5 ways MSPs are using AI to gain efficiency and unlock new revenue

Guest blog courtesy of WatchGuard

COMMENTARY: Ask ten MSPs how AI is changing their business and you'll get ten different answers. The providers pulling ahead aren't trying to outwork the pressure. They're using AI to absorb it, and packaging it into services clients will pay for.

Some MSPs are automating ticketing. Some are using AI to cut through alert fatigue. Others are still on the sidelines, trying to separate the opportunity from the hype. Meanwhile, MSPs are managing more clients and tools than ever, customer expectations keep climbing, and human analysts are being outpaced by adversaries that don't sleep or hesitate.

Here are five things the MSPs pulling ahead are doing differently.

1. Automate the highest-volume work first

Ticketing, triage, and routine reporting are where AI pays back fastest. Start where the volume is highest and the judgment required is lowest, then move up from there.

2. Use AI to cut through alert fatigue

Analysts can't scale at the rate alerts do. The win isn't more alerts. It's better context and prioritization, so the queue reflects what actually matters to the customer.

3. Move clients beyond reactive IT support

Recent WatchGuard® research shows organizations are no longer looking for reactive IT support. They're redefining what they expect from a provider entirely, which opens the door to higher-value services like MDR, threat hunting, and AI-powered security operations.

4. Package AI as something you can actually sell

Efficiency protects margin. Packaging creates revenue. The MSPs growing fastest are the ones who turned AI capability into a defined, priced, sellable service line rather than an invisible back-office improvement.

5. Phase the rollout around your real constraints

No MSP has spare headcount waiting for an AI project. Prioritize use cases by effort and payback, deploy in phases, and prove value on one workflow before expanding.

See how other MSPs are doing it

WatchGuard is bringing MSP and security operations leaders together to compare notes on what's working, in a peer-to-peer conversation grounded in real deployments, not vendor pitches. The session covers how AI is being deployed across service delivery, security operations, and new client-facing offerings that create recurring revenue.

You'll leave with a practical framework, a use-case prioritization guide, a proven approach to packaging and selling AI services, and a phased deployment plan built for resource constraints..

September, 17th at 8am PDT
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