ServiceNow Is Putting Up a New Tollgate for AI Agents

The number of software tollgates is expanding.

ServiceNow on Monday joined firms such as HubSpot and Workday in detailing plans to charge customers that use AI agents to tap data in its apps. During its financial analyst day in Las Vegas, the company unveiled “Action Fabric”, a new layer—effectively a tollgate—that AI agents will have to go through to interact with data in their ServiceNow apps. 

COO Amit Zavery said the company will measure how often customers access the Action Fabric, “meter” that usage, and charge customers for it. The charge is essentially a tax on customers using outside AI agents to interact with their data in ServiceNow’s apps, JPMorgan analyst Mark Murphy said in a note to investors. The move is likely to fuel a growing debate about whether software tollgates will help or hinder software firms’ competitiveness long term.