From 12 weeks to 4 days: Simplifying ServiceNow upgrades with Agentic AI

Upgrading ServiceNow can feel like a massive job. Manual testing, endless documentation, and repetitive approvals often stretching to 12 weeks or more. But Agentic AI is changing that reality. NTT Data saw a 47x ROI with upgrades being completed in less than 4 days with AutomatePro. 

In a recent interview Paul Chorley (CEO & Co-Founder) and Chris Pope (Chief Product Officer) explored how AI is reshaping the upgrade process, freeing up teams, and unlocking new ways of working. As Chris says “AutomatePro gives back to the platform and the platform owner and sort of frees up their time, their effort and the skills and the resources that they need to do.” 

AI that works with you 

One of the biggest advantages of Agentic AI is its ability to adapt. It doesn’t just automate tasks, it learns how you work and adapts to your style. As Chris explained“it kind of is conscious of the way I work. It’s probably different to the way you work, right? It learns the things that I commonly do and helps augment them.”  That’s the difference between traditional automation and AI. Instead of rigid scripts, the system evolves finding patterns, filling gaps and making your workflow smoother.

Unlike humans, AI doesn’t get tired, doesn’t need time off, and doesn’t bring personal biases into the process.  Chris explained that “it can do these things continually and bring new skills to me that maybe I didn’t know to even go and look for in the first place.” This continuous learning capability means that AI becomes more valuable over time, discovering connections and opportunities that teams might miss. It is not just about doing tasks faster. It is about uncovering possibilities you didn’t know existed.

Requirements matter 

To get the best out of your Agentic AI experience it needs a clear foundation. As Paul said “everything stems from the requirements. And it flows all the way through the system. So, if you get the requirement right, then everything becomes easier.” The impact of well-defined requirements is huge! Once the AI understands what’s needed, it can generate: 

• Tests that cover real scenarios 

• Documentation that stays up to date 

• Training videos and knowledge articles 

Clear requirements lead to smarter outputs. This is especially powerful for highly regulated industries where documentation compliance isn’t optional—it’s mandatory. The AI ensures nothing falls through the cracks while maintaining the audit trails that regulatory bodies demand.

Process Owners: Break away from testing and documentation 

Testing and documentation are vital for every upgrade. But for Process Owners, they are rarely the parts of the job that are exciting. “There may be hundreds and hundreds of Process Owners that need to sign off an upgrade, for example. And their day job is not doing testing, it is running the business.” This highlights why Agentic AI is such a game changer. It removes the burden of repetitive testing so process owners can focus on running the business instead of drowning in admin.

Instead of managing every detail, process owners now only need to provide a quick review. As Chris explained “there’s still an element of trust and validation, like with any AI response. If it gets you 90% of the way, then someone just says, yep, quick check, it looks good, screenshots are good, it represents the process, I’m happy. Versus oh my goodness, I’ve got 300 of these things to get through. This is impossible.” This transformation in workload management is psychological as much as it is practical. When Process Owners see manageable tasks instead of overwhelming mountains of work, they’re more likely to engage positively with the upgrade process. The result is better collaboration between IT and business teams.

Start early 

The message from Chris and Paul is clear: Don’t wait. Start early, and Agentic AI can be “a force multiplier on day one because you actually set the way of working immediately.” In other words, the earlier you integrate AI into the process, the faster it begins to show results. You will see a complete transformation of the ServiceNow upgrade cycle. “We’ve gone from that classic two month, three month upgrade cycle, you freeze development ’cause you’ve gotta do this and you’ve gotta do that, let’s get it down to a week.” Imagine the competitive advantage of adopting new ServiceNow features within days of their release.

The future of ServiceNow upgrades 

The impact is undeniable. NTT Data has seen testing and documentation cycles shrink so dramatically that ServiceNow upgrades dropped from 12 weeks to less than 4 days delivering a ROI of 4700%. These aren’t just impressive numbers. They demonstrate what’s possible when organisations rethink ServiceNow upgrades. When upgrades become routine rather than major disruptions, businesses can stay current with ServiceNow’s latest features and security updates without the traditional project delays.

ServiceNow upgrades do not have to be disruptive, exhausting projects. With clear requirements as the foundation, Agentic AI helps teams gain clarity, Process Owners escape the burden of testing and documentation, and IT leaders can deliver quality at speed. From 12 weeks to 4 days, the future of ServiceNow upgrades is here. And whether you’re just beginning your ServiceNow journey or already well along the path, it’s never too late to start. 

Watch the full interview here From Manual to Automated: How AutomatePro Frees Platform Owners