ServiceNow Joins Forces with Kearney to Accelerate AI-Driven Workflows

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ServiceNow is expanding its agentic AI ecosystem by teaming up with management consultancy Kearney, announced on Wednesday. The alliance aims to push AI-powered workflow automation to enterprise scale. The timing is notable: software stocks have been under intense scrutiny over AI disruption, and ServiceNow?s shares have recently softened. Here?s what the collaboration entails and why it?s happening now.

• Partnership: Kearney and ServiceNow (announced Wednesday)
• Objective: large-scale, AI-assisted workflow automation
• Stock move: down more than 22% since the end of January
• Fundamentals: 2025 revenue up 21%; margins and cash flow improved
• Outlook: 2026 subscription revenue growth guided at 19.5% to 20%, including 1% from Moveworks

The joint effort blends Kearney?s advisory methodology with ServiceNow?s AI platform. The plan centers on three pillars: speeding up handling of operational exceptions (Operational Excellence), accelerating process speed through workflow optimization, and delivering measurable end-to-end impact via AI and automation.

Ravi Asrani, Group Vice President for Global Partnerships and Channels, frames the objective as a transformation ?from strategy to execution??leveraging interconnected data and seamless workflows to accelerate outcomes broadly across the organization.

A core component of the offering is Kearney?s BPR.ai approach (Business Process Reengineering). The premise is to move clients beyond isolated AI pilots and redesign processes across the enterprise, reworking workflows to achieve a holistic impact.

AI-Related Headwinds for Software Stocks

The news lands amid a souring mood for software equities. Since late January, ServiceNow has shed over 22% in value amid what many market observers describe as a broader ?SaaSpocalypse? triggered by the release of new AI tools from players like Anthropic and OpenAI.

Several analysts argue the move was excessive. Jason Ader of William Blair described it to Yahoo Finance as a ?baby-with-the-bath-water? sell-off?an indiscriminate hit to software indices largely detached from individual company fundamentals. Morgan Stanley echoed that view, noting the sell-off appeared broad and undifferentiated by business model or fundamentals.

Wedbush Reinstates ServiceNow on its AI Watchlist

Earlier this week, Wedbush Securities added ServiceNow back to its IVES AI 30 list after removing it in December 2025. Wedbush argued the software sector decline was excessive and that AI development is only at the early stages of what could become a decade-long cycle. They described the move as part of a broader, multi-year upside trajectory.

Turning to the company?s recent results, ServiceNow delivered a profile of ongoing execution: for 2025, the firm achieved 21% revenue growth, expanded its adjusted operating margin by more than 150 basis points to above 31%, and boosted free cash flow by 34% with a margin of 34.5%.

For 2026, the company guided subscription revenue growth in the range of 19.5% to 20%, including a 1% contribution from the Moveworks acquisition.