This role owns the roadmap for ServiceNow automation and AI implementation, with a primary objective of deflecting & achieving automation around L1 helpdesk volume by eliminating routine support demand rather than simply accelerating existing processes. The role is built around three pillars: roadmap ownership and prioritization, data-driven automation and continuous improvement, and vendor partnership with knowledge transfer and stakeholder enablement. The Product Owner verifies Product capability against vendor claims, recommends vendor and partner decisions for leadership approval, and works alongside existing ServiceNow developers, architects, and QA staff to translate the roadmap into implementation, without duplicating their hands-on build work.

Pillar 1: Roadmap Ownership and Prioritization

The Product Owner owns the roadmap and prioritization logic for automation and AI initiatives across ITSM, sequencing deflection work ahead of post-creation automation and ensuring the roadmap reflects a clear line of sight from baseline data to deployed capability.

• Own and maintain the automation and AI roadmap across the five ITSM process areas: incident, request, knowledge, problem, and change.
• Sequence deflection work ahead of post-creation automation investment, in line with established ROI logic.
• Define and track readiness thresholds for each process area based on baseline metrics.
• Prioritize incident types for Virtual Agent deflection based on volume, deflection potential and data quality.
• Own deflection rate, human-touched ticket volume, and ROI metrics as primary success measures.
• Report progress against baseline metrics and flag when deflection plateaus, signaling readiness to shift investment toward post-creation automation.
• Build and maintain the business case supporting continued automation and AI investment.

Pillar 2: Data-Driven Automation and Continuous Improvement

The Product Owner uses incident, escalation, and CSAT to identify high-volume, automatable pain points, verify actual Product capability against vendor claims, and validates the impact of deployed solutions through ongoing monitoring.

• Analyze incidents, escalation, and ticket data to identify high-volume, high-friction topics suitable for automation or Virtual Agent deflection.
• Verify actual GenAI activation state directly in the Now Assist Admin panel rather than relying on vendor or marketing materials.
• Distinguish true Now Assist capability from legacy Predictive Intelligence and Agent Assist functionality.
• Partner with the Architect on design decisions including NLU training, Virtual Agent topic structure, and CMDB integration points.
• Partner with QA on acceptance criteria for deflection accuracy and release readiness.
• Monitor deployed automations post-launch, identifying underperforming flows and driving continuous improvement.
• Direct existing ServiceNow developers on build priorities without performing duplicate hands-on implementation work.

Pillar 3: Vendor Partnership, Knowledge Transfer, and Stakeholder Enablement

The Product Owner evaluates and recommends vendor and partner decisions, holds those partners accountable to knowledge-transfer commitments so implementation expertise moves in-house, and partners with stakeholders across the ITSM organization to build support for new capabilities and drive adoption.

• Evaluate vendor and partner capability, delivery history, and risk factors such as vertical specialization mismatches.
• Manage competitive RFP processes when needed, including scoring criteria and reference checks.
• Bring vendor and partner recommendations to leadership for final approval; final selection authority sits with the ITSM Initiative Lead.
• Hold vendor