What ITSM Professionals Need to Know About GenAI Capabilities

The IT service management (ITSM) world is consistently awash with trends related to new ITSM thinking and technology. Unfortunately, these trends often take a long time before they become mainstream in ITSM. However, generative AI (GenAI) is the exception. This has accelerated the existing ITSM interest in AI capabilities, with the most technology-capable ITSM tool vendors and their customers adopting new GenAI capabilities at an unprecedented rate in the history of ITSM evolution.

This blog covers much of what ITSM professionals want and need to know about how GenAI is changing the ITSM landscape – from what it is to how organizations already benefit from it.

This blog looks at what #ITSM professionals want and need to know about how #GenAI is changing the ITSM landscape – from what it is to how organizations already benefit from it. Share on X

ChatGPT played a big part in GenAI’s accelerated growth

Before getting into how GenAI is already helping organizations with “better, faster, cheaper” IT operations and outcomes, it’s worth understanding the drivers for the rapid adoption of GenAI capabilities for ITSM.

Before 2023, ChatGPT was relatively unknown, even though OpenAI introduced GPT-1 in 2018 and GPT-2 in 2019. The critical mass happened once ChatGPT was made public in November 2022 as a version of GPT-3.5. It allegedly achieved 100 million users within two months and was getting 2 billion monthly visits at its peak in April 2024.

More importantly than these numbers, ChatGPT did something for GenAI that technology doesn’t usually achieve. The global media brought the opportunity of GenAI to company board attention worldwide and raised GenAI up business to-do lists, including those of IT and ITSM leaders.

GenAI allows your IT organization to improve its IT service delivery and support capabilities. In particular, it offers native support experiences (rather than requiring end-users to search for support), 24×7 availability, speedier responses to end-user issues and needs, and the ability to scale IT capabilities without a corresponding uplift in staff numbers and costs.

From 24×7 availability, speedier responses to end-user issues and needs, and the ability to scale IT capabilities without a corresponding uplift in staff numbers and costs, here's how #GenAI can help your #ITSM offering. Share on X

What GenAI is and how it works

A key piece of knowledge for ITSM pros is the difference between traditional AI and GenAI. While traditional AI capabilities employ algorithms and models designed for specific tasks, GenAI capabilities employ models and algorithms to generate new data or content. These outputs are generated via algorithms that learn patterns and relationships in the input (training) data and use the learned patterns to create new data or content.

GenAI systems employ advanced neural network architectures. For example, the transformer-based model that’s used for ChatGPT. Here, ChatGPT uses large language models (LLMs) to learn linguistic structures, patterns, and facts to generate human-like text. In delivering a response, it predicts the next word in a sequence relative to the input prompt using what it learned.

The term Copilot has been adopted to describe using GenAI capabilities through assistive technologies. For example, SysAid offers a Copilot for Agents and a Copilot for End Users.

How GenAI is being embedded into ITSM tools

GenAI capabilities have been rapidly added to some ITSM tools, including SysAid ITSM. Example GenAI capabilities that are already available to customers include:

• GenAI-assisted workflow automation. A good example is IT service desk ticket triage, where a GenAI Copilot automatically classifies, prioritizes, and routes tickets to the right resolution group. GenAI can also offer a solution for some issues and requests.
• Self-service simplification. GenAI-powered chatbots handle basic requests like troubleshooting connectivity issues or guiding software updates, empowering users to resolve common problems independently. These chatbots can be embedded within work collaboration systems such as Microsoft Teams.
• Judgment-free assistance. Create a safe space for users to ask questions they may feel embarrassed to pose to human agents, such as “How do I reset my email signature?”
• Focused content creation. For example, creating ticket summaries, drafting knowledge articles for human verification, and composing contextual email responses to end-users.
• Employee augmentation. Augment IT service desk agent knowledge, skills, and experience. The GenAI capabilities serve up real-time recommendations (knowledge and actions) to the agents to help speed up ticket resolution and effectiveness.
• Better performance management capabilities. Provide regular automated updates to IT leadership and service and support staff on team and individual performance relative to agreed targets.
• Automated device health checks. Track endpoints and undertake diagnostics to identify and potentially address end-user device issues.
• Automated incident clustering that exposes new insights. For example, the GenAI capabilities automatically correlate similar incidents to identify problems that might otherwise go unnoticed.
• GenAI escalation management. Predict whether incidents or requests will breach their SLA targets, escalating such tickets to appropriate personnel.
• Actionable analytics. Provide insights such as performance predictions, improvement recommendations, and service level agreement (SLA) breach forecasts, ensuring proactive incident management.

While these examples might be viewed as opportunities for better outcomes and faster operations, GenAI capabilities can also lower operational costs.

While #GenAI is often sold as providing opportunities for better outcomes and faster operations, GenAI capabilities can also lower operational costs. Here's how. #ITSM #servicedesk Share on X

What ITSM professionals need to do to get started with ITSM GenAI capabilities

The availability of these GenAI capabilities is all well and good. However, ITSM professionals must ensure they and their peers are suitably prepared for adoption and use.

Activities to consider in doing this include:

• Sell the opportunities of GenAI. Educate people on how GenAI will enhance ITSM capabilities (such as the opportunities outlined above) and that they will help across “better, faster, cheaper” IT operations and business outcomes.
• Understand your current opportunities. Assess the GenAI capabilities available in the current corporate ITSM tool or platform. As I’ve said before, not all ITSM tools are born the same – with GenAI capabilities a new differentiator.
• Focus on value. Identify and prioritize the areas where GenAI can bring the most value to ITSM operations and outcomes. This is key regarding time to value and gaining buy-in from end-users through demonstratable benefits.
• Implement governance and ethical standards. Ensure that GenAI models are transparent and auditable and reduce the risks of bias or non-compliance with regulations. Data security and privacy experts will also need to be involved.
• Start small. Run GenAI pilot projects to test its effectiveness – with feedback loops used to improve incrementally. These pilots help refine the GenAI implementations, prove the benefits, and help ensure smooth integration with existing workflows.
• Provide suitable training. People must know how to interact with GenAI systems – from interpreting AI-generated data to implementing offered recommendations. They must also know the limitations and the potential for issues.

To learn more about the GenAI opportunities in ITSM, take a look at our SysAid Copilot solution.