft 365 Copilot and/or Copilot Studio licensing |
As both ServiceNow Now Assist and Microsoft Copilot are AI platforms used for different purposes, they are now being used together in ServiceNow as Generative AI.
ServiceNow Now Assist Integration with Microsoft Copilot
As different AI platforms and competitors in the market, ServiceNow and Microsoft have formed a strategic alliance to integrate their AI tools. ServiceNow announced this integration in the Zurich release in October 2025, offering users Now Assist-powered self-services in Microsoft Copilot.
This integration has made it easier for employees to get help whenever and wherever they need. Customers gain access to Microsoft and ServiceNow’s generative AI capabilities to drive industry-led innovation.
Generative AI has the power to personalize experiences, improve decision-making, streamline workflows, and enhance innovation. The integration lets Copilot send requests to Now Assist in Microsoft Teams. People using Teams can use Copilot for:
- Access to the ServiceNow knowledge base.
- Requesting the service catalog through a conversational experience.
- Asking to chat with live agents.
Apart from this, the integration is also evident in Microsoft 365 graph connectors, Copilot Studio custom agents, and the Model Context Protocol. To access this and work with the integration, you need both Now Assist and Copilot 365 licenses.
Conclusion
ServiceNow Now Assist and Microsoft Copilot are different AI tools used for different processes in an enterprise. While ServiceNow AI helps organizations resolve tickets, execute processes, and fulfill requests, Microsoft Copilot helps with communication and creates reports and data summaries faster.
However, with the ServiceNow Zurich release in October 2025, both platforms have come together to enhance productivity and support the right use cases for scaling and improving data quality and governance. So, whether you choose the integrations to work with or use the AI tools separately, they are here to help you grow and provide better results.Â
Shrey Sharma is the Founder of S2 Labs and a 2019 Salesforce MVP. He's trained 50,000+ students into Salesforce careers and runs Salesforce Hulk, the largest Salesforce-focused YouTube community. He's been a featured speaker at Salesforce community events worldwide, and his mission with S2 Labs remains simple: real mentorship, hands-on projects, and a clear path from classroom to career.
