9 Top benefits of AI service management

AI being used in service management is inevitable.

In fact, according to our yearly 'State of AI in IT report', 89% of respondents have either already adopted AI or are planning to do so, recognizing the importance of AI.

Moreover, the influx of generative AI has unlocked endless possibilities for IT automation and optimization. As per McKinsey Research, generative AI has the potential to automate tasks that suck 60 to 70% of employees’ time.

However, business leaders show reasonable scepticism over the governance, compliance, and security risks associated with leveraging Gen AI in IT. Our word of advice here–the pros definitely outweigh the cons of AI service management.

In this article, we explore the concept of AI ITSM and look at specific outcomes organizations can achieve by leveraging AI for IT support.

What is AI Service Management?

Simply put, AI Service Management, or AI in ITSM or AISM, integrates artificial intelligence technologies into ‘traditional’ IT service management processes and tools.

It involves leveraging AI capabilities such as machine learning, natural language processing, and predictive analytics to enhance various aspects of IT service delivery, from incident management to knowledge management.

The important point to note is that AI in ITSM goes beyond simple automation.

It really brings ‘intelligence and understanding’ to ITSM processes.

Now, what does that mean?

Systems have better context of the organization and its people; they can learn from past incidents, predict future issues, and provide more personalized and efficient support to end-users.

This translates to IT teams having the luxury of time to work on the ‘harder’ problems that truly deserve their attention instead of working on simple L1 issues that drain away time and resources. IT teams can now deliver proactive service, fundamentally transforming the ITSM landscape.

Why Gen AI an Important Shift for ITSM?

Getting employees to adopt ITSM portals has always been a challenge. Self-service portals were designed to empower users, but they often ended up being more of a hindrance than a help. Frustrated employees would frequently bypass these tools, leading to lost time and resources–ultimately reducing operational efficiency.

Tackling this issue calls for a fresh approach; being more user-centric and not portal-centric.

Generative AI will start a new chapter on how information is served to end-users. People want everything instantly these days, and this applies to having their questions answered or issues resolved. Having the technology to enable this 24X7 will be a game changer for many support teams, freeing up their time to be more productive in other areas. Syachfri Tjhia, Head of IT at Catalyst Education

Generative AI can unlock a smoother, more intuitive support experience for employees and help you tackle the following challenges.

1. Increasing complexity of IT environments: As IT infrastructures become more complex and distributed, traditional ITSM approaches struggle to keep up. AI can help manage this complexity by quickly analyzing vast amounts of data and identifying patterns humans might miss.

2. Rising user expectations: Employees expect quick, efficient, and contextual IT support. AI can help meet these expectations by providing instant responses and tailored solutions.

3. Need for cost efficiency: ‘Do more with less’ has become the mantra for most organizations; as expected, IT budgets are under scrutiny, too. AI can help organizations do exactly that by automating routine tasks and optimizing resource allocation.

4. Rise of self-learning systems: Traditional ITSM systems often rely on static, keyword-driven approaches that require constant manual updates. AI-enhanced modern service management systems are adaptive and self-learning, allowing them to stay current with evolving technologies and user needs without extensive manual intervention.

Benefits of AI in ITSM

Integrating AI into ITSM brings numerous benefits that can significantly improve service quality, efficiency, and user satisfaction.

1. Enhanced data analytics and insights

In the era of big data, making sense of vast amounts of information is crucial for effective decision-making. AI excels in this area, with 45% of IT professionals citing ‘Data analytics and synthesizing insights’ as a top benefit of AI adoption in IT, according to the State of AI in IT report.

AI-powered analytics can process and analyze historical data at a scale and speed impossible for humans, identifying subtle trends and patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.

This capability enables IT teams and leaders to predict potential issues, understand the root causes of recurring problems, allocate resources, optimize processes, and make data-driven decisions for continual service improvement.

2. Improved self-service and user experience

AI is pushing the possibilities of self-service capabilities, with 38% of IT professionals recognizing ‘Chatbots for self-service adoption’ as a key benefit of AI in IT.

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide 24/7 support, instantly answering common queries and guiding users through simple troubleshooting steps. This aligns perfectly with user expectations, as 30% of surveyed users desire round-the-clock IT support.

What sets AI self-service apart is their intent-driven and adaptive approach. For example, instead of relying on exact keyword matches, an AI assistant can understand that a user asking “Can't log in” and another saying “Password not working” are the same issue, providing appropriate solutions without needing separate configurations for each phrase.

These systems learn from help desk history and ongoing interactions, allowing them to stay current without dedicated content reviews and manual knowledge base updates. This enhances the user experience by providing quick, accurate responses and significantly reduces the workload on IT support teams.  

US-based safety gloves maker Ammex Corp achieved 65% end-user query deflection by adopting our AI-powered assistant.

3. Faster incident resolution

When IT issues arise, time is of the essence.

AI is transforming incident management by automating critical steps in the resolution process. Through advanced machine learning algorithms, AI can accurately categorize and prioritize incidents as they come in, ensuring that critical issues receive immediate attention.

