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ServiceNow AI Control Tower vs Workday Agent System of Record

ServiceNow AI Control Tower

What ServiceNow calls a central hub to discover, secure, govern, observe, and measure AI

Workday Agent System of Record

Workday system of record to find, add, register, configure, monitor, and manage AI agents

Short answer

ServiceNow calls AI Control Tower a central hub to discover, secure, govern, observe, and measure AI; Workday Agent System of Record (ASOR), in each Workday tenant, registers and manages agents.⁠Source 1, Source 2, Source 3 AI Control Tower’s kill switch can contain a managed agent and revoke all of its active credentials; ASOR gives each agent a unique Workday identity.⁠Source 4, Source 5, Source 6

By Blocks.ai teamLast checked

Where each one sits

Six layers of running AI agents at a company, and what each product’s own public sources say it covers.

These aren’t the same kind of product

Where they overlap
Both keep a registry that includes agents from outside their own platform, can deactivate agents, and keep audit records.⁠Source 1, Source 2, Source 7, Source 8, Source 9, Source 10
Where they differ
ServiceNow says AI Control Tower also inventories models, MCP servers, and datasets, including on outside platforms.⁠Source 1, Source 11 ASOR sits in each Workday tenant; its agents’ tools are Workday APIs.⁠Source 2, Source 3
Running both
ServiceNow’s docs say AI Control Tower takes in outside agents through discovery connectors; Workday’s say ASOR does through its registration API.⁠Source 9, Source 11
Public sources · checked 2 October 2026
  • Offered
  • Not publicly documented

ServiceNow AI Control Tower

  • Build agents: Not publicly documented
  • Host and run agents: Not publicly documented
  • Identity and access: OfferedScoped OAuth tokens (community docs)⁠Source 12
  • Registry and governance: OfferedAI inventory tied to CMDB⁠Source 1
  • Traffic between agents, tools, and models: OfferedAI Gateway (community docs)⁠Source 13
  • Agents across organizations: Not publicly documented

Workday Agent System of Record

  • Build agents: Not publicly documented
  • Host and run agents: Not publicly documented
  • Identity and access: OfferedAgent System User per agent⁠Source 6
  • Registry and governance: OfferedAgent Registry in Management Hub⁠Source 2
  • Traffic between agents, tools, and models: OfferedAgent Gateway for Workday APIs⁠Source 14
  • Agents across organizations: Not publicly documented

At a glance

TopicServiceNow AI Control TowerWorkday Agent System of Record
What it isServiceNow describes it as a hub on the ServiceNow AI Platform to discover, secure, govern, observe, and measure AI across an enterprise.⁠Source 1A functional area you enable in each Workday tenant to register, configure, monitor, and manage AI agents.⁠Source 2, Source 3
What it keeps a record ofServiceNow says it auto-discovers agents, models, copilots, MCP servers, and datasets into one inventory tied to the CMDB.⁠Source 1Workday-built, partner-built, and self-built agents, with each one’s status and who built it.⁠Source 2, Source 9
Agent identityServiceNow’s community documentation says AI Gateway verifies agent identity and issues scoped, short-lived OAuth 2.1 tokens for MCP connections through it.⁠Source 12A unique Workday identity per agent, using Agent System User accounts governed by Workday security policies and groups.⁠Source 6, Source 15
Pricing modelServiceNow says to contact it for pricing.⁠Source 1 Included in the Foundation, Advanced, and Prime tiers.⁠Source 16No additional specific SKU is needed to use ASOR.⁠Source 2 Registering Workday-built agents in production needs a Flex Credits policy opt-in.⁠Source 2 A credit’s price is not publicly documented.
Generally availableServiceNow announced general availability on 6 May 2025.⁠Source 17 ServiceNow’s community documentation says AI Gateway became generally available on 10 September 2026.⁠Source 18Generally available since February 2026.⁠Source 19

What each one is

ServiceNow AI Control Tower

ServiceNow describes AI Control Tower as a central hub to discover, secure, govern, observe, and measure AI across an enterprise.⁠Source 1 ServiceNow says it inventories agents, models, and MCP servers from ServiceNow and third parties, tied to your configuration management database (CMDB).⁠Source 1

Workday Agent System of Record

Workday Agent System of Record (ASOR) is a functional area you enable in a Workday tenant to find, register, configure, monitor, and manage AI agents.⁠Source 2, Source 3 Its Agent Management Hub manages Workday-built, partner-built, and self-built agents, each with a unique Workday identity.⁠Source 2, Source 6

The differences that matter

  1. Which agents each one covers

    ServiceNow AI Control Tower

    ServiceNow says AI Control Tower inventories ServiceNow and third-party AI; connectors discover assets on external platforms.⁠Source 1, Source 11

