Now Assist for Software Asset Management (SAM) AI agent collection to help manage software asset request agentic workflow

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 6 minutes to read
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    Summary of Now Assist for Software Asset Management (SAM) AI Agent Collection

    The Now Assist for Software Asset Management (SAM) AI agent collection streamlines the fulfillment of software asset requests by automating entitlement allocation or purchase order creation. This agentic workflow accelerates request resolution, enhances operational efficiency, and improves user satisfaction by managing software sourcing intelligently within ServiceNow.

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    To utilize this workflow, the Procurement and Now Assist for SAM plugins must be installed. Additionally, Microsoft 365 license assignments require the Software Asset Management - SaaS License Management application and an active Microsoft 365 integration.

    Key Features

    • Supported Software Request Types:
      • User-based entitlement allocations
      • Device-based entitlement allocations, with device selection prompts if multiple devices exist
      • Purchase order creation when no entitlements are available
    • Automatic Workflow Trigger Conditions:
      • Requested item is approved, belongs to software category, is not yet sourced, and has a non-empty Assigned to field
      • Supports both Azure OpenAI Service and Now LLM Service for AI processing
    • Activation and Usage:
      • Manual one-time activation via AI Agent Studio is required to enable automatic triggering
      • Software asset requests are created and approved through the Service Catalog, with default auto-approval for requests under $1,000
      • Procurement users assign requests for sourcing within the Asset or Hardware Asset Workspace and receive Now Assist panel notifications
      • AI agents request user input as needed during fulfillment
    • Microsoft 365 License Assignment:
      • Detects Microsoft 365 subscription requests and assigns licenses based on availability
      • Checks group-based licenses in Microsoft Entra ID groups and prompts user selection if multiple groups exist
      • Falls back on individual license assignment or creates reservation orders when licenses are unavailable
      • Creates catalog tasks to manage entitlement creation or reservation replication within ServiceNow
      • License assignments are verified during subsequent data syncs with Microsoft 365
    • Roles and Access:
      • Roles such as itil, procurementuser, and nowassistpaneluser govern access to the Now Assist panel and fulfillment capabilities
      • Role requirements vary depending on installed Now Assist store applications

    AI Agents Involved

    • Software Entitlement Allocation AI Agent: Validates requests and allocates licenses from inventory using the request item number (RITM).
    • Purchase Order Creation AI Agent: Creates purchase orders when entitlements are unavailable, interacting with users to select options like stockrooms and vendors.
    • Microsoft License Assignment AI Agent: Manages Microsoft 365 license assignments by checking group and individual license availability, creating reservation orders if needed.

    Practical Outcomes for ServiceNow Customers

    By implementing the Now Assist for SAM AI agent collection, customers can expect:

    • Reduced manual effort in software request fulfillment through automated entitlement allocation and purchase order generation
    • Faster resolution times and improved operational efficiency in software asset sourcing
    • Enhanced user satisfaction due to timely and accurate license management, including complex Microsoft 365 license assignments
    • Clear visibility into license allocations via the AI Activity log within the Software Asset Workspace

    This solution enables ServiceNow customers to optimize software asset management workflows, ensuring compliance and cost-effectiveness while leveraging AI-driven automation.

    Use the Help manage software request agentic workflow to fulfill a software request by either allocating the available entitlements or generating a purchase order for the software model.

    Help manage software request overview

    Use the Help manage software request agentic workflow to automate software asset sourcing through auto allocation or purchase order creation. The Help manage software request AI agents enable faster request resolution, improved operational efficiency, and boost user satisfaction.

    To use the Help manage software request agentic workflow, the Procurement (com.snc.procurement) plugin needs to be installed along with the Now Assist for SAM (sn_now_assist_sam) plugin. To use the Microsoft license assignment AI agent for Microsoft 365 allocations, the Software Asset Management - SaaS License Management store application must be installed and an active Microsoft 365 integration must be configured in your instance.

    The following three scenarios are supported for software requests:
    • User based allocations: a user requests a software model with user-based entitlements.
    • Device based allocations: a user requests a software model with device-based entitlements.

      When a user who has requested the software has multiple devices assigned to them, the agent will ask the fulfiller to select one of the user's devices for the allocation process. If the device is not assigned to the requested item number user during the software fulfillment, then a message appears in the Now Assist panel chat stating that the user has no devices associated. The user needs to associate a device and try again. If the device is assigned after this, then the fulfiller user should initiate a new Now Assist panel chat and provide an utterance in Now Assist panel to fulfill the requested item number, rather than using the existing Now Assist panel chat.

    • Purchase order flow: if no entitlements are available, a purchase order is created.
    The Help manage software request agentic workflow needs the following conditions to execute. Once these conditions are met, the agentic workflow is automatically triggered.
    • The requested item is approved.
    • The requested item belongs to a software category.
    • The requested item is not sourced.
    • The Assigned to field in the Requested item [sc-req item] table is not empty.