Depending on expertise and availability, it can then intelligently route these incidents to the most appropriate team or individual. AI goes beyond simple routing by offering smart ticket summarization and incident clustering capabilities.

It can generate concise summaries of lengthy ticket threads, providing managers and supervisors with quick insights into ongoing issues without the need to read through entire conversations.

By identifying patterns in incoming tickets, AI can cluster related incidents, helping IT teams recognize widespread issues or potential problems before they escalate. This AI-assisted approach significantly reduces mean time to resolution (MTTR), minimizing downtime and its associated costs.

4. Proactive problem management

With AI, reactive problem-solving will be a thing of the past.

AI enables a shift towards proactive problem management by analyzing patterns in incident data to identify recurring issues and predict potential problems before they impact users.

This proactive approach significantly reduces downtime, improves service reliability, and enhances user satisfaction. Moreover, by identifying trends in incident data, AI can help IT teams understand the root causes of persistent issues, enabling them to implement long-term solutions.

This shift from reactive to proactive management improves service quality, reduces stress on IT staff, and allows them to focus on strategic initiatives rather than constant firefighting.

5. Workflow automation and process optimization

Streamlining processes and automating workflows are crucial for maintaining efficiency and meeting growing demands. AI excels in this area by analyzing complex operational patterns and identifying opportunities for enterprise workflow automation and optimization.

34% of IT professionals in the survey pointed out ‘workflow automation and optimization’ as a key benefit of AI adoption.

‍AI can automate routine tasks, streamline complex processes, and optimize workflows based on historical data and real-time conditions.

For instance, it can automate the categorization and routing of incoming tickets, ensuring that issues are directed to the appropriate teams without manual intervention. AI can quickly identify affected assets across the organization when an incident occurs, allowing for more efficient problem-solving.

6. Personalized user support

In an era where personalization is everything, AI enables IT support to tailor its services to individual user needs and preferences.

AI-enhanced processes are context-aware and enriched with information about employees' devices and software, leading to more relevant answers and higher user satisfaction.

For example, when a user reports a VPN issue, the AI can consider the user's role, device, and recent system changes to offer a tailored solution. This level of personalization improves the user experience and increases the likelihood of successful self-service, reducing the burden on IT support staff.

The importance of this benefit is reflected in the above-mentioned survey, where 34% of IT professionals said that ‘Improving employee experience’ is a major advantage of AI in IT.

7. Continuous learning and knowledge management

One of AI's most powerful features in ITSM is its ability to learn and improve continuously. Unlike traditional static systems, AI can analyze the outcomes of every incident, solution, and user interaction, constantly refining its knowledge base and decision-making processes.

This continuous learning ensures that the IT support system becomes more intelligent and effective over time, adapting to new technologies, evolving user needs, and changing business requirements.

For IT teams, this means having access to an ever-expanding, always up-to-date knowledge base that can suggest solutions based on the latest information and best practices. This leads to more consistent service quality and significantly reduces the time and effort required to onboard new IT staff, as they can leverage the AI system's accumulated knowledge.

Moreover, by capturing and codifying the expertise of experienced staff, AI helps organizations retain critical knowledge even as team members change, ensuring continuity and consistency in service delivery.

8. Cost reduction

While the initial investment in AI technology can be significant, the long-term cost savings are substantial. By automating routine tasks, improving efficiency, and reducing errors, AI can help organizations significantly reduce operational costs in their IT departments.

This is particularly crucial given that 39% of IT professionals cited ‘additional cost’ as a barrier to AI adoption, highlighting the need for cost-effective AI solutions. The cost benefits of AI in ITSM are multifaceted.

For instance, consider password reset requests, a common and time-consuming task for IT support.

In a company with 1,000 employees, each raising at least one password reset ticket annually, automating just this task alone could save around $100,000 annually.

When applied across multiple processes, the cumulative effect of AI automation can result in substantial savings and multi-fold cost recovery, freeing IT teams to focus on more strategic initiatives while improving employee satisfaction and organizational agility.

9. Advanced data processing and decision support

AI can process unstructured data quickly and accurately, a capability traditional workflows lack. With AI assistance, it supports human decision-making, reducing the need for manual oversight, facilitating change, and increasing competitiveness.

For example, AI can extract relevant information from unstructured documents (like purchase orders) and automatically send it to other systems, streamlining processes that previously required manual data entry.

This advanced data processing capability, combined with AI's ability to provide decision support, enables IT teams to make more informed decisions faster, improving overall service quality and organizational responsiveness.

Conclusion

AI in ITSM represents a significant leap forward in managing and delivering IT services.

The benefits of AI in ITSM are wide-ranging, from improved data analytics and self-service capabilities to faster incident resolution and proactive problem management.

By leveraging AI in ITSM, organizations can significantly improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance employee and agent experiences, paving the way for a more responsive, agile, and effective IT service management.