Breaking Down the Mystery Behind ServiceNow Now Assist: Understanding Consumption-Based Licensing

ServiceNow let the numbers do the talking on its latest Q2 earnings call. According to President and CFO, Gina Mastantuono, “Q2 was a spectacular quarter across the board, as we significantly beat the high end of our guidance across all topline and profitability metrics.”

Amid these wins, Now Assist AI continues to deliver standout performance quarter-over-quarter, advancing CEO Bill McDermott’s vision of making ServiceNow synonymous with enterprise AI.

Despite pushing for increased adoption, ServiceNow maintains mystery around the mechanics behind Now Assist licensing. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for customers to fully understand what they are committing to and the potential costs over the long term.

In this blog, we will cover what licensing questions customers should be posing during Now Assist negotiations and how to leverage ServiceNow’s motivations to obtain full deal transparency.

Key Questions for ServiceNow Now Assist Customers:

Across the SaaS industry, vendors are shifting towards consumption-based licensing for AI solutions. As covered in our guide to Now Assist negotiations, ServiceNow is no exception, leaning on a combination of both user and usage-based fees.

Unsurprisingly, very little information on the consumption-based portion of Now Assist licensing is addressed in the vendor’s standard order form terms. This “gap” should pose a red flag to customers, providing little transparency into what their Now Assist fees could look like over the long term.

To mitigate the risk of the unknown, customers must pose key questions to ServiceNow when exploring a Now Assist adoption to ensure full license transparency and cost-certainty:

1. What is an “Assist”?

Before diving into negotiations, it is important to take the time to understand the basics of the Now Assist licensing model.

According to ServiceNow’s official definition, an assist is “a unit to measure usage of Now Assist skills via performed skill actions… Users of Now Assist will generate an assist(s) when they execute a given Now Assist skill either as a skill action, or through the combination of multiple skill actions.” In short, an assist is the consumption-based component buried within Now Assist user licensing.

As customers assess interest in Now Assist, they should not be afraid to push ServiceNow to give detailed, written explanations of the product licensing model. This includes the most up to date definition of an “assist” and examples of actions that consume assists. ServiceNow should be willing to provide this information upon request to encourage Now Assist adoption.

Key Call Out: Examples should be relevant to the specific Now Assist offerings being considered by your organization (i.e., ITSM, CSM, HRSD, etc.)

Requesting definitions and product details early on in Now Assist discussions will not only ensure that your business has the background necessary to make informed decisions, but also set the expectation of full transparency through the remainder of negotiations.

2. What will my Consumption Look Like? How Can I Project for the Future?

While ServiceNow publishes high-level descriptions of “Now Assist Actions” and associated quantities of “Assists Consumed,” the onus largely falls onto customers when it comes to predicting assist consumption. The combination of generic information and a complex licensing model raises red flags for Now Assist customers on tight budgets, leaving them vulnerable to unexpected and escalating costs.

Our recommendation is to hold ServiceNow accountable for providing product transparency in the form of workshops and demo sessions with Now Assist experts. Customers can, and should, control the conversation by sharing detailed agendas with ServiceNow ahead of time to ensure a productive discussion. This should include topics like assist management and reporting.

What ServiceNow Needs to Hear:  Long-term cost predictability is a requirement for any potential product adoptions. If ServiceNow wants to grow their Now Assist customer base, they must provide your organization with the proper information and tools to stay on top of assist consumption. Otherwise, Now Assist may be a no-go.

3. How are Assists Priced? What will my Consumption-Based Fees Look Like?

Each Now Assist user is granted a fixed annual allotment of assists at no cost. Once that allotment is exhausted, customers must purchase additional assist packs for an added fee.

As expected, ServiceNow’s standard order form offers no transparency into how those additional assists are priced over the course of the contract. What is clear, however, is that consumption is on the rise: according to ServiceNow’s Q2 earnings call, usage of Now Assist grew 9X between January and June 2025.

This raises some urgent questions: How many customers expected their usage to grow so rapidly? How many budgeted for growing fees during the order form term?

Our Recommendation: Get ahead of the red flag. Request order form language that outlines how any additional fees will be determined once your organization consumes all assists included in your base Now Assist licensing. Compelling add-on rates should reward increased consumption in the form of a tiered pricing table.

The Bottom Line

Consumption-based licensing can be a black hole, but it doesn’t have to be. By leveraging ServiceNow’s motivation to secure greater Now Assist commitments, customers can save themselves from unchecked, growing consumption-based fees.

Consumption-based licensing doesn’t have to be a black hole. Our ServiceNow Advisory Practicehelps customers turn uncertainty into clarity, ensuring cost predictability and stronger negotiation outcomes.