Salesforce vs. ServiceNow: Which Agentic AI Stock Is Actually the Better Buy Right Now?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the software industry. AI is making it easier to develop software, while AI agents, digital workers that can autonomously perform tasks, might be the future for enterprises. It creates an uncertain future, but one with immense opportunities for Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) and ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW).

Salesforce is the king of customer relationship management (CRM) software, while ServiceNow dominates workflow automation in corporations. Each of these enterprise software giants is racing to reestablish its competitive footing in the market. Both have embraced agentic AI, bringing it to customers before they look for it elsewhere.

When it comes to choosing which of these AI-forward software-as-a-service (SaaS) stocks deserves your money right now, a clear winner stands out.

Image source: Getty Images.

ServiceNow's AI pivot is delivering results

It wasn't long ago that ServiceNow was selling off almost every day as AI companies began showing how capable AI agents can be. ServiceNow's core business is workflow automation, software that makes repetitive tasks within companies, such as submitting an IT support ticket, easier and quicker. But those types of tasks are exactly what AI agents can do really well.

ServiceNow quickly realized this and pivoted to building its business around AI. In a nutshell, ServiceNow wants to help customers deploy and manage AI agents. It can function like a control tower at an airport, directing which plane goes where and when. AI agents can operate without human intervention, so there needs to be some form of supervision, and ServiceNow's software already sits in its customers' critical IT areas.

Management is guiding for about $15.7 billion in subscription revenue this year, but believes it will grow to at least $30 billion by 2030. Additionally, it believes that AI will account for 30% of its annual contract value by then. The strong outlook hasn't saved the stock from the AI sell-off; shares are still nearly 60% below their high.

Salesforce's AI demise seems unlikely

AI has become increasingly good at coding entire applications from prompts. As much as that has cast a shadow over Salesforce and other app companies, there's a big difference between coding a demo and managing it or fixing bugs. Salesforce is also one of the stickiest enterprise software products. It has become an ecosystem where companies can run their sales, marketing, customer service, and more.

Like ServiceNow, Salesforce has aggressively rolled out agentic AI tools and features. For instance, Agentforce is rapidly growing. To date, its AI agents performed 3.8 billion discrete tasks as of the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 (ended April 30), and grew 111% from the prior quarter. One clear difference from ServiceNow is that Salesforce isn't growing nearly as fast. The company is guiding for 10% to 11% revenue growth this year, but that includes more than 4% from its recent acquisition of Informatica.

Once the post-acquisition benefits have faded, Salesforce might still only generate single-digit revenue growth. Wall Street's AI-fueled selling of software stocks has affected Salesforce, too. The stock currently sits about 57% off its high. Investors have remained cautious, likely because it's still too early to know how AI might evolve and impact these software companies even a few years from now.

Why Salesforce might be the better buy right now

Investors should weigh both the opportunities and risks that AI technology presents to these companies. Paying a reasonable valuation for a stock is one of the best ways to protect your investment from the unknown.

ServiceNow is clearly growing much faster than Salesforce, but the stock is also far more expensive. Analysts estimate that ServiceNow will grow earnings by an average 24.6% annually over the long term. That's great, but it's less exciting for investors when you're paying more than 56 times earnings for shares. Suppose AI doesn't go the way ServiceNow hopes, and its growth slows? The stock could fall a long way from that valuation.

NOW PE Ratio data by YCharts

On the other hand, analysts see Salesforce growing earnings by an average of 16.1% annually moving forward. It's not nearly as fast, but the stock is a much better value at just over 18 times earnings. The fastest-growing company is not always the best investment. In this case, Salesforce is the better buy right now.

Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Salesforce and ServiceNow. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.