Twelve months ago, the channel was still debating whether artificial intelligence was overhyped or a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
That debate is over.
At ChannelCon powered by GTIA, held Aug. 3-5 in San Diego, one message surfaced again and again: SMB customers have moved beyond asking whether they should embrace AI. Now they’re asking how.
For MSPs, that represents a significant shift. The opportunity is no longer selling AI-enabled products or talking about the latest tools. It’s becoming the trusted adviser that helps customers deploy AI securