ServiceNow's Yokohama AI, SoftBank's AI Strategy, and Google's Gemini Evolution

Could the future of work be powered by a new wave of AI agents? Welcome to The AI Agent Daily Brief, your go-to for the latest AI updates. Today is Friday, March 14th, 2025. Here’s what you need to know about ServiceNow's groundbreaking release. Let’s dive in.

ServiceNow is shaking up the AI landscape with their latest release, the Yokohama platform. This isn't just an update—it's a game-changer for businesses looking to streamline their operations with cutting-edge AI agents. Imagine a world where your customer relationship management, human resources, and information technology systems all operate with AI-driven efficiency. That's the promise of Yokohama.

The platform introduces preconfigured AI agents designed to accelerate deployment, boost productivity, and ensure predictable outcomes. These agents aren't just isolated tools; they're part of a coordinated, enterprise-wide strategy to harness AI's full potential. With the Yokohama release, businesses can now manage the entire AI agent lifecycle—from building and onboarding to performance monitoring—all in one place. One of the standout features is the expansion of ServiceNow's Knowledge Graph.

By enhancing their Common Service Data Model, ServiceNow is breaking down data silos, allowing for more connected and intelligent AI agents. This means more seamless integration across different business functions, making it easier to automate tasks and improve efficiency.

Among the new agents, the security operations AI agents are particularly noteworthy. They streamline the incident lifecycle, helping security teams focus on real threats by eliminating repetitive tasks. Meanwhile, the autonomous change management agents work like virtual change managers, crafting custom plans for implementations and tests based on historical data and impact analysis. It's all about minimizing risk while maximizing efficiency.

And let's not forget the proactive network test and repair agents. These troubleshooters are designed to detect, diagnose, and resolve network issues before they escalate, ensuring that performance stays optimal. It's like having a team of expert diagnosticians running constant checks behind the scenes.

ServiceNow's AI Agent Orchestrator and AI Agent Studio are also stepping up their game. They've expanded capabilities to streamline the onboarding process with natural language descriptions and guided instructions. Plus, with their new analytics dashboard, businesses can visualize AI agent usage, quality, and value, tying these metrics directly to business key performance indicators.

Amit Zavery, ServiceNow's president and chief product officer, summed it up best: "With the combination of agentic AI, data fabric, and workflow automation all on one platform, we’re making it easier for organizations to embed connected AI where work happens and both measure and drive business outcomes faster, smarter, and at scale." It's a bold vision for the future of work, and one that could redefine how businesses operate.

AI agents are making waves, outpacing even tech giants like Google and Bing in February's usage share gains. It's a remarkable shift in the digital search landscape that Wells Fargo analysts have highlighted. In February, AI agent usage increased by 130 basis points month-over-month, compared to a 50 basis point gain in January. AI agents now account for 6.2% of total agent and search instances, which includes web visits and app sessions.

This surge is coming at the expense of traditional search engines. Google and Bing both saw declines in their global usage shares, with Google dropping by 120 basis points and Bing by 10 basis points. It's a clear sign that AI agents are not just a passing trend but a growing force in the search market. What's intriguing is that this rise of AI agents is a global phenomenon. Similar trends are being observed in both the United States and the rest of the world.

In fact, the international market experienced a slightly higher AI agent usage at 6.3%, compared to 5.9% in the U.S.

One standout in this trend is ChatGPT. It's been gaining momentum, with its month-over-month share gain accelerating to 80 basis points in February, up from a 30 basis point increase in January. This popularity surge is likely contributing to Google search's loss of share. Year-over-year, ChatGPT's growth is even more impressive, accelerating by 18 percentage points in February. Since June 2024, it has maintained a year-over-year usage growth rate of about 300%, showing no signs of slowing down.

On the flip side, Google's year-over-year usage growth has been relatively modest, staying flat in February after a 3% increase in January. This contrast highlights the shifting dynamics in the search engine landscape. The report also mentions newer entrants like DeepSeek, which launched in late January. It's already made a significant impact with a 40 basis point share gain month-over-month in February, surpassing Bing in global usage share at around 0.6%.

Meanwhile, Gemini, despite its recent spinoff from the Google search app on iOS, hasn't shown any significant uptick in web visits and app usage. The timing of Google's official removal of Gemini from the iOS Google app in mid-February might be affecting its current performance.

The Japanese telecom giant SoftBank is making headlines with a bold move that could redefine AI operations in Japan. They're purchasing a former Sharp LCD panel plant in Osaka for an impressive 100 billion yen, which is approximately 677 million dollars. But here's the twist: this facility isn't just any acquisition. It's set to become a cutting-edge data center dedicated to running artificial intelligence agents.

Imagine the transformation of a space once bustling with the production of TV liquid crystal displays into a hub for AI innovation. SoftBank's vision is to collaborate with OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, to operate AI agents from this location. This partnership is a fascinating blend of Japanese industrial heritage and cutting-edge American AI technology, promising to inject new life into the facility. So, why does this matter?

Well, for starters, it's a significant investment in the AI landscape, showcasing the growing importance of AI agents in diverse sectors. By leveraging the expertise of OpenAI, SoftBank is positioning itself at the forefront of AI advancements, potentially setting a precedent for future collaborations between tech giants across the globe.

This move also highlights the shifting focus of tech companies towards AI-driven solutions. As industries increasingly rely on AI for efficiency and innovation, having a dedicated facility for AI agents could offer a strategic advantage, especially in a tech-savvy country like Japan. It's a clear signal that AI is not just a trend but a central pillar of future technological endeavors.

In a move that's set to shake up the video game industry, Nunu.ai has just secured six million dollars in a seed funding round. This brings their total funding to eight million dollars after an initial two million dollar pre-seed round in 2024. It's a big step forward for the AI-powered game testing platform, which is aiming to revolutionize quality assurance automation in gaming. If you're into gaming, imagine a world where tedious quality assurance testing is a thing of the past.

That's the vision Nunu.ai is working towards. They're developing AI agents that can control any character and perform any task in any game environment. It's like giving game developers a superpower, allowing them to focus on creativity while AI handles the repetitive stuff. Co-led by a16z speedrun and TIRTA Ventures, with support from Y Combinator and others, this funding round is more than just capital—it's a vote of confidence in Nunu.ai's mission. And they're not stopping at games.

The founders, Nicolas Muntwyler, Kyrill Hux, and Jan Schnyder, who all met at ETH Zurich, have plans to expand their AI agents beyond virtual worlds into real-world applications. Kyrill Hux, one of the co-founders, mentioned, "We will leverage this funding to recruit top talent, expand Nunu.ai’s infrastructure, and cement our position as a leader in video game quality assurance automation." It's clear they're gearing up for something big, and the industry is taking notice.

Nicolas Muntwyler added, "Our goal is to 10x quality assurance engineers by automating the boring and tedious testing tasks, freeing them up to do more valuable ad-hoc testing." And Jan Schnyder emphasized, "We believe the pathway to embodied AI goes through gaming." It's a bold vision, but with the backing they've secured, it's one that's within reach.

That's it for today’s The AI Agent Daily Brief. With ServiceNow's Yokohama release transforming business operations and Nunu.ai's ambitious expansion in game testing, the future of work and play is looking more automated and efficient than ever. Thanks for tuning in—subscribe to stay updated. This is Michelle, signing off. Until next time.