Beyond the buzz: why AI is redefining success for MSPs and IT teams

If you’ve been in the IT service management or MSP space for a few years now, you’ve lived through several waves of technological hype or disruption. Automation, hyperautomation, cloud-first tools - each made things a lot easier and more efficient for MSPs. But they were incremental improvements; the fundamentals remained as is. They solved some problems, but they never actually changed how MSPs function.

With agentic AI, it is a lot more than a tech upgrade. It signals a complete shift in how things work and is redefining the business of MSPs. 

So why does the AI wave feel different? What makes this moment stand apart from every other hype cycle? 

Why agentic AI marks the inflection point for MSPs

It comes down to four big shifts we are already starting to see:

AI is finally adaptive

Unlike all other technologies, what makes agentic AI different is its ability to adapt, learn, and work autonomously. 

Automation and robotic process automation (RPA) helped, but they were brittle. Every rule had to be hard-coded, and if conditions shifted, the workflow broke. Hyperautomation delivered faster responses or results, but was still deterministic. Cloud-first platforms improved delivery, but didn’t quite help MSPs with their time and resource crunch. 

“We’re at an inflection point now because we have an AI that adapts based on feedback. Unlike previous hype cycles, this time we have better data, models, and adaptability, and we can believe that it can solve things at scale. Guardrails are necessary, but it’s ready for real impact.” - Damo Vasudevan, VP of Product at SuperOps

But this alone doesn’t make this an inflection point. What makes it stick is that businesses are finally ready to adopt it.

MSPs now trust and are adopting AI

Every IT team, every MSP is adopting AI. It could be for client-facing work and proactive services, or something as simple as using AI tools to draft an internal email. But in some form or another, we’re seeing AI adoption. Research shows that 75% of small and medium businesses are already investing in AI. 

“We're beginning to finally hit that point where clients are trusting AI.” - Devon Fata, CEO, Square Clover. 

MSPs like Square Clover have been experimenting with AI agents and are now offering their clients AI-driven services.  Ticket summaries, basic documentation, writing PowerShell scripts, or handling onboarding are some of the repetitive, straightforward procedures that Square Clover has begun offloading to AI. 

“The goal is to replace the tedious parts of the work. It’s about pivoting into focusing on higher-level priorities.” - Devon Fata, CEO, Square Clover. 

Businesses are now trusting AI, and are seeing that the technology has the potential to improve how they function.

Solving long-standing MSP challenges

In just a few months, MSPs are seeing that agentic AI could be the solution to some of the challenges that MSPs have been dealing with for decades now.

Finding and keeping good talent has always been hard. AI helps here by taking routine work off technicians’ plates, giving employees back time for higher-value, strategic work.

Scaling without increasing headcount is another tough challenge that agentic AI is helping address. With AI agents handling basic L1 and L2 tasks, technicians can focus on growth-oriented work and value-added services. MSPs can now finally scale operations, expand their business, and work toward profitability without adding people.

And then there’s tool sprawl. MSPs have always juggled disconnected systems that don’t play well together. The more tools you add, the more complexity you introduce, and the more likely things are to break. Unified, agentic AI-powered platforms like SuperOps cut through this chaos and give MSPs one system that works seamlessly.

The ability to start solving these challenges is particularly valuable now because client expectations are evolving rapidly. Various market forces are driving companies to demand more from their MSPs, and agentic AI is making it possible for MSPs to meet their demands.

Meeting new client expectations

MSPs are constantly being asked to do more with less. Clients no longer  just want issues fixed. They expect MSPs to give strategic input on improving their IT infrastructure and be proactive in areas like cybersecurity.

Agentic AI takes care of the grunt work so MSPs have the time and headspace to focus on business growth. MSPs are able to evolve their business models, expanding service offerings, driving profitability, and transforming their business models from being a managed services provider to becoming a Managed Intelligence Provider (MIP). It’s about doing more consultative, strategic work instead of just IT management.

All this reinforces the belief that this time, things are different, and that there is no ignoring agentic AI.

This question shaped much of our recent webinar with Devon Fata, CEO of Square Clover; Damo Vasudevan, VP of Product at SuperOps; and Sriram Prasad, Product Marketing Manager at SuperOps. They discussed why this moment matters, how MSPs are using agentic AI, and where the market is headed.  Watch the recording here. 

Getting started with agentic AI

All the buzz around agentic AI can be overwhelming, but MSPs and IT teams need to get started somewhere.

“There are layers to adoption that happen. A couple of months ago, I gave the team a very basic call to action: everybody needs to be using AI every day. Doesn’t matter if it’s just to write an email, just be using it.” - Devon Fata, CEO, Square Clover

While adopting AI-powered tools to run internal processes is one way to start, there are also client-facing functions that MSPs and IT teams can easily enhance and improve with agentic AI.

The first, of course, is to go after your tickets. AI agents can handle ticket prioritization, recommend fixes for L1 tickets, and manage routing. This shows immediate results, with technicians having more time on their hands for strategic work or other tasks that require the human touch.

Then there’s patching. AI-generated patch summaries and sentiment analysis help MSPs decide what’s safe to deploy before rolling it out to thousands of endpoints. AI-powered platforms also help with managing onboarding, automating admin tasks, and streamlining client communications. 

Each of these reduces grunt work, prevents burnout, and frees MSPs to focus on scaling their businesses. Read more about how MSPs can integrate agentic AI into their operations here.

It is important to start small, and over time, design workflows with AI at the core.

At SuperOps, we’re building our agentic AI-powered platform in a way that helps MSPs get gradually accustomed to the new AI-powered way of working. 

We’re ensuring we put guardrails around data, maintaining strict data protection policies, and planning workflows in a manner that first helps MSPs build confidence with semi-autonomous AI before exploring full orchestration.

If you’re an MSPs with ambitions to scale, you don’t have the luxury of sitting this one out. Agentic AI is already reshaping how services are delivered, how teams work, and how clients measure success. Get started with your agentic AI journey. 

with us to learn how our agentic AI-powered platform will set you up for success. Schedule a demo