The Evolution of ITSM Through AI
“From digital assistants to digital workforce — ITSM is entering a new era.”
IT Service Management (ITSM) is undergoing a transformative shift with the integration of Artificial Intelligence. Organizations can now choose between two powerful AI-driven approaches to support their operations:
- Conventional ITSM Copilot : A guided, rules-based assistant.
- Autonomous Agents : Intelligent, decision-making entities.
A conventional ITSM Copilot is a guided, rules-based virtual assistant that helps users with their tasks. It is predictable, easy to control and maintain . Usually preferred for low complexity tasks.
An Autonomous Agent is a more advanced AI system designed to reason, decide, and act independently to complete tasks. It is proactive, context aware and more complex to build and train. It also needs deep integration with Internal systems.
This case study explores how each approach handles the same real-world scenario — a user facing a VPN issue — and highlights their unique capabilities.
Two Paths, One Problem: A VPN Connectivity Case
Same problem. Two assistants. Two very different experiences
Scenario: A remote user reaches out to IT with the message: 🗨 “I can’t connect to VPN and it’s urgent.”
Let’s see how each AI system responds.
Conventional ITSM Copilot
A guided, rules-based assistant.
The ITSM Copilot uses structured dialogues and predefined flows to assist users.
Strengths
- Guides users through known issues
- Shares helpful documentation
- Escalates to support if needed
Limitations
- No real troubleshooting
- Heavily reliant on user input
- No automation of fixes
Response Flow:
- Copilot: “Okay, I can help with VPN issues. Are you receiving an error code?”
- User: “Yes, Error 789.”
- Copilot: “Thanks. Here’s a step-by-step article to resolve VPN Error 789: [link]”
- User: “I’ve already tried this. It’s still not working.”
- Copilot: “Would you like me to raise a ticket with IT support?”
Autonomous Agents
Intelligent, decision-making entities.
An Autonomous Agent understands context, takes initiative, and interacts with internal systems to resolve issues — independently.
Strengths
- Guides users through known issues
- Shares helpful documentation
- Escalates to support if needed
Response Flow:
- Agent parses the message: Understands “VPN”, “can’t connect”, “urgent”
- Agent initiates checks:
- Pings the VPN server
- Checks VPN status logs
- Validates user’s access permissions
- Finds the issue: Expired VPN certificate or disabled access
- Attempts fix:
- Reissues certificate OR
- Re-enables user access via an automated Power Automate flow
- Notifies user:
- “I found that your VPN certificate was expired. I’ve reissued it. Please try now.”
- Logs the resolution:
- Updates the ITSM system with the resolution details
- If unresolved:
- Escalates to live support and attaches diagnostic logs
CONCLUSION: Smarter service starts with smarter agents.
Both tools aim to improve IT support, but they serve different levels of maturity:
- An ITSM Copilot is ideal for basic self-service and user guidance — great for FAQs, ticket logging, and light automation.
- An Autonomous Agent is designed for intelligent, end-to-end resolution, reducing human dependency and accelerating issue handling — especially in time-sensitive situations like VPN failures.
Imagine scaling this across IT, HR, Finance, and Admin — Autonomous Agents can be your digital workforce, not just digital assistants.
