In this episode of The AI Desk, we examine three moves reshaping how enterprise software operates — and why they all point toward a future driven by autonomous systems, outcome-based incentives, and AI-generated interfaces.

Our first story looks at the deepening collaboration between ServiceNow and OpenAI, who have expanded their partnership to embed OpenAI’s models directly into ServiceNow’s workflow automation engine. Their joint announcement highlights a shift toward fully autonomous enterprise agents capable of executing multi-step tasks without continuous human prompting.
🔗 Read more:
• ServiceNow press release: https://newsroom.servicenow.com/press-releases/details/2026/ServiceNow-and-OpenAI-collaborate-to-deepen-and-accelerate-enterprise-AI-outcomes/default.aspx
• PYMNTS coverage: https://www.pymnts.com/artificial-intelligence-2/2026/servicenow-teams-with-openai-to-offer-customers-ai-agents/

Our second story explores how Zendesk is changing its business model by introducing outcome-based AI pricing, where customers pay only when the system resolves issues with no human involvement. It’s a sharp incentive shift that prioritizes measurable results over traditional usage-based SaaS pricing.
🔗 Details from Zendesk:• https://www.zendesk.com/newsroom/articles/zendesk-outcome-based-pricing/

In our third story, Progress Software has launched Agentic UI Generation inside Telerik and Kendo UI — a system that builds entire enterprise interfaces from natural language descriptions. This effectively collapses one of the most time-intensive parts of software development and turns UI creation into a real-time, AI-driven workflow.
🔗 Read more:
• SD Times: https://sdtimes.com/softwaredev/progress-adds-agentic-ui-generator-to-latest-versions-of-telerik-and-kendo-ui/
• Ecommerce News AU: https://ecommercenews.com.au/story/progress-unveils-agentic-ai-ui-tools-for-telerik-kendo

Together, these developments reveal a clear pattern:
• Execution is moving from humans to agents
• Economics are shifting from usage to outcomes
• Creation is being automated at the interface layer

This episode explains how these layers reinforce each other — and why the real leverage is now held by people who design objectives, constraints, and evaluation criteria rather than the ones who manually execute tasks.

For additional context on outcome-based pricing trends and economic incentives in AI, you can review broader industry analysis here: https://pilot.com/blog/ai-pricing-economics-2025

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Host: Rowan Hale

Rowan Hale explores the structural forces reshaping technology, business, and global markets. Known for a crisp, analytical delivery, Rowan breaks down complex trends into practical insights that help listeners anticipate where leverage, power, and opportunity are moving next. As host of The Ai Desk, Rowan brings clarity to the signals that matter most.