Don’t Automate Empathy: AI’s Role in the Future of FinOps

As AI transforms FinOps, one truth remains unchanged: success still depends on people. In this episode of FinOps Fridays, Hunter Willis sits down with Chase Bennett, Manager of Public Cloud Forecasting at ServiceNow, to explore why FinOps has always been about people, not just cloud costs. Drawing on nearly a decade of FinOps experience, Chase shares how practitioners can gain buy-in, lead optimization with curiosity instead of criticism, and keep the human element at the center as AI transforms the practice.

Listen to this episode for insight into:

• Why the most valuable FinOps skill isn’t technical expertise. It’s influence.
• How curiosity, not criticism, drives optimization and stakeholder buy-in.
• What AI should automate, and why empathy, trust, and relationships should remain human.