We're seeing IT leaders struggle with a tricky question: should you invest in ServiceNow's complete ITSM tool or add Moveworks as an enterprise IT solution that makes your current tools more accessible? ServiceNow requires employees to learn a separate portal, while Moveworks brings support into chat apps they already use daily. The recent acquisition muddies the water further, as the two products now sit under one roof with an unclear integration plan.

TLDR:

• ServiceNow requires portal logins and 12-18 month deployments, while Moveworks adds AI chat over existing tools.

• ServiceNow was acquired by Moveworks in 2025, creating uncertainty around future product roadmaps.

• Enterprises handle 5,000-15,000 monthly tickets, most being routine requests with documented answers.

• Ravenna delivers Slack-native workflow automation that manages end-to-end processes across IT, HR, and Operations with auto-generated knowledge bases and instant ROI metrics.

What Moveworks Does and How It Works

Moveworks operates as an AI-powered assistant that sits on top of your existing enterprise software stack. Instead of replacing tools like ServiceNow or Jira, it functions as a conversational interface that employees access through Slack, Microsoft Teams, or web chat. Employees ask questions or make requests in conversational language, and Moveworks interprets the intent, searches connected systems for answers, and either provides information or routes tickets to the appropriate backend system. An employee typing "I need access to Salesforce" in Teams triggers an automatic access request in ServiceNow while keeping the conversation inside the chat interface.

The system connects to existing knowledge bases, HR systems, ITSM tools, and identity providers. It uses AI to understand employee queries, match them against documentation, or trigger automated workflows. Over time, it learns from historical tickets and resolutions to improve response accuracy. Moveworks handles common employee support scenarios across IT, HR, and finance departments without requiring employees to learn a separate ticketing system or manage self-service portals.

What ServiceNow ITSM Does and How It Works

ServiceNow ITSM is a cloud-based service management suite that centralizes IT operations through dedicated modules for incident tracking, problem resolution, change management, asset management, and knowledge documentation aligned with ITIL best practices. Employees submit requests through the self-service portal or email, creating tickets that route to IT teams based on predefined rules. IT staff manage tickets within ServiceNow's interface, updating statuses, assigning owners, and tracking resolution through customizable workflows.

The service catalog provides structured request forms for common needs like hardware provisioning or software access, while the knowledge base stores IT documentation that employees search before submitting tickets.

Portal Access vs. Chat-Based Support

ServiceNow requires employees to visit a separate website for IT support. Users log in, browse service catalogs, complete forms with required fields, and return later for updates. This creates detailed audit trails and enforces consistent data collection. The downside is context switching. Employees must pause their work, open a browser, locate their ServiceNow URL, and learn the portal's navigation. These added steps between problem and solution reduce self-service adoption, pushing employees to message IT staff directly instead.

Moveworks, on the other hand, embeds support in Slack or Teams. Employees type requests in their existing chat window without switching applications. The conversational interface removes the learning curve. The limitation is reduced control over data collection. Chat captures information through back-and-forth conversation instead of mandatory fields, which can leave gaps in request details. Higher engagement typically offsets this because employees avoid learning a separate system.

Implementation Requirements and Technical Dependencies

The complexity of deployment can have a big impact on ROI. If the solution takes too long to deploy, requiring too many dependencies or integrations, it can be years before you realize the savings. Both ServiceNow and Moveworks have a different implementation scope:

• ServiceNow ITSM deployments typically span 12 to 18 months from contract signing to full rollout. You'll need dedicated system administrators, specialized ServiceNow consultants, and cross-functional project teams to configure workflows, build service catalogs, migrate data from legacy systems, and train staff across departments.

• Moveworks takes a different approach. Since it layers over your existing ITSM infrastructure instead of replacing it, deployment focuses on integration and workflow automation. You connect Moveworks to ServiceNow, Jira, or your current ticketing system, along with knowledge repositories. The limitation of this approach is your documentation maturity. Moveworks relies on structured knowledge bases to generate accurate responses. If your organization lacks well-maintained documentation across systems, the AI struggles to provide reliable answers.

AI Capabilities and Automation Approach

Automation and AI are becoming core features of ITSM solutions, as they can reduce response times and manual knowledge creation.

• ServiceNow includes AI in ITSM capabilities into its suite. Now Assist handles basic queries through scripted conversation flows, predictive intelligence routes tickets based on historical patterns, and machine learning categorizes incidents while suggesting knowledge articles to agents. These features improve ticketing workflows. As for automation, ServiceNow automates ticket handling after submission.

• Moveworks, though, builds its entire product on AI reinventing employee self-service through intent-driven AI agents that resolve requests conversationally. The system interprets employee requests using multiple LLMs to determine intent and either answers from knowledge bases or triggers agentic AI workflows across connected systems to resolve issues without creating tickets. For password reset requests, Moveworks searches documentation and either provides instructions or initiates the reset through identity management integrations. ServiceNow's virtual agent guides employees to submit a ticket or directs them to the self-service portal where IT staff process the request. For Moveworks automation, the system attempts to prevent ticket creation through conversational AI solutions that execute actions across integrated systems.

Knowledge Base Requirements

At the heart of any ITSM is a knowledge base through which employees can find information to solve their own issues and which is built through successfully remediated user tickets. How do these solutions handle a knowledge base?

• ServiceNow stores knowledge articles directly within its ITSM suite. IT teams create articles using templates that enforce structure and metadata, link them to incident tickets, and make them searchable through the service portal. This keeps governance, access controls, versioning, and approval workflows in one place. The downside is content duplication, as teams typically maintain documentation in Confluence, Notion, or other tools they already use, then recreate articles in ServiceNow to make them portal-accessible.

• Moveworks performs enterprise search across multiple sources simultaneously, including Confluence, Notion, Google Drive, Slack, and ServiceNow itself. This eliminates the need to rewrite content for a separate system. However, if your documentation is outdated or inconsistently organized, Moveworks will surface incorrect answers, making documentation quality critical to automation success.

Ticket Volume and Manual Support Burden

Selecting an ITSM solution must take into account the volume of tickets and the requirements of support staff to resolve them. On average, an enterprise handles 5,000 to 15,000 internal support tickets monthly. Most are routine: password resets, software access requests, hardware provisioning, and policy questions with documented answers. How then do these two solutions tackle ticket volume and the burden on support staff?

• ServiceNow routes tickets through structured workflows. Categories trigger automatic routing, priority levels set SLA timers, and queues distribute work across support teams. This prevents requests from getting lost but requires human attention for each ticket, including repetitive questions asked hundreds of times.

• Moveworks intercepts routine questions conversationally before ticket creation. Successfully resolved requests never reach support queues, freeing agents to handle issues requiring human judgment.

Ticket Volume and Manual Support Burden

Selecting an ITSM solution must take into account the volume of tickets and the requirements of support staff to resolve them. On average, an enterprise handles 5,000 to 15,000 internal support tickets monthly. Most are routine: password resets, software access requests, hardware provisioning, and policy questions with documented answers. How then do these two solutions tackle ticket volume and the burden on support staff?

• ServiceNow routes tickets through structured workflows. Categories trigger automatic routing, priority levels set SLA timers, and queues distribute work across support teams. This prevents requests from getting lost but requires human attention for each ticket, including repetitive questions asked hundreds of times.

• Moveworks intercepts routine questions conversationally before ticket creation. Successfully resolved requests never reach support queues, freeing agents to handle issues requiring human judgment.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Why Organizations Choose Ravenna for Slack-Native Support

Companies considering ServiceNow portals and Moveworks integrations select Ravenna as a workflow automation tool built directly into Slack. Ravenna automates mission-critical workflows end-to-end across IT, HR, and Operations. Employees interact through standard Slack messages while Ravenna manages complex processes across their entire SaaS stack.

Ravenna's AI assistant generates knowledge base articles automatically from resolved tickets and conversations. IT teams skip the manual documentation maintenance that limits answer accuracy in both ServiceNow search and Moveworks responses. The tool functions as an automation layer across internal workflows and support requests, managing end-to-end processes in Slack. Routine questions get instant AI resolution while complex issues become trackable tickets inside the same conversation thread. Analytics show ticket resolution counts, hours saved weekly, and workload reduction from deployment, delivering measurable ROI data immediately. Ready to revolutionize your help desk? Schedule Demo.

Final Thoughts on Enterprise IT Support Tools

The debate between portal-based ticketing and conversational AI comes down to how employees prefer to get help. ServiceNow requires learning a separate system, while Moveworks vs ServiceNow once meant choosing between structured workflows and chat-based automation. Now that ServiceNow has acquired Moveworks, organizations are betting on the integration timeline and combined product vision.

FAQs

What's the main difference between Moveworks and ServiceNow for employee support?

ServiceNow is a full ITSM tool where employees submit tickets through a web portal, while Moveworks is a conversational AI layer that sits on top of existing systems like ServiceNow to answer questions through chat interfaces like Slack or Teams.

How long does ServiceNow ITSM typically take to implement?

ServiceNow deployment and AI adoption usually take 12 to 18 months from contract signing to full rollout, requiring dedicated administrators, specialized consultants, and cross-functional teams to configure workflows and migrate data.

Can Moveworks work without ServiceNow after the acquisition?

Yes, Moveworks integrates with multiple ITSM service desks and systems including Jira and other ticketing platforms, though the acquisition by ServiceNow in early 2025 may affect future product direction and integration priorities.

What happens if your knowledge base documentation is outdated or poorly organized?

Both ServiceNow and Moveworks AI assistants will surface incorrect or incomplete answers since they rely on existing documentation quality. Moveworks searches across multiple sources simultaneously, making documentation accuracy critical to automation success.

How does Ravenna differ from using Moveworks with ServiceNow?

Ravenna is a workflow automation tool built directly into Slack that manages end-to-end processes across tools, teams, and systems while Moveworks adds a conversational layer on top of separate backend systems like ServiceNow that still require portal access for complex tasks.