OpenAI and ServiceNow announced an expanded partnership on October 28 that puts ServiceNow workflows inside ChatGPT and brings more OpenAI models and agents into ServiceNow's own products. The first piece, a ServiceNow MCP plugin, is in the OpenAI marketplace now. Security, voice and Codex features follow on dates running through 2027.
OpenAI said the deal builds on the partnership the two companies announced in January. ServiceNow published its own press release the same day, and listed the partnership in its third quarter 2026 results.
The news lands one day after OpenAI's similar push with Oracle, which we covered in Oracle Brings ChatGPT and Codex to Its Business Apps. Both deals point the same way: ChatGPT as a place to ask questions and also take action in business software a company already runs.
What the ChatGPT plugin does
Both companies say the partnership is meant to help teams build applications, resolve IT requests and respond to security issues with AI. The new integration brings business context and workflow actions from ServiceNow directly into ChatGPT.
OpenAI's example: an IT team member will be able to find similar incidents, assess the risk of a change and update a ServiceNow record without leaving ChatGPT.
Three details matter for companies thinking about turning it on:
- The customer controls the scope. Customers connect ChatGPT to their own ServiceNow instance and choose which capabilities to make available, according to OpenAI.
- Existing rules still apply. ServiceNow's Action Fabric applies existing business rules and permissions, so the actions people can take reflect their organization's configuration and access.
- ServiceNow stays the system of record. ServiceNow's release says "ServiceNow remains the system where those actions are executed and governed."
ServiceNow is also previewing interactive experiences inside ChatGPT. In OpenAI's example, an on-call engineer will be able to review linked monitoring alerts, recent changes and affected services, then assign the right team and work toward a fix within ChatGPT. ServiceNow's version of the same scenario adds that the engineer could update the incident record.
Three product areas in the works
Beyond the plugin, OpenAI said the companies plan to develop new capabilities across three areas:
- Application development. A planned Codex integration in ServiceNow's AI Workflow Factory will help developers build applications using ServiceNow's business context and platform capabilities. OpenAI models will also power Build Agent and Autonomous Engineer to support application development and modernization.
- Cybersecurity. A joint security solution will combine OpenAI's cybersecurity capabilities with ServiceNow's asset, identity and business context to help teams investigate vulnerabilities, prioritize risks and coordinate remediation. ServiceNow describes these as Security and Risk solutions "powered by OpenAI cyber models."
- Voice. An OpenAI-powered experience in ServiceNow's Super Intelligence Control Tower will let people describe an AI use case aloud. ServiceNow says the voice agent would pre-fill as many questionnaire fields as it can, ask follow-up questions where information is missing or unclear, and automatically assign a risk rating based on the stated purpose.
ServiceNow also said OpenAI is joining its newly announced Control Tower Alliance as one of the founding members. ServiceNow describes the alliance as its ecosystem for AI, security, infrastructure, and governance leaders.
Who gets what, and when
OpenAI gave these dates in its announcement:
- The ServiceNow MCP plugin is available in the OpenAI marketplace now, with enhanced capabilities expected by the end of 2026.
- Voice capabilities in the Super Intelligence Control Tower are expected in the first quarter of 2027.
- The OpenAI-powered security capabilities are expected to enter early access in January 2027, with general availability planned for the second quarter of 2027.
- Codex in AI Workflow Factory is expected to be available in 2027.
OpenAI's announcement does not give pricing for the plugin or the planned features.
Both companies become customers
The deal also runs inside each company. ServiceNow plans to give all employees access to ChatGPT Work and Codex, expanding beyond its engineering organization, according to OpenAI. Engineers can use Codex to explore codebases, make changes and run tests, while other teams use ChatGPT Work in their day-to-day work. ServiceNow also plans to use OpenAI capabilities in its internal security work.
In the other direction, OpenAI said it "is also using ServiceNow workflows in our own operations." ServiceNow's release frames this as a plan: "OpenAI plans to use ServiceNow across its operations."
The executives framed it in their own terms. "AI becomes more useful when people can put it to work in the systems their businesses depend on," said Greg Brockman, President and Co-founder of OpenAI. Bill McDermott, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ServiceNow, said: "OpenAI is pioneering the frontier of artificial intelligence. ServiceNow is the Super Intelligence Control Tower that orchestrates, secures, and governs AI across the enterprise."
Why it matters
For people who already use ChatGPT at work, this is another step toward an assistant that can act, not just answer. The Oracle and ServiceNow deals both lean on the same promise: the company's existing permissions and approvals decide what ChatGPT is allowed to do.
That promise is also the part for IT and security teams to test. The customer picks which capabilities to expose, and the actions follow the permissions already set in ServiceNow.
For data on which work tasks people already use ChatGPT for, see our look at OpenAI's work data on 165 work activities.
ServiceNow is working with other AI assistants too. Its third quarter release says that in October, ServiceNow and Google Cloud announced industry solutions for telecommunications, retail, sales and IT, connected through Action Fabric to Gemini Enterprise, so employees can start and finish governed actions from that assistant.
Sources
- OpenAI and ServiceNow expand partnership across enterprise workflows (OpenAI)
- ServiceNow powers actionable enterprise AI with OpenAI, January 20, 2026 (OpenAI)
- ServiceNow and OpenAI accelerate enterprise AI, from models and operations to cybersecurity and agentic development (ServiceNow Newsroom)
- ServiceNow Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results (ServiceNow Newsroom)
