Why I'm Buying ServiceNow Stock While Everyone Else Is Panicking About AI Disruption

By Geoffrey Seiler – Mar 22, 2026 at 4:30PM ESTKey PointsSaaS stocks have been hit hard this year on artificial intelligence (AI) disruption fears. However, SaaS companies are built on top of proprietary data and complex workflows.Companies like ServiceNow are well-positioned to be AI software leaders. One of the hardest-hit parts of the market this year has been software stocks. There has been a growing fear among investors that artificial intelligence (AI) will completely disrupt the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry. As such, there has been pretty indiscriminate selling in the space, with few SaaS stocks spared. There are three main tenets to the bear case against software stocks. One is simply that AI will result in fewer workers, which will hurt SaaS company revenue, since most price their subscriptions based on the number of users who have access to their platforms. The second is that with AI, those organizations will be more easily able to develop custom software, bypassing third-party vendors. Finally, some see large language model (LLM) developers like Anthropic and OpenAI looking to use AI to bypass the software layer entirely. Image source: Getty Images. In my view, all three sound like long shots. SaaS models will likely evolve over time from being more seat-based to consumption-based, which should address the first issue. Meanwhile, it's never been difficult to create front-end software, but most organizations don't want to be responsible for the maintenance and governance hassles, as it's not worth the cost and risk. Finally, AI likely isn't going to eliminate the software layer but instead increase its importance by helping organizations better apply AI to increase efficiency and drive growth. AI needs structured data, and the software companies that control the data and workflow are of vital importance. While there will be some SaaS casualties, this will not be the companies that created moats built on top of proprietary data and complex workflows. As such, I think ServiceNow (NOW 2.52%) is one of the best stocks to buy following the SaaS sell-off. ExpandNYSE: NOWServiceNowToday's Change(-2.52%) $-2.85Current Price$110.42Key Data PointsMarket Cap$115BDay's Range$109.14 - $112.1152wk Range$98.00 - $211.48Volume500KAvg Vol18MGross Margin77.53% An AI winner ServiceNow is tightly ingrained within its customers' workflows, linking an organization's data between information technology, human resources, and customer service. It is an important system of record built on security permissions, custom business logic, and audit trails. Meanwhile, the company has leaned into AI to drive growth.

Its Now Assist generative AI suite of solutions has seen its annual contract value rise to $600 million at the end of last quarter, with it projected to hit $1 billion by the end of this year. This is helping propel the company's overall 20%-plus revenue growth. At the same time, ServiceNow is looking to become a leader in agentic AI orchestration with its AI Control Tower. It also recently acquired AI cybersecurity companies Armis and Veza to strengthen its position around rights permissions and asset visibility, which will become increasingly important in an agentic AI world. With agentic AI in its early innings, this has the potential to be the company's next big growth driver. With its stock down 25% on the year, now is the time to scoop up the shares of a beaten-down SaaS company that looks poised to be an AI winner.Read NextMar 21, 2026 •By Geoffrey SeilerWall Street Analyst Warns of AI Bubble and Urges Investors to buy SaaS Stocks. 5 Stocks to Buy if He Is Right.Mar 16, 2026 •By Eric VolkmanWhy ServiceNow Stock Edged Past the Market TodayMar 11, 2026 •By Mark Roussin, CPASoftware Stocks Are Crashing, Here Are 4 Stocks to BuyMar 10, 2026 •By Daniel SparksSalesforce vs. ServiceNow: Which AI Stock Is a Better Buy?Mar 10, 2026 •By Chris NeigerWhy ServiceNow Stock is Falling TodayMar 10, 2026 •By Adam Levy1 Stock Up 19% in 2 Weeks That Still Looks Like a Great Buy Right NowAbout the AuthorGeoffrey Seiler is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering technology, consumer goods, healthcare, energy, and materials stocks. Prior to The Motley Fool, Geoffrey was a senior equity analyst at Raging Capital Management, a $600 million long-short hedge fund. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Haverford College.TMFFindProfitStocks MentionedServiceNowNYSE: NOW$110.38(-2.55%)-$2.89*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.