7.1. Introduction to AI
💡 First Principle: In ITIL, AI is framed as a capability that assists product and service management — automating, augmenting, and accelerating work — rather than as a technical subject in its own right, because the framework cares about how AI helps create value, not how it's built.
Why care: AI is reshaping how services are designed, run, and improved, and ITIL Version 5 makes sure practitioners can talk about it sensibly and adopt it responsibly. The mental model: think of AI as a powerful new kind of assistant that can be applied at many points in the lifecycle and value chain, with maturity levels and governance needs.
⚠️ Common Misconception: That Foundation requires technical AI knowledge. It requires awareness — recognizing AI's role as a supporting capability and the need to govern it, not understanding model internals.