    Workday Agent System of Record

    ASOR manages Workday-built, partner-built, and self-built agents; external ones are currently registered only through its API, which records each agent’s platform.⁠Source 2, Source 9, Source 20

    ServiceNow’s community documentation says only assets marked Managed get governance workflows; Workday says some of its own agents, such as those for HiredScore, aren’t part of ASOR.⁠Source 2, Source 21

  2. How an agent’s access is set

    ServiceNow AI Control Tower

    ServiceNow’s community documentation says AI Gateway lets agents connect only to approved, active MCP servers, with tool policies by role, department, or data classification.⁠Source 12, Source 22

    Workday Agent System of Record

    Workday security policies and groups set each agent’s access; acting for a user, an agent gets only what both may do.⁠Source 6, Source 15

    ServiceNow’s community documentation says AI Gateway governs connections from any agent platform; ASOR’s Agent Interaction Policy sets which users may use an agent’s delegate-mode skills.⁠Source 22, Source 23

  3. Cutting off an agent

    ServiceNow AI Control Tower

    ServiceNow says its kill switch can immediately contain a managed agent and revoke all of its active credentials across connected systems.⁠Source 4, Source 5

    Workday Agent System of Record

    Deactivating an agent hides it from users and can be undone; for suspected compromise, Workday says to disable the affected OAuth client.⁠Source 2, Source 10

    Deactivating an agent from its asset record works only for managed agents in the Agentic AI category.⁠Source 7

For security teams

What a security review asks, answered from each vendor’s public documentation.

TopicServiceNow AI Control TowerWorkday Agent System of Record
Network exposureDiscovery authenticates to external platforms with credentials you supply.⁠Source 24 Ports and egress requirements are not publicly documented.Third-party agents reach Workday APIs through Agent Gateway, a single regional endpoint.⁠Source 14 Inbound endpoint needs: not publicly documented.
IdentityServiceNow’s community documentation says AI Gateway issues scoped, short-lived OAuth 2.1 tokens for MCP connections through it.⁠Source 12Unique identity per agent.⁠Source 6 External agents use OAuth 2.0 or signed JWTs; tokens for third-party (self-built) agents last 4 hours.⁠Source 2, Source 6, Source 25
Access changes and revocationServiceNow says its kill switch can immediately contain a managed agent and revoke all its active credentials across connected systems.⁠Source 4, Source 5Deactivating an agent hides it from users; the change may take up to a minute to reach Agent Gateway.⁠Source 2, Source 14
Audit trailAudit logs record Data, Approvals, and AI model provider setting changes.⁠Source 8 Each kill-switch containment leaves an audit trail.⁠Source 4An audit trail report covers agent transactions; delegated actions record both the agent and the user.⁠Source 6, Source 10
ComplianceServiceNow says the company has undertaken an annual SOC 2 Type 2 attestation since 2013 and holds ISO/IEC 42001.⁠Source 26Workday says its SOC 2 report covers Workday Enterprise Products; ASOR isn’t named.⁠Source 27 ISO 42001 covers Workday Platform.⁠Source 27

Full comparison

18 criteria in five groups. Every cell links to its source, or says no public source answers it.