    The Help manage software request agentic workflow supports both Azure OpenAI Service and Now LLM Service.

    Help manage software request agentic workflow

    By automating the sourcing of software assets through auto-allocation or purchase order creation, the agentic workflow speeds up request resolution and boost operational efficiency.

    A one-time manual activation is required before the Help manage software request workflow can run automatically. To activate the workflow:
    1. Navigate to the AI Agent Studio and select the Help Manage Software Request agentic workflow.
    2. Select Add triggers.
    3. Select the Help manage software request link, in the Name column.
    4. In the Edit a trigger dialog box, toggle the trigger status from Off to On.
    5. Save your changes. The status of the Help manage software request agentic workflow changes from Inactive to Active
    To automatically trigger the Help manage software request workflow for sourcing software requests, follow these steps:
    1. Initiate and approve a software asset request:
      1. A user with any role creates a software asset request in the Service Catalog application.
      2. If the requested items in the cart amount to a thousand dollars, the request is automatically approved. For amounts more than a thousand dollars, the request needs to be approved. Auto approval rules can differ from organization to organization; the default amount for auto approval is a thousand dollars.
    2. Assign the software asset request for sourcing:
      1. Once the request is approved, the procurement_user role, navigates to the Procurement module that resides in the Asset Workspace. If the Hardware Asset Management application is installed, the name of the workspace changes to Hardware Asset Workspace.
      2. The procurement_user role selects the Items tab in the Procurement module and selects a value in the Assigned to field for the requested item.
        Note:
        The itil, the procurement_user, and the now_assist_panel_user roles have access to the Now Assist panel. The fulfiller needs the itil and procurement_user roles if you have the Now Assist for IT Service Management (ITSM) store application installed. If you have the Now Assist for Software Asset Management (SAM) store application but not the Now Assist for IT Service Management (ITSM) store application, then the fulfiller requires the itil, procurement_user, and now_assist_panel_user roles to fulfill the request via the Now Assist panel trigger.

      The procurement_user role gets notified in the Now Assist panel that the software request is getting fulfilled.

      Once the software asset request is assigned, the Help manage software request agentic workflow gets triggered to source the request.
      • If entitlements are available for the software request, allocations are automatically made.
      • If entitlements aren’t available, a purchase order is generated. The AI agents take inputs and confirmation from you when needed.
    3. Assign Microsoft 365 licenses based on availability:

      If the requested item is identified as a Microsoft 365 subscription software, the Microsoft license assignment AI agent gets triggered. The AI agent checks for license availability, assigns available licenses to users, and creates a reservation order if there are no available licenses.

      The AI agent verifies if there are available licenses for the requested item on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
      1. If the licenses are available, the AI agent then checks whether group licenses are available for the requested item.
        • If licenses assigned to Microsoft Entra ID groups are available, then the AI agent checks for single or multiple groups.
          • If there are multiple groups, the AI agent prompts the user to select a Microsoft Entra ID group. The user gets assigned to the selected group and the license gets assigned to the user.
          • If there's a single group, the AI agent assigns the user to that group, and the license gets assigned to the user.
        • If licenses assigned to Microsoft Entra ID groups aren’t available, the AI agent proceeds to check for individual license availability. If individual licenses are available, the AI agent assigns the user to the license in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. The license assignment is verified at the next user subscription data pull through the Microsoft 365 integration.
      2. If the licenses aren't available, the AI agent checks for available entitlements.
        • If the entitlement is available, the AI agent creates a reservation order using the existing entitlement and generates a catalog task to replicate that reservation within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
        • If the entitlement isn’t available, the AI agent generates a catalog task to create entitlement in ServiceNow.

    To view the licenses allocated by the agentic workflow, navigate to the AI Activity log in the Activity center of the Software Asset Workspace. Select the Licenses allocated link in the AI Activity log to open the Procurement request items page in the Asset Workspace or the Hardware Asset Workspace.

    AI agents used in the Help manage software asset requests agentic workflow

    The Help manage software request agentic workflow uses the following AI agents to execute instructions.

    Table 1. AI agents and their role in the Help manage software request agentic workflow
    AI agent AI agent role
    Software entitlement allocation AI agent Validates software license requests and allocates licenses from existing inventory when available, using the request item number (RITM).
    Purchase order creation AI agent

    Sources a request item by creating a purchase order. Asks for inputs sequentially and takes user input in case there are multiple options such as with stockrooms, vendors, metric group, or license metrics.
    Microsoft license assignment AI agent Assigns a Microsoft 365 license from the existing inventory when available, using the RITM.

    The AI agent checks for both group and individual licenses. If the licenses aren't available, the AI agent creates a reservation order.