ServiceNow makes Anthropic Claude its default for agent building as it pursues multi-model AI

ServiceNow is doubling down on model choice while standardizing execution: the company signed a multi-year deal to embed Anthropic’s models deeper across its platform, positioning Claude as the default brain behind several workflow experiences.

Claude becomes the default model for ServiceNow workflows and agents

The agreement makes Anthropic’s Claude family the preferred models across ServiceNow’s AI-driven workflow products, with Claude set as the default in its AI agent builder. For marketers and ops teams, the important shift is that “agentic workflows” (software agents that can take multi-step actions across tools, not just generate text) will increasingly run on Claude out of the box.

ServiceNow also plans to roll out Claude to its roughly 29,000 employees, and make Claude Code available to engineers—bringing the same model used in customer-facing features into internal development and support. For enterprise buyers, that typically signals heavier internal validation around security, reliability, and day-to-day usability.

In practical terms, this tightens ServiceNow’s positioning as a workflow orchestration layer: the place where requests, approvals, IT tickets, and customer service actions can be automated end-to-end using embedded AI, rather than stitched together with point tools.

Why the Anthropic deal follows an OpenAI partnership

The move lands about a week after ServiceNow announced a partnership with OpenAI to offer OpenAI models to ServiceNow customers, as reported by TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/openai-is-coming-for-those-sweet-enterprise-dollars-in-2026/.

ServiceNow says these aren’t mutually exclusive. President and COO Amit Zavery framed it as an intentional multi-model strategy: enterprises want the right model for the right job, with consistent governance, security, and auditability on the ServiceNow platform.

Anthropic has also been stacking large enterprise partnerships—Allianz, Accenture, IBM, Deloitte, and Snowflake—suggesting that model vendors are competing as much on distribution and integration as on raw benchmarks. Examples include Anthropic’s Allianz deal (https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/09/anthropic-adds-allianz-to-growing-list-of-enterprise-wins/) and its Accenture partnership (https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/09/anthropic-and-accenture-sign-multi-year-ai-strategic-partnership/).

ServiceNow didn’t disclose the partnership’s dollar value or exact term. The clearer takeaway: if you’re building automations on ServiceNow, Claude is becoming the default starting point—while OpenAI remains an available option when specific use cases demand it.