Agentic AI vs. AI Agents: What MSPs need to know

Even if you have been hiding under a rock with no internet signal, chances are the words AI agents and agentic AI have reached you. They are not just buzzwords, but transforming how we work, what we do, and what the future of technology might look like. 

For managed service providers (MSPs) and in-house IT service management (ITSM) teams, AI is not just helping IT teams anymore. It’s learning to run the show.

Over the last couple of years, automation and GenAI have already streamlined ticket resolution, patch deployments, and repetitive admin work, but agentic AI is taking things a step further. 

But what exactly is agentic AI, and how does it differ from AI agents? Let’s break it down.

Agentic AI vs. AI Agents: What’s the difference?

Agentic AI is the concept of using AI to run processes independently and autonomously, achieving a larger objective without human intervention at every step. It can plan, reason, and adapt, and function in dynamic environments to make decisions in real-time.

AI agents are the tools that execute specific tasks and help achieve this goal. They respond to clear prompts to carry out tasks with speed and accuracy, but cannot decide what to do without human or agentic AI direction.

Simply put, agentic AI orchestrates the overarching goal, while AI agents do what it takes to get there and bring the goal to life. By taking the agentic AI approach, you can manage workflows or processes autonomously using multiple AI agents to run tasks that contribute to the larger objective. 

Take service desk efficiency as an example. For MSPs and ITSM teams, the agentic AI goal might be to reduce the number of tickets reaching their technicians. To make that happen, multiple AI agents could be deployed, such as one to deflect L1 tickets, another to answer common queries, a third to route tickets to the right queues, and so on. Each agent tackles a slice of the work, but together they deliver on the broader vision.

The same applies to patch management. AI agents might be used to scan for updates, apply patches, and confirm installation. But within an agentic AI framework, patching will be a part of a broader organizational strategy designed to modernize IT security, ensure uninterrupted compliance, and provide complete protection for all assets. 

What Agentic AI means for MSPs

Agentic AI can empower IT teams and MSPs to step into a more strategic role in any organization, allowing them to focus on driving improvements in IT infrastructure and enhancing business operations at scale. Instead of merely reacting to problems, ITSM teams and MSPs could use AI agents to oversee fixes while humans can focus on innovation and driving business impact. 

With agentic AI, IT teams and MSPs can turn IT management from a reactive task to a proactive workflow and manage this efficiently at scale.   

For example, when it comes to a process like incident response, agentic AI can go beyond fixing the issues based on pre-determined automation to analyzing real-time metrics, comparing historical patterns, and deciding the most efficient and effective way to handle the incident. 

Similarly, with security and monitoring, agentic AI goes beyond just alerting to proactively assess risk levels, evaluate the situation against compliance benchmarks, and set remediation or updates in motion. 

Essentially, with agentic AI, MSPs can operate with greater efficiency and scalability, turning reactive IT operations into autonomous, outcome-focused processes.

AI Agents vs. Agentic AI: Which one does your MSP need?

AI Agents

As we saw earlier, AI agents are built to execute tasks that help in achieving a larger goal. They require prompts and clearly defined instructions, and while they can handle tasks faster and more efficiently than humans, they cannot make decisions without human input. 

So, AI agents are best suited for situations where accuracy, consistency, and speed are important. 

For example, AI agents are ideal for detecting issues in assets or other IT infrastructure, logging actions, updating tickets, and notifying stakeholders. 

They are also ideal for improving efficiency in ticket handling by taking care of tasks such as classifying, prioritizing, and assigning tickets. 

In several companies, AI agents are now being used to look through relevant knowledge base articles and handle basic L1 tickets without handing them to human technicians. 

MSPs and IT teams can also deploy AI agents to keep an eye on compliance by running periodic checks, tracking hardware and software inventory, and flagging issues as and when they spot anomalies. 

Agentic AI

This approach is better when organizations are working on larger strategic changes. It is not just about running tasks, but using AI to take informed decisions on what tasks to run, how to run them, and when to adapt to any changes to the status quo.

The focus with agentic AI is not on reducing repetitive manual tasks and improving speed, but on driving better outcomes. 

For example, it is ideal to take the agentic AI route if you are looking to transform your IT management from a reactive to a proactive workflow, and do this at scale. Another application is with IT compliance to handle growing instances of cybersecurity breaches. 

Agentic AI can help continuously monitor for vulnerabilities or misconfigurations, assess risks, and take corrective action before incidents occur. It is also useful for patch management as it can prioritize patches by risk level, coordinate safe deployment windows, and maintain an always-accurate inventory across client environments.

After automation and GenAI, agentic AI marks the next stage in technological evolution for IT teams. It is time to move from merely executing tasks to driving impactful outcomes. And this starts with modernizing your IT infrastructure and processes with agentic AI.

SuperOps was built for exactly this. Our unified PSA-RMM platform, powered by agentic AI, scales with your business and works alongside you, thinking, adapting, and solving, not just executing.

See for yourself how SuperOps and agentic AI can transform your IT operations; schedule a demo with us today!