ServiceNow AI Control Tower and Workday Agent System of Record compared on 18 criteria
ServiceNow AI Control TowerWorkday Agent System of Record
What it is
What it is and who it’s forServiceNow describes it as a central hub to discover, secure, govern, observe, and measure AI across an enterprise, on the ServiceNow AI Platform.⁠Source 1Set up in each Workday tenant to find, register, configure, monitor, and manage AI agents built by Workday, partners, or the customer.⁠Source 2, Source 3
MaturityServiceNow announced general availability on 6 May 2025.⁠Source 17 ServiceNow’s community documentation says AI Gateway became generally available on 10 September 2026.⁠Source 18Announced in February 2025; generally available since February 2026.⁠Source 19, Source 28 Agent Gateway was announced in June 2025.⁠Source 29
Control
Agent registry and discoveryServiceNow says it auto-discovers agents, models, MCP servers, and datasets into one inventory tied to the CMDB.⁠Source 1 Connectors reach external platforms.⁠Source 11The Agent Management Hub lists Workday-built, partner-built, and self-built agents with their status.⁠Source 2 Agents for HiredScore and Evisort are not part of ASOR.⁠Source 2
Identity and access controlServiceNow’s community documentation says AI Gateway verifies agent identity, issues short-lived OAuth 2.1 tokens, and allows only approved MCP servers.⁠Source 12Each agent has a unique Workday identity, governed by security policies and groups.⁠Source 6, Source 15 Acting for a user, an agent gets only what both may do.⁠Source 6
Ownership, policy, and revocationServiceNow says each AI asset can carry ownership as a configuration item.⁠Source 1 The kill switch covers agents on ServiceNow and four connected platforms.⁠Source 30Admins set each agent’s skills and who can use it, and activate or deactivate it.⁠Source 2, Source 31 A deactivated agent is hidden from users and can be reactivated.⁠Source 2
Audit log and observabilityTraces come via trace connections or SDK instrumentation.⁠Source 32 Audit logs show some configuration changes.⁠Source 8 Each kill-switch containment is audited.⁠Source 4An audit trail report covers agent transactions; delegated actions record the agent and the user.⁠Source 6, Source 10 Per-agent analytics reports cover Workday-built agents only.⁠Source 2
Connection
How agents connectServiceNow’s community documentation says agents using AI Gateway call a ServiceNow-hosted URL instead of the MCP server, which must be remote.⁠Source 13, Source 22Third-party agents must route Workday API traffic through Agent Gateway, a single regional endpoint.⁠Source 14 Outbound-only use is not publicly documented.
Agents across organizationsThird-party systems like Microsoft Agent 365 can discover publishable agents via an open API.⁠Source 33 Bringing in agents a partner controls: not publicly documented.ASOR manages partner-built agents; a definition can carry an ID locating each one in the partner’s system.⁠Source 2, Source 20 Partner-held controls are not publicly documented.
Protocol supportServiceNow’s community documentation calls AI Gateway its MCP enforcement layer.⁠Source 12 ServiceNow’s separate AI Agent Studio can connect external agents over A2A.⁠Source 34Registration is based on the A2A Agent Card.⁠Source 20 Outside assistants can call the Self-Service Agent over A2A, and tool search can filter by SOAP, REST, or MCP.⁠Source 35, Source 36
Frameworks, models, and clouds supportedServiceNow says it inventories agents, models, and MCP servers from ServiceNow or third parties.⁠Source 1 Outside platforms need connectors you set up.⁠Source 11, Source 24Registration records each agent’s platform, or OTHER.⁠Source 20 Workday names Google Gemini Enterprise as an outside assistant able to call its Self-Service Agent.⁠Source 35
Operations
Deployment options and data residencyServiceNow says it runs on the ServiceNow AI Platform.⁠Source 1 Data may go to a central ServiceNow environment in another region or a third-party cloud.⁠Source 37Set up in each Workday tenant.⁠Source 3 Agent Gateway endpoints: US, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, India, Japan.⁠Source 14 Self-hosting: not publicly documented.
Compliance attestationsServiceNow says the company has undertaken an annual SOC 2 Type 2 attestation since 2013.⁠Source 26 It says the company holds ISO/IEC 42001 certification.⁠Source 26Workday says its SOC 2 report covers Workday Enterprise Products.⁠Source 27 Its ISO 42001 certificate covers named products including Workday Platform; ASOR isn’t named.⁠Source 27
Support and SLAServiceNow’s company-wide Customer Support Addendum states a 99.8% availability SLA for production instances.⁠Source 38 Its community docs point to Now Support.⁠Source 39Workday says its company-wide support is 24/5, with severity 1 cases 24/7/365, or 24/7/365 with Success Plans.⁠Source 40 An ASOR uptime SLA is not publicly documented.
Time and effort to get runningInitial setup uses a Guided Setup widget.⁠Source 41 Discovering outside agents needs a connector and credentials you supply.⁠Source 11, Source 24 Features depend on your license.⁠Source 42Enable the ASOR functional area and set its security policies.⁠Source 3 Registering an external agent includes finding the IDs of the Workday APIs it will use.⁠Source 9
Pricing model and public pricesIncluded in every tier; full management of external AI needs a separate license.⁠Source 16 ServiceNow’s community documentation says usage-based costs may apply.⁠Source 22, Source 43No additional specific SKU for ASOR.⁠Source 2 Workday-built agents in production need a Flex Credits policy opt-in.⁠Source 2 A credit’s price is not publicly documented.
Building
Agent building toolsServiceNow’s separate AI Agent Studio creates, configures, and deploys agents.⁠Source 44 Creating new custom agents is supported only in the Prime tier.⁠Source 16You provide an external agent’s definition through an API.⁠Source 2 Workday announced the low-code Flowise Agent Builder for Workday’s separate Workday Build in 2025.⁠Source 45
Model accessModel provider settings cover ServiceNow-supported providers, such as Now LLM Service and AWS Claude, and ones your organization configures.⁠Source 8Workday’s AI agents use large language models.⁠Source 2 Which models ASOR supports or includes is not publicly documented.
Integrations and ecosystemServiceNow’s community documentation names discovery connectors for Databricks, Snowflake, and Hugging Face, and says connectors can also be custom-built.⁠Source 21, Source 39In February 2026, Workday said more than 65 partners were connecting agents to ASOR.⁠Source 19 Workday says partner agents reached its Marketplace in June 2025.⁠Source 29

