ServiceNow Launches New Governance Tools for AI Agents

The platform introduces signed credentials to manage agent permissions and enforce security boundaries across enterprise workflows.

Updated on Oct. 15, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

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ServiceNow has launched new governance controls, including signed credentials for AI agents, to help enterprises manage automated workflow security and identity. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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ServiceNow has introduced new governance controls for enterprise AI agents, including cryptographically signed credentials to manage permissions and identity. The updates, which include the AI Passport and ToolSmith platforms, are currently being integrated with Nvidia technology to enforce security boundaries for automated tasks.

Why it matters

These tools address the growing challenge of scaling AI agents across large organizations while maintaining strict operational guardrails. By centralizing oversight, companies can manage agent permissions and detect unauthorized AI deployments at scale.

The AI Control Tower manages over 400 vendor connectors, while ToolSmith utilizes a training set of more than 75,000 application programming interfaces (APIs) to generate integrations from natural-language prompts. These systems allow for runtime validation of agent actions against predefined financial or security thresholds.

The players

ServiceNow

An enterprise cloud computing platform provider focused on automating workflows and managing IT service delivery.

Nvidia

A semiconductor and software design firm known for developing AI hardware and agent safety frameworks.

NTT Data

A global digital business and IT services firm that adopts enterprise automation software.

The details

AI Passport uses cryptographically signed credentials issued by the AI Control Tower to define an agent's identity and system access. This framework integrates with the Nvidia Open Agent Safety Platform to verify that autonomous actions align with policy requirements. ToolSmith enables the creation of custom software integrations without manual coding by leveraging natural language instructions to interact with third-party APIs.

Timeline

  1. October 15, 2026: ServiceNow announced the governance controls and portal updates.

  2. Q4 2026: AI Passport and shadow AI detection tools become available.

The Tech Race

ServiceNow is aligning its enterprise workflow architecture with the Nvidia Open Agent Safety Platform to establish a standard for verifiable agent behavior. This move places the company in direct competition with emerging agent-orchestration platforms aiming to solve the security risks of decentralized AI deployment.

Organizations using ServiceNow can now enforce automated financial guardrails, such as preventing agent-led transactions above a $25 threshold. These security controls will reach enterprise users later this quarter through the company's updated portal and licensing models.

The takeaway

The rise of agent-based automation necessitates cryptographically verifiable identities to prevent unauthorized system actions. Readers should track the Q4 2026 rollout of these governance tools to see how they impact existing enterprise security protocols.

Further reading

For broader trends in autonomous systems, see the latest in Artificial Intelligence.

Live Poll

Do you trust that businesses using autonomous AI agents are doing enough to ensure they remain secure?