ServiceNow’s AI control tower offers hazy view of spend

IT budgeting has gotten a lot trickier as vendors begin to adjust their pricing to include variable charges for agentic AI usage in addition to seat-based licensing fees. A case in point is the licensing model for ServiceNow, which has introduced usage-based pricing for its AI components. As part of its AI transformation , the company last week announced Action Fabric, part of its AI Control Tower, which meters agent usage measured in “assists” and charges for it on top of customers’ subscription fees. Customers receive a set number of assists with their subscription and can choose to pay for more if they need them, said ServiceNow COO Amit Zavery . The number of assists used in any given agentic interaction varies, however, making it difficult for users to predict their usage, and therefore their bills. This model is no surprise to industry watchers. “As AI agents begin to move into the heart of the enterprise, we’re moving beyond the age of SaaS into a far more granular era where eve