Enterprise workflow automation software provider ServiceNow Inc. won’t stop throwing its money around. The company today announced plans to acquire a startup called Parlo that’s focused on natural language processing, which is a subset of artificial intelligence.

ServiceNow said the all-cash deal will close later this month. Financial details weren’t disclosed. The deal comes ahead of ServiceNow’s annual Knowledge18 conference in Las Vegas next week.

Parlo offers a technology platform called Broca that brings natural language understanding into enterprise systems, so that machines can understand the nuances of human expression.

The company will integrate Broca into its Now Platform to help with business process automation. With Broca, the platform will be able to better understand conversational language, thereby helping to speed up interactions between humans and machines.

“We are rapidly moving away from structured data such as filling in forms and data fields, towards unstructured interactions with machines such as free-form text, voice and gestures,” Pat Casey, ServiceNow’s senior vice president of DevOps, said in a statement. “Our goal is to make everyday work interactions simple, accessible and natural for everyone.”

The natural language capabilities should certainly be useful for ServiceNow, whose platform helps automate tasks such as help desk activity and human resources processes. The challenge now for ServiceNow is to make sure it can integrate Parlo’s technology with its Now Platform in such a way that it works effortlessly, said one analyst.

“Speech is the new UI and vendors have realized they need to make it easier for users to use their software,” said Holger Mueller, principal analyst and vice president at Constellation Research Inc. “When it works it’s wonderful, when it does not it is a pain, but I am sure that Service Now has made sure that Parlo works for the needs of its applications. Now its all about to see the success of the first products in regards of making a difference for customers.”

The acquisition is just the latest in a string of deals ServiceNow has tied up in an effort to bolster its platform’s capabilities. Just last week the company snapped up a software-as-a-service management firm called VendorHawk Inc. for an “immaterial” fee. Prior to that, ServiceNow acquired “low-code” software development company SkyGiraffe Inc. in October.

Also last year, ServiceNow bought out a design studio called Telepathy in a move it said was designed to help its users build software applications that can deliver more intuitive experiences for consumers.

Image: ServiceNow/Facebook