ServiceNow has introduced its Project Arc enterprise autonomous desktop AI agent to help knowledge workers automate complex, multi‑step tasks across business systems while remaining tightly governed and secure.
Developed in collaboration with NVIDIA, the new agent extends governance from the data centre to the employee desktop.
Project Arc is an always‑running, self‑evolving desktop agent that sits on a user’s machine and can think, write code and execute actions across a range of enterprise tools and systems.
Unlike traditional chat‑style assistants that respond to one‑off prompts, Project Arc behaves as a long‑running agent capable of completing multi‑step workflows from start to finish, adapting its behaviour when tasks do not go as expected. It can interact with local files, terminals, internal applications, and external services to effectively serve as a background worker that handles routine operational work without requiring pre‑built automation scripts.
Security and governance are central to the agent’s design. It runs on the NVIDIA OpenShell sandboxed, policy‑governed runtime environment that contains every action the agent performs and ensures those actions are auditable and traceable.
Enterprises can define what the agent is allowed to see, which tools it can invoke, and how its behaviour is constrained, helping to protect sensitive data and critical systems. Governance is managed through ServiceNow AI Control Tower, which serves as a central AI control tower for visibility, policy enforcement and management of all agent activities across the enterprise.
“Project Arc represents the next step in our ongoing collaboration with NVIDIA, bringing autonomous execution to the desktop. By combining OpenShell’s runtime layer with ServiceNow AI Control Tower, and powered by ServiceNow Action Fabric, we’re delivering the governance and security that enterprise AI requires,” said Jon Sigler, Executive Vice President and General Manager of AI Platform at ServiceNow.
Optimised for efficient token economics
Under the hood, Project Arc is powered by NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure and AI factories, which are optimised for efficient token economics and scalable compute for AI agents.
The agent leverages NVIDIA’s open‑source AI stack and is tuned for enterprise‑grade performance, integrating with the ServiceNow AI Platform and Action Fabric to enable native orchestration of agents across desktops, workflows and backend systems. This architecture also supports domain‑specific skills and open models that enable enterprises to customise agents for their own tools, processes and workflows.
It is expected to be particularly valuable for developers and IT teams that automate repetitive operational tasks such as system checks, patching and incident triage, as well as for administrators and business analysts who perform complex, data‑driven workflows that span multiple tools.
Project Arc can also support cross‑functional teams by coordinating actions across siloed systems without manual handoffs, effectively turning busywork into background work that employees no longer need to manage directly.
Entelechy Asia 