Salesforce vs. ServiceNow in AI Adoption Expectations for 2027

The defining question for ServiceNow and Salesforce in 2027 is no longer whether they can articulate compelling agentic use cases. It is whether those use cases begin driving meaningful consumption on their platforms. Both companies have been messaging that opportunity for months, but 2027 should show whether early momentum can translate to sustainable growth.

ServiceNow: Data and analytics must become part of the platform

ServiceNow enters 2027 with a strong growth profile, supported by new pricing and packaging changes. Its ©Human Intensity Reduction Index (HIRI), TBR’s proprietary metric that measures the impact of a company’s AI, human capital, automation, utilization, offshore leverage and delivery model evolution on its operating margin, is expected to continue rising. The company has indicated it will start the new year with pre-acquisition headcount. Together, those signals point to a steady increase in HIRI rather than a sudden jump.
 

 
ServiceNow may also pursue tuck-in acquisitions, particularly as pressure mounts to expand data and analytics capabilities. The challenge will be integration. Rather than using the building-block approach associated with Salesforce, ServiceNow will need to make data and analytics part of the platform layer so those capabilities can scale across the stack.

Salesforce: Agentforce adoption can support durable growth

Agentic-driven revenue at Salesforce is still growing from a small base, but early customer behavior has been encouraging. Metrics shared during the 2Q26 earnings call showed usage doubling among early Agentforce adopters. This positive trend points to growth from both new logos and existing customers as well as a more sustainable trajectory. Given the small base and high growth rates, that momentum may not taper soon.

Partnerships and model diversity will matter more

Across the agentic execution layer, partnerships with model labs are becoming increasingly important. Salesforce has moved aggressively to open integrations, including its Claude announcement ahead of the 2Q26 earnings call. That direction suggests more connections between software incumbents and rapidly rising model labs.
 
At the same time, model diversity should expand. Smaller language models, open-weight models and domain-specific models can help vendors manage the AI cost curve. ServiceNow and Salesforce are positioned in front of large install bases, giving them an opportunity to act as intelligence brokers: offering the best model for the job at the right price, while tuning models to the tasks their customers need.

The signal to watch in 2027

The key test is consumption. ServiceNow will need to pair a rising HIRI with broader integrated platform adoption, while Salesforce will need to convert early Agentforce usage into sustained growth among new and existing customers. For both companies, the strongest evidence will be meaningful agentic activity on the platform, not just another round of announcements.
 
Listen to “ServiceNow vs. Salesforce Showdown: AI Adoption” to hear TBR experts compare changes in revenue per employee and operating leverage, identify weaknesses in both companies and across the technology space, and build a competitive intelligence case for each vendor’s market position. Part of the Vendor Showdown Series on the TBR Talks podcast, the episode puts analysts in the role of head of strategy for the companies they cover.