Bob speaks with Brandon Roberts, VP of Global People Product, Analytics, and AI at ServiceNow. Brandon shares how ServiceNow is navigating AI transformation from within its HR organization, balancing internal experimentation with client-informed innovation. They dive deep into responsible AI practices, strategic reskilling, and cross-functional collaboration, while unpacking key frameworks. Brandon also offers a preview of forthcoming research on the future impact of agentic AI on the workforce and shares actionable insights for HR and business leaders on how to lead with confidence, empathy, and clarity in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Keywords

Responsible AI, Agentic AI, HR transformation, AI Playbook, AI readiness, AI literacy, reskilling, upskilling, internal mobility, ServiceNow, people analytics, AI enablement, human-centric, HR-IT collaboration, future of work, AI governance, workforce planning

Takeaways

ServiceNow’s HR team is leading internal AI adoption while helping shape product development through real-world use and feedback.

The AI Playbook for HR Leaders provides a practical framework that blends vision with tactical execution.

Responsible AI isn’t just a compliance exercise—it's a continuous process requiring monitoring, iteration, and cross-functional governance.

ServiceNow’s AI Control Tower centralizes use case tracking, governance status, adoption metrics, and value realization.

The AI Heat Map approach helps identify which tasks are most ripe for AI augmentation and where reskilling efforts should focus.

Strategic reskilling efforts, like transitioning HR operations roles into people partner roles, show how AI can enable—not replace—human potential.

HR-IT collaboration is essential to enabling governance, product experimentation, and sustained transformation.

Upcoming research from ServiceNow estimates 8 million U.S. roles will be transformed by agentic AI in the next five years.

Quotes

“This is a human transformation, not just a tech transformation.”

“Responsible AI isn’t finished at launch—it needs to be continuously monitored.”

“We call it the AI Heat Map—breaking down roles into tasks to see where AI can really help.”

“Strategic workforce planning needs to evolve into strategic work planning.”

“If AI doubles productivity, it should also unlock opportunities—not eliminate people.”

“We want employees to feel safe using AI and know we’re committed to reskilling, not replacing them.”

Chapters

00:00 – Intro and Brandon’s background

02:00 – Brandon’s unique role in HR and product feedback loops

03:20 – Internal vs. customer-led innovation

04:24 – AI solution inventory and governance

07:18 – AI readiness, literacy, and cultural change

10:00 – Role-based skill development

12:00 – Embedding Responsible AI across the enterprise

14:36 – Balancing innovation with ethical oversight

17:50 – HR and IT collaboration at ServiceNow

20:45 – Agentic AI and workforce planning

23:47 – Case study: reskilling HR ops into people partners

29:03 – Why internal talent is often overlooked

33:21 – The evolving value of analytics in the AI era

36:58 – Importance of data quality and governance

40:32 – How AI will transform every role and industry

46:03 – Banking and reinvesting AI-driven time savings

48:27 – How ServiceNow filters and prioritizes AI ideas

49:18 – Teaser: upcoming research on agentic AI’s impact

51:06 – Personal AI tools and what’s exciting (or scary)

54:04 – Final thoughts and call to action

Brandon Roberts: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-roberts-50796ba

AI Playbook for HR Leaders: https://www.servicenow.com/content/dam/servicenow-assets/public/en-us/doc-type/resource-center/ebook/eb-hr-role-in-ai-transformation.pdf

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