Which to choose

Choose ServiceNow AI Control Tower if

  • Your ServiceNow tier already includes AI Control Tower, which ServiceNow says ties AI assets to your CMDB.⁠Source 1, Source 16
  • You want one inventory that ServiceNow says covers agents, models, MCP servers, and datasets, with connectors to platforms outside ServiceNow.⁠Source 1, Source 11
  • You want a kill switch that can contain a managed agent and revoke all of its active credentials, with an audit trail.⁠Source 4, Source 5
  • You want MCP access governed centrally: ServiceNow’s community documentation says AI Gateway allows only approved, active servers, with tool-level policies.⁠Source 12, Source 13, Source 22

Choose Workday Agent System of Record if

  • Your agents work in Workday, and you want each to have a unique Workday identity under Workday security policies and groups.⁠Source 6, Source 15
  • You want agents acting for a user limited to what both may do, with audit records naming both.⁠Source 6
  • You run Workday and want no additional specific SKU for ASOR, though Workday-built agents in production need a Flex Credits policy opt-in.⁠Source 2
  • You want outside assistants, such as Google Gemini Enterprise, to call Workday’s Self-Service Agent over A2A for authorized users.⁠Source 35

Questions buyers ask

How is each one priced?

ServiceNow says to contact it for pricing; every tier includes AI Control Tower.⁠Source 1, Source 16 ServiceNow’s community documentation says usage-based costs may apply.⁠Source 22, Source 43 ASOR needs no additional specific SKU; registering Workday-built agents in production needs a Flex Credits policy opt-in.⁠Source 2

Do they support MCP and A2A?

AI Gateway is ServiceNow’s MCP enforcement layer, per its community documentation; ServiceNow’s separate AI Agent Studio speaks A2A.⁠Source 12, Source 34 ASOR registration is based on the A2A Agent Card, tool search filters by MCP, and outside assistants can call Workday’s Self-Service Agent over A2A.⁠Source 20, Source 35, Source 36

Where does each one run, and where does its data go?

ServiceNow says AI Control Tower sends data to a central ServiceNow environment, possibly in another region or a third-party cloud.⁠Source 1, Source 37 Its regional data routing keeps LLM requests in your region.⁠Source 8 ASOR runs in each Workday tenant.⁠Source 3 Neither publicly documents data residency commitments specific to it.

Can either one work with agents at another company?

AI Control Tower lets third-party systems such as Microsoft Agent 365 discover agents marked publishable, through an open API.⁠Source 33 ASOR manages partner-built agents, and a definition can carry an ID locating each in the partner’s system.⁠Source 2, Source 20 Neither publicly documents controls held by the other company.

How we compare

Read the full method

Every claim on this page links to a public source. Where none answers a question, the page says so.

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Sources

50 public sources, each with the date we checked it. Every one opens in a new tab.

  1. Source 1: AI Control Tower - ServiceNow (product page) ServiceNow · checked Back:abcdefghijklmnopqrs

  2. Source 2: About Workday Agents (Workday Administrator Guide) Workday · checked Back:abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz272829

  3. Source 3: Set Up Agent System of Record (Workday Administrator Guide) Workday · checked Back:abcdefgh

  4. Source 4: AI agent containment using kill switch protocol manually (ServiceNow product documentation, Australia release) ServiceNow · checked Back:abcdef

  5. Source 5: Configure AI agent containment using kill switch protocol manually (ServiceNow product documentation, Australia release) ServiceNow · checked Back:abcd

  6. Source 6: Concept: Agent Security (Workday Administrator Guide) Workday · checked Back:abcdefghijklm

  7. Source 7: Deactivate a managed AI agent (ServiceNow product documentation, Australia release) ServiceNow · checked Back:ab

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  11. Source 11: Discovering AI assets through connectors (ServiceNow product documentation, Australia release) ServiceNow · checked Back:abcdefg

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  19. Source 19: The Workday Agent System of Record Is Now Generally Available Workday · checked Back:abc

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  28. Source 28: The Next Generation of Workforce Management is Here - Workday Unveils New Agent System of Record Workday · checked Back to text

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  30. Source 30: Control enforcement points (ServiceNow product documentation, Australia release) ServiceNow · checked Back to text

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  32. Source 32: Configuring trace connections (ServiceNow product documentation, Australia release) ServiceNow · checked Back to text

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  36. Source 36: Concept: ASOR Agent Resource Search API (Workday Administrator Guide) Workday · checked Back:ab

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