Shares of ServiceNow (NOW 0.86%), the automation software and artificial intelligence (AI) company, were up today after the company released the latest version of its software platform. The company's newest software moves further into AI agent capabilities, which investors were clearly pleased to see.
Investors may also be reacting to a softer-than-expected inflation report, which is welcome news amid chaotic tariff threats by the Trump administration over the past several days.
As a result, ServiceNow's stock was up by 4% as of 1:49 p.m. ET.
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More AI agents and less inflation
Today ServiceNow released its newest software platform, called Yokohama, which comes with teams of preconfigured AI agents and enables users to build and manage their own.
AI agents capable of handling tasks and making decisions independently are widely viewed as the next step in AI-powered software. For example, Gartner estimates that AI agents will be able to autonomously resolve 80% of customer service issues without human intervention by 2029. The result could be a 30% reduction in operational costs.
NYSE: NOW
Key Data Points
ServiceNow says that its new platform allows customers to coordinate thousands of AI agents across their customer relationship management software, IT, HR, and finance platforms.
"Agentic AI is the new frontier. Enterprise leaders are no longer just experimenting with AI agents; they're demanding AI solutions that can help them achieve productivity at scale," ServiceNow's chief product officer and chief operating officer, Amit Zavery, said in a press release.
Investors may also be giving ServiceNow's stock a boost after the latest inflation report was released today, showing the consumer price index rose 2.8% in February, down from a 3% increase in January. Investors have been concerned about the state of the economy lately, so the good inflation news may have helped spur some of ServiceNow's gains.
A good day, but volatility remains
While it's good to see ServiceNow's stock gaining today, investors should still expect some price swings from the broader market. President Trump's threats of significant tariffs against trading partners have rattled markets, and there are still concerns that major changes to product prices could reignite inflation.
All of this means that ServiceNow investors who focus on holding the stock for the long term should prepare for more volatility as the market reacts to broader economic changes.
