Artificial intelligence agents in ITSM incident management: a systematic review of their impact and performance
Keywords:
ITSM, incident management, artificial intelligence, intelligent agents, AIOpsAbstract
Incident management in Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) faces increasing challenges due to the growing volume and complexity of modern IT infrastructures. This systematic review aimed to analyze the impact and performance of artificial intelligence (AI) agents applied to incident management in ITSM. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines and included 15 studies published between 2021 and 2026. The findings indicate that AI-powered chatbots resolved up to 57% of user inquiries within one or two interaction turns, reduced resolution time by 74.17%, and achieved an intent classification accuracy of 82.5%. In addition, predictive monitoring agents outperformed human experts in early incident detection, while large language models enhanced the analysis of unstructured information and supported more effective incident diagnosis. Despite these advances, significant challenges remain, including the lack of standardized evaluation metrics, limited assessment of economic impact and user satisfaction, and the insufficient integration of AI agents into ITIL-based processes. Overall, AI agents significantly improve operational efficiency and represent a promising technology for advancing incident management within ITSM.
References
Ahmed, S., Singh, M., Doherty, B., Ramlan, E., Harkin, K., Bucholc, M., y Coyle, D. (2023). An empirical analysis of state-of-art classification models in an IT incident severity prediction framework. Applied Sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 13(6), 3843. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063843
Ayesha, S., Aslam, A., Zaheer, M. H., y Khan, M. B. (2025). CIRS: A multi-agent machine learning framework for real-time accident detection and emergency response. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 25(18), 5845. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25185845
Balasubramanian, P., Liyana, S., Sankaran, H., Sivaramakrishnan, S., Pusuluri, S., Pirttikangas, S., y Peltonen, E. (2025). Generative AI for cyber threat intelligence: applications, challenges, and analysis of real-world case studies. Artificial Intelligence Review, 58(11). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-025-11338-z
Bartelheimer, C., Heinz, D., Hönigsberg, S., Siemon, D., Li, M. M., Strohmann, T., Poeppelbuss, J., y Peters, C. (2025). Conceptualizing hybrid intelligent service ecosystems. Electronic Markets, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-025-00798-4
Bashar, M. A., y Nayak, R. (2025). Chatting with organisational data: a generative AI approach applied to scientific reports for information seeking. Knowledge and Information Systems, 67(11), 10657–10690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10115-025-02551-x
Bogatinovski, J., Nedelkoski, S., Acker, A., Schmidt, F., Wittkopp, T., Becker, S., Cardoso, J., y Kao, O. (2021). Artificial Intelligence for IT operations (AIOPS) workshop white paper. En arXiv [cs.LG]. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2101.06054
Bonilla, L., Diaz-de-Arcaya, J., López-de-Armentia, J., y Almeida, A. (2026). A framework for the predictive monitoring and data quality assurance in the cloud continuum. Journal of Cloud Computing Advances Systems and Applications, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13677-026-00881-x
Caturkusuma, R. M., Alzami, F., Nurhindarto, A., Sulistiyono, M. Y. T., Irawan, C., y Kusumawati, Y. (2025). Predicting IT incident duration using Machine Learning: A case study in IT service management. sinkron, 9(1), 8–19. https://doi.org/10.33395/sinkron.v9i1.14310
Cheng, Q., Sahoo, D., Saha, A., Yang, W., Liu, C., Woo, G., Singh, M., Saverese, S., y Hoi, S. C. H. (2023). AI for IT operations (AIOps) on cloud platforms: Reviews, opportunities and challenges. En arXiv [cs.LG]. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2304.04661
Hauptman, A. I., Schelble, B. G., Duan, W., Flathmann, C., y McNeese, N. J. (2024). Understanding the influence of AI autonomy on AI explainability levels in human-AI teams using a mixed methods approach. Cognition, Technology & Work, 26(3), 435–455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-024-00765-7
Holder, E., y Wang, N. (2021). Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) interactively working with humans as a junior cyber analyst. Human-Intelligent Systems Integration, 3(2), 139–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42454-020-00021-z
Kim, A., Sachdeva, A., y Dennis, A. R. (2025). From self-service to AI-assisted service: A mixed-method study of IT support service provision using search tools and chatbots. International Journal of Information Management, 84(102938), 102938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2025.102938
Mercy Babatope, O., Oyewole, T., I Ogbole, J., y Osobhalenewie Okoruwa, P. (2023). Developing an AI-based incident response automation framework to minimize downtime in IT service operations. International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Studies, 3(6), 2406–2423. https://doi.org/10.62225/2583049x.2023.3.6.5415
Nikulin, V. V., Shibaikin, S. D., y Vishnyakov, A. N. (2021). Application of machine learning methods for automated classification and routing in ITIL. Journal of Physics. Conference Series, 2091(1), 012041. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2091/1/012041
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Patel, K., Shah, M., Qureshi, K. M., y Qureshi, M. R. N. (2025). A systematic review of generative AI: importance of industry and startup-centered perspectives, agentic AI, ethical considerations & challenges, and future directions. Artificial Intelligence Review, 59(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-025-11435-z
Pfeiffer, P., Abb, L., Fettke, P., y Rehse, J.-R. (2025). Learning from the data to predict the process: Generalization capabilities of next activity prediction algorithms. Business & Information Systems Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-025-00936-4
Pfuño Alccahuamani, L. A., Meza Bautista, A., y Rojas, H. (2026). Hybrid web architecture with AI and mobile notifications to optimize incident management in the public sector. Computers, 15(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/computers15010047
Ramakrishnan, M., Gregor, S., Shrestha, A., y Soar, J. (2025). Addressing knowledge gaps in ITSM practice with “Learning Digital Commons”: A case study. Information Systems Frontiers: A Journal of Research and Innovation, 27(3), 965–989. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-024-10483-0
Remil, Y., Bendimerad, A., Mathonat, R., y Kaytoue, M. (2024). AIOps solutions for incident management: Technical guidelines and A comprehensive literature review. En arXiv [cs.OS]. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2404.01363
Sasmita, W. M. H., Sumpeno, S., y Rachmadi, R. F. (2025). Improving government helpdesk service with an AI-powered chatbot built on the Rasa framework. Jurnal RESTI (Rekayasa Sistem dan Teknologi Informasi), 9(2), 393–403. https://doi.org/10.29207/resti.v9i2.6293
Soldani, J., y Brogi, A. (2023). Anomaly detection and failure root cause analysis in (micro) service-based cloud applications: A survey. ACM Computing Surveys, 55(3), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1145/3501297
Tahernejad, A., Sahebi, A., Abadi, A. S. S., y Safari, M. (2024). Application of artificial intelligence in triage in emergencies and disasters: a systematic review. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 3203. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20447-3
Uddin, M., Irshad, M. S., Kandhro, I. A., Alanazi, F., Ahmed, F., Maaz, M., Hussain, S., y Ullah, S. S. (2025). Generative AI revolution in cybersecurity: a comprehensive review of threat intelligence and operations. Artificial Intelligence Review, 58(8). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-025-11219-5
Zhang, L., Jia, T., Jia, M., Wu, Y., Liu, A., Yang, Y., Wu, Z., Hu, X., Yu, P., y Li, Y. (2026). A survey of AIOps in the era of large language models. ACM Computing Surveys, 58(2), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1145/3746635
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ronaldo Carlos Robles Romero, Eduardo Joel Romero Vasquez, Alberto Carlos Mendoza de los Santos

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.





