The new agreement comes as Aramco looks to extend its AI ambitions beyond individual industrial applications and into the systems and workflows that connect its wider business. 

[For more news, click here]

Aramco has spent years putting artificial intelligence to work in parts of its business where the results can be seen directly, from refining and drilling to equipment maintenance and production. A less visible challenge now sits alongside that work, making sure the systems that support the wider business can work together as AI becomes more deeply embedded in day-to-day operations. A new agreement between ServiceNow and Aramco Digital brings that enterprise problem into focus, with Aramco Digital set to use ServiceNow as a foundational platform to standardize and govern digital workflows across Aramco's affiliates, subsidiaries and joint ventures operating in more than 50 countries. 

Under the agreement announced in Riyadh on September 1, the companies will focus on AI-powered workflows, customer experience, group shared services and ERP modernization. Those areas may sit outside the industrial applications that have defined much of Aramco's AI work so far, but they are closely tied to how a large organization operates. Different businesses can rely on different systems and processes, and the more AI is expected to do within those processes, the more important it becomes to have a consistent way of moving work between people, applications and departments. 

Aramco has already built a substantial AI operation around its industrial business. The company says it identified 442 AI use cases, with more than 200 solutions deployed and more than 100 in development as of late 2025. Recent applications have included AI-driven refinery planning, predictive maintenance and systems that use Aramco's operational data to improve decisions. Extending that work into enterprise workflows presents a different challenge because these processes often cross several systems and business functions rather than staying within a single operation. 

Where ERP and AI meet 

Aramco Digital's recent work with SANAD offers a useful example of the direction the company is taking. On August 13, the two organizations signed an agreement covering a cloud-based ERP platform, infrastructure modernization and managed technology services, with Aramco Digital saying the project is intended to create a more integrated technology environment and provide a foundation for future Industrial AI applications. ERP systems sit underneath functions such as finance, procurement and supply chain management, making them difficult to change when years of processes, data and customizations are tied to existing technology. The ServiceNow agreement is broader in scope, but it touches the same underlying challenge by bringing workflow management and AI into the enterprise systems surrounding those operations. ServiceNow's platform is designed to connect workflows across enterprise functions, while its newer AI capabilities allow software agents to perform tasks within those workflows. For Aramco, the more important consideration is whether those capabilities can work with the systems and controls already operating across the group rather than simply adding another layer of technology. The timing also fits with Saudi Arabia's wider push to move AI into practical business use, as companies across the Kingdom look beyond pilots and begin dealing with the data, security, governance and technology requirements that come with deploying AI across core operations. 

Neither company has disclosed a detailed implementation timetable or the financial value of the agreement, so its eventual reach remains unclear. What the announcement does establish is where Aramco Digital is looking to apply AI next. Industrial applications can be built around specific operations, but enterprise workflows have to connect departments, systems and business processes that may have developed independently over time. Bringing AI into that environment means dealing with the underlying technology as well as the automation itself, particularly when software is expected to carry out tasks rather than simply assist employees. 

The new agreement between Aramco Digital and ServiceNow comes at an important point in Aramco's technology strategy. The company has already put AI to work in complex industrial environments, and its digital arm is now working on some of the enterprise infrastructure surrounding those operations. Whether the ServiceNow platform can make routine work easier to move across that infrastructure will become clearer through implementation, but the agreement points to a practical direction for Aramco's AI ambitions. The focus is moving beyond individual applications toward the systems through which much of the business actually gets done. 

Related Articles 

The World's Largest Oil Company Just Let AI Take the Wheel on Refinery Planning 

ServiceNow Is Deploying AI That Does the Work, Not Just Advises on It 

Saudi Arabia's AI Future Will Be Defined by Data, Governance, and Business Impact