airlock vs ServiceNow AI Control Tower
ServiceNow AI Control Tower is an enterprise command center on the Now Platform. airlock is a vendor-neutral overlay for mid-market teams. Here is the feature-by-feature breakdown, including where ServiceNow wins.
EU-hosted · AWS Frankfurt
GDPR-aligned · built for the EU AI Act
Live Aikido security badge
OpenAPI-to-MCP in ~60s
01 / Feature by feature
How they compare
Scored the same way as the full comparison, airlock's losing rows included. ✓ full · ~ partial · ✕ none · roadmap known but unshipped.
| Capability | airlock | ServiceNow |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | ||
| Coverage & portability | ||
| Govern people's AI tools, across vendorsGovern the AI clients people use day to day, across every vendor. | ✓Fronts Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor across every vendor, through one connector. | ~Discovers third-party AI broadly, but enforcement is strongest in its own lane. |
| Run autonomous agentsHost and run agents executing on their own, with their own identity. | roadmapDoes not run agents yet; agent runtime hosting and identity are on the roadmap. Agent config is governed as objects (see below). | ✓Agent inventory plus a kill switch. |
| Overlay, not a destinationSits in front of the tools you already use, instead of being its own app. | ✓Sits in front of the tools you already use. | ✕An enterprise platform with lock-in. |
| Governance & security | ||
| Policy, approvals & kill switchSet rules, pause risky actions for approval, and disable instantly. | ✓Policy, HITL approvals and kill switch, all live. | ✓Policy plus a real-time kill switch (Veza). |
| Skills & agents as governed objectsSkills and agent definitions as reusable, verified building blocks with version history. | ✓Skills and agent configs as versioned, signed, portable objects. | ~Managed in-platform, not portable. |
| Enforce your AI use policyTurn the written AI policy into enforced rules and a required sign-off. | ✓Versioned AI use policy; each person signs to continue, access pauses until they do, and flagged actions need approval. | ~GRC policy management, not a per-person AI-use sign-off. |
| Credential vault / agent identityKeys stay server-side; each agent has a governed identity. | ~Vault is live; Entra SSO and SCIM are roadmap. | ✓Veza access graph. |
| Audit log + SIEM exportEvery action recorded and streamable to your security tooling. | ✓Every call logged, SIEM-exportable. | ✓Full audit through enterprise GRC. |
| Runtime threat protectionDetect attacks, block injection, cover devices and feed the security team. | ~Scans tool calls and redacts PII; not full threat detection, device or security-team coverage. | ~Some via its security tooling; not its core. |
| Shadow-AI discoveryFind unsanctioned AI tools people already use. | ✕Sees only what routes through airlock; cannot discover tools that bypass the connector. | ✓Many connectors; a core 2026 pillar. |
| Data-leakage / DLPStop sensitive data going into AI tools. | ~Redaction on tool I/O, not the conversation. | ~Protects within its own flows. |
| Fit & commercial | ||
| No-code / non-engineerSet up and run it without engineers. | ✓One connector; OpenAPI-to-MCP in 60s. | ~Needs platform configuration. |
| Per-engagement isolationA separate, walled scope per client engagement. | roadmapA formal per-engagement project hierarchy is on the roadmap; not yet a productised per-client tenant. | ~Scopes within one tenant. |
| Reseller programBuyable and resellable through partners. | roadmapReseller program announced; still being built. | ✓Large partner ecosystem. |
| Compliance (EU) | ||
| EU data residencyData stored and processed in the EU. | ✓EU-hosted · GDPR-aligned, built for the EU AI Act. | ~Regional routing; own hosting less documented. |
| EU AI Act tooling / evidenceEvidence and templates for EU AI Act compliance. | roadmapLive audit trail; packaged Evidence Pack is roadmap. | ✓Out-of-box EU AI Act content packs. |
| Certifications (SOC 2 / ISO 27001)Third-party security certifications. | roadmapNone held yet; ISO 27001 and SOC 2 in progress, with a live Aikido security badge published. | ✓Enterprise certifications held. |
02 / When to choose each
Pick the one that fits
Choose airlock
airlock is the better fit if you:
- Are a mid-market team or consultancy without an engineering team
- Want vendor-neutral governance over the AI tools you already use
- Need transparent, predictable per-user pricing
- Want EU data residency without standing up an enterprise platform
Choose ServiceNow AI Control Tower
ServiceNow AI Control Tower is the better fit if you are:
- A large enterprise already invested in the Now Platform
- After one command center to watch everything, with broad discovery
- In need of out-of-the-box EU AI Act content packs and held certifications today
- Able to absorb custom, usage-based pricing
03 / Pricing
What each costs
airlock
Free, then €19 per user per month. Transparent and predictable.
ServiceNow AI Control Tower
Custom, usage-based pricing with opaque metering.
04 / Switching & fit
Switching from an enterprise platform
airlock is not a rip-and-replace for the Now Platform; it governs the AI clients your team uses without adopting a new platform. Mid-market teams that found ServiceNow too heavy or too costly use airlock to get policy, approvals, a kill switch and an audit trail in place quickly, then keep their existing tools.
05 / FAQ
Common questions
Is there a vendor-neutral alternative to ServiceNow AI Control Tower?
Yes. ServiceNow AI Control Tower is an enterprise command center on the Now Platform, with custom usage-based pricing, best suited to large companies already invested in ServiceNow. airlock does the same govern-your-AI job for mid-market teams: vendor-neutral, no-code, EU-hosted, and transparently priced, without the Now Platform dependency.
Which fits a mid-market company best?
airlock, in most cases. ServiceNow assumes you are already on the Now Platform and can configure an enterprise platform. airlock is built for mid-market teams without engineers: one connector, transparent pricing, EU-hosted.
Where does ServiceNow win?
On broad shadow-AI discovery, on out-of-the-box EU AI Act content packs, and on held enterprise certifications. airlock's discovery is limited to what routes through it, and its EU AI Act Evidence Pack and certifications are on the roadmap.
What does each cost?
airlock is Free, then €19 per user per month, transparent. ServiceNow AI Control Tower is custom and usage-based.
Does airlock require the Now Platform or any platform adoption?
No. airlock is an overlay. You point the AI clients your team already uses at one connector and set policy server-side. There is no platform to adopt.
Is airlock EU-hosted?
Yes. airlock runs on AWS Frankfurt, is GDPR-aligned and built for the EU AI Act, with a full audit trail by default.
Govern the AI tools your team already uses.
Link any tool once, reuse everywhere, audit forever. One layer over every MCP-compatible client, set up without engineers.
EU-hosted · GDPR-aligned
Built for the EU AI Act