AI Making Field Service More Proactive, Intelligent, ISG Says

Companies adopting AI and ML to optimize field service management, improve CX

Two-thirds of enterprises will be using AI to manage field service operations by 2028, tightening control over the many variables involved in providing on-site customer support, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III).

The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Field Service Management, produced by ISG Software Research, find a growing number of companies are adopting AI and ML in field service management (FSM) to optimize operations, improve customer experience and forecast maintenance needs. This trend aligns with a broader shift from reactive to proactive service delivery, which can help companies better engage with customers and meet their demands for speed and reliability.

“Current FSM platforms enable more timely, accurate and smoother customer service by tapping into deeper sources of data,” said Keith Dawson, research director, Customer Experience, with ISG Software Research. “This lets companies predict when certain types of service will be needed and even inform the customer in advance.”

Integration of AI and ML is the latest stage in the evolution of FSM software, which is now designed around mobility, automation and data-driven decision-making, the reports say. Like IoT-enabled remote monitoring and predictive maintenance, AI is beginning to transform the deployment of field service technical teams.

AI-powered analytics, along with the growing availability of real-time data, enables enterprises to use field service resources more efficiently and effectively. By 2029, remote sensing and IoT will become standard tools for reducing the need for on-site visits and calls to service centers, ISG says. These tools also will support proactive maintenance employing AI to analyze historical data and usage patterns to anticipate service needs.

Customer engagement with FSM is increasingly proactive and customer-centric, allowing customers to track requests and provide feedback. ISG advises enterprises to consider field service systems with integrated customer engagement across multiple communication channels along with self-service capabilities.

Field service is a major success factor in the manufacturing, consumer and utilities industries, which are expected to provide proactive maintenance and support and repair and operational services to customers in addition to supporting their own infrastructure, the research finds. AI-based predictive tools, including evolving agentic AI, are providing a more precise view of what needs to be repaired and when, while supporting interactions between remote teams and customers.

In the power and utilities industry, field service challenges are growing with the rising use of renewable energy and EVs and the development of smart cities, ISG says. Field service operations need to continuously support the expectations of consumers for uninterrupted service and strong customer support. It requires not just worker dispatch but a complex orchestration that includes optimizing processes and automating as much of the workflow as possible.

For its 2025 Buyers Guides™ for Field Service Management, ISG evaluated software providers across five platform categories – Field Service Management, Field Service Customer Engagement, Field Service Proactive Maintenance, Manufacturing Field Service and Power and Utilities Field Service – and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 23 providers were assessed: Comarch, CSG, Epicor, FSM Global, IBM, IFS, Infor, Kapture CX, Microsoft, Nomadia, Odoo, Oracle, Oracle NetSuite, OverIT, Praxedo, PTC, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, ServicePower, ServiceTitan, Simpro and Synchron.

ISG Software Research rates and ranks software providers and products on seven performance categories. Five are product-related: usability, manageability, reliability, capability and adaptability. Two are customer assurance-related: validation and total cost of ownership and return on investment (TCO/ROI). Providers ranked in the top three for each performance category are named Leaders. Within each platform category, those with the most Leader rankings are named Overall Leaders.

The 2025 Buyers Guides™ for Field Service Management named the following Overall Leaders:

Field Service Management: ServiceNow earned the highest overall rating, followed by Salesforce and Oracle. All three were designated Leaders in all seven performance categories. IBM, IFS, Infor, Microsoft, Oracle NetSuite, PTC and SAP were rated Exemplary. Kapture CX and Praxedo were rated Innovative.

Field Service Customer Engagement: ServiceNow topped the list, followed by Salesforce and Oracle, with each rated as a Leader across all seven performance categories. IBM, IFS, Infor, PTC and SAP were rated Exemplary, while Microsoft and Kapture CX were rated Innovative.

Field Service Proactive Maintenance: ServiceNow, Salesforce and Oracle topped the ratings, and all three were designated as Leaders across the seven performance categories. IBM, IFS, Infor, PTC and SAP were rated Exemplary, and Microsoft was rated Innovative.

Manufacturing Field Service: Salesforce earned the top rating, followed closely by Oracle, with both designated as Leaders in all seven performance categories. IFS came in third, rated as Exemplary and a Leader in five performance categories. IBM was rated as Exemplary.

Power and Utilities Field Service: Salesforce topped the ratings, followed by IFS, with both designated as Leaders in all seven performance categories. IBM was rated as a Leader in five categories.

“Consumers consider field service a test of a company’s basic competence to support products and services,” said Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst, ISG Software Research. “For the first time, in-depth software provider research on field service and supporting requirements is now available from ISG to help enterprises choose the FSM software that meets their needs.”

The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Field Service Management are the distillation of a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT investments in software products.

Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Buyers Guides™ for Field Service Management and read executive summaries of each of the five reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG Software Research.

About ISG Software Research

ISG Software Research provides authoritative coverage and analysis of the business and IT software industry. It distributes research and insights daily through its user community, and provides a portfolio of consulting, advisory, research and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. Its ISG Buyers Guides™ help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessments powered by ISG’s proprietary methodology. Visitresearch.isg-one.com for more information and to sign up for free community membership.

About ISG

ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.

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Current field service management platforms enable more timely, accurate and smoother customer service by tapping into deeper sources of data. This lets companies predict when certain types of service will be needed and even inform the customer in advance.