# Bill McDermott

Markdown copy of https://realalpha.app/people/bill-mcdermott/ on Real Alpha, the best minutes from long interviews with the people building AI. Cite and link the page, not this copy.

Real Alpha has cut 8 moments of Bill McDermott (Chairman & CEO, ServiceNow) talking, from an interview on No Priors published Apr 17, 2026.

- Role: Chairman & CEO, ServiceNow

## What Bill McDermott said

- [Enterprise platforms can cost less than rebuilding with AI](https://realalpha.app/s/enterprise-platforms-can-cost-less-than-rebuilding-with-ai/)
  No Priors · Apr 17, 2026 · 6 min
  > “for a simple application on our platform it would be 10 times greater in cost to try to replicate it with a language model.” — Bill McDermott · [23:46](https://realalpha.app/v/tNNFJa5pUEg/?t=1426)
- [AI speeds implementation and changes who companies hire](https://realalpha.app/s/ai-speeds-implementation-and-changes-who-companies-hire/)
  No Priors · Apr 17, 2026 · 5 min
  > “90% of our customer service cases now are managed by agents.” — Bill McDermott · [38:29](https://realalpha.app/v/tNNFJa5pUEg/?t=2309)
- [A deli taught McDermott to serve customers and bootstrap](https://realalpha.app/s/a-deli-taught-mcdermott-to-serve-customers-and-bootstrap/)
  No Priors · Apr 17, 2026 · 5 min
  > “So I got them to give me the first order on consignment.” — Bill McDermott · [5:57](https://realalpha.app/v/tNNFJa5pUEg/?t=357)
- [A promise to his father helped McDermott land a Xerox job](https://realalpha.app/s/a-promise-to-his-father-helped-mcdermott-land-a-xerox-job/)
  No Priors · Apr 17, 2026 · 6 min
  > “it was not an interview. It was a battle for survival. Because if I get that job, I'm in control of my own destiny.” — Bill McDermott · [12:03](https://realalpha.app/v/tNNFJa5pUEg/?t=723)
- [Single-function software faces more AI disruption risk](https://realalpha.app/s/single-function-software-faces-more-ai-disruption-risk/)
  No Priors · Apr 17, 2026 · 6 min
  > “If you're serving one function and what you do is not tremendously high value add” — Bill McDermott · [31:10](https://realalpha.app/v/tNNFJa5pUEg/?t=1870)
- [Leaders can teach agency through repeated practice](https://realalpha.app/s/leaders-can-teach-agency-through-repeated-practice/)
  No Priors · Apr 17, 2026 · 3 min
  > “We have to make them do it where they actually have to simulate and be trained and be certified and understand and be coached well.” — Bill McDermott · [18:03](https://realalpha.app/v/tNNFJa5pUEg/?t=1083)
- [AI adoption is moving beyond pilots at uneven rates](https://realalpha.app/s/ai-adoption-is-moving-beyond-pilots-at-uneven-rates/)
  No Priors · Apr 17, 2026 · 5 min
  > “And if AI does make us better, we should see that in the ultimate profitability of the company, the revenue per employee of the company.” — Bill McDermott · [48:13](https://realalpha.app/v/tNNFJa5pUEg/?t=2893)
- [Enterprise buyers want specific AI plans, not long discovery](https://realalpha.app/s/enterprise-buyers-want-specific-ai-plans-not-long-discovery/)
  No Priors · Apr 17, 2026 · 2 min
  > “how do I transform the company in keeping with the CEO vision or the management team's vision?” — Bill McDermott · [49:14](https://realalpha.app/v/tNNFJa5pUEg/?t=2954)

## The episode

- [Scaling Global Organizations in the Age of AI with ServiceNow Chairman and CEO Bill McDermott](https://realalpha.app/v/tNNFJa5pUEg/) · No Priors · Apr 17, 2026