If AI is the Future, That Future is Already Here for ITSM

Artificial intelligence (AI) in IT service management (ITSM) has long been touted as the future of IT service delivery and support. It’s an unavoidable future, thanks to the benefits AI-enabled capabilities bring to ITSM and the ever-increasing challenges the corporate IT organization faces. However, all the talk of AI as the future of ITSM is now a little misguided. Not because it’s no longer something that will happen but because the AI-assisted future for ITSM is already here for many IT organizations.

This blog shares some recent insights about AI adoption in ITSM that show that the future of ITSM is already here.

This @SysAid blog shares some recent insights about #AI adoption in #ITSM that show that the future of ITSM is already here. #ArtificialIntelligence #Automation Share on X

Automation is still the leading ITSM trend for SysAid customers

Despite finding that employee experience has dramatically gone up in importance from 56% in 2022 to 73% in 2023, the SysAid 2023 State of Service Management Report, which collated the responses from over 1200 SysAid customers, showed that improving productivity with automation was still the highest scoring ITSM trend for 2023 at 76%. Additionally, using AI to predict and resolve issues more proactively jumped from 21% to 29%.

IT organizations are now ready for AI-powered ITSM capabilities, with generative AI solutions leading the way. For example:

• Virtual agents (often called chatbots)
• Email autoresponders 
• Real-time assistance for IT support staff
• Ticket summarization
• Writing assistance 
• Automated performance insights
• Sentiment analysis.

In addition to what we’re seeing with customers, the following statistics have helped to inform this view.

ITSM pros are already using free (and non-corporate) AI tools

Before considering how IT organizations already use the AI-enabled capabilities within their ITSM tools, it’s worth considering the following statistic. In a 2024 ITSM.tools Well-being in ITSM survey, 66% of respondents stated that they already use free AI tools such as ChatGPT to help with their work.

Viewed differently, this is two out of every three people in ITSM roles using AI – often generative AI – to improve their productivity and capabilities. It’s a massive uptake for AI in ITSM but a statistic that IT organizations should be wary of. 

66% of #servicedesk pros are already using free #AI tools such as #ChatGPT to help with their work. The IT organization needs to respond with corporate capabilities. #servicedesk #ITSM Share on X

The IT industry has already seen two decades of “shadow IT,” which started with devices and evolved to cloud applications. Now, the AI version is a risk for IT organizations. First, there are the security implications, which are probably the last thing a productivity-seeking employee will think of. Second, using non-corporate AI capabilities can’t help but raise expectations of what the IT organization should provide to employees.

ITSM pros are also using corporate AI capabilities 

The same survey also found that 36% of respondents already use corporate AI capabilities, i.e. one in three people in ITSM roles. This could be various use cases. For example, it could be the AI capabilities within the corporate ITSM tool or an enterprise-created ITSM offering that leverages AI. The survey respondents could also be using multiple AI-enabled capabilities.

This figure is expected to grow rapidly in 2024, with circa three-quarters of ITSM tools having already added some form of AI capabilities, according to ITSM.tools 2023 AI Adoption in ITSM survey. 

Making use of AI-enabled capabilities for #ITSM is no longer 'the future' says @SysAid. It's very much the present and you should be starting to look at #AI options for your #servicedesk. Share on X

What’s stopping corporate AI adoption in ITSM?

The delta between the ITSM pro use of free AI tools and corporate AI capabilities is significant. Given the time and resource investment required to get tailored ITSM capabilities (versus the generic use cases offered by free AI tools), it might not be surprising. However, the size of the delta might be.

To understand the delays in AI adoption, the ITSM.tools 2023 AI adoption data inquired about the main AI challenges holding back corporate initiatives. The four highest-scoring obstacles were found to be:

• Lack of skilled people (57%)
• Competing priorities for resources (44%)
• Legacy IT issues (43%)
• Employee resistance to change (40%).

These are likely relevant to your organization’s current and future AI adoption in ITSM initiatives.

Intelligent workflow #automation, Chatbots, and AI-powered Copilots are the top three #AI in #ITSM use cases. How are you using AI in your organization? #servicedesk Share on X

One challenge omitted from the survey options was knowing where best to start with AI adoption in ITSM, with factors such as costs, risks, benefits, capability maturity, etc. all playing their part in this decision-making. While every IT organization will have its own unique set of drivers and challenges,

How AI is already helping with IT service delivery and support

The AI adoption in ITSM survey found the top three AI in ITSM use cases to be:

• Intelligent workflow automation – for example, Copilots that support incident and service request management from the work intake to ticket closure.
• Virtual assistants for employees (what many would call “chatbots”) – that offer speedy help services even when the IT service desk is closed.
• Virtual assistants for staff – in particular, the augmentation of IT service desk agent knowledge and skills with AI-powered Copilots. While many people will see this as providing relevant ITSM knowledge when needed, the opportunity is far broader. It also includes the opportunity to personalize service and invoke automation or service orchestration capabilities as required.

Hopefully, this blog has you thinking about how your IT organization should be using AI-enabled capabilities for ITSM. Such capabilities are no longer the future of ITSM. Instead, they are already it’s present. If you want to learn more about how Copilots will help with your organization’s IT service delivery and support, take a look at SysAid in action.

You can view the quoted survey here: ITSM.tools 2023 AI Adoption in ITSM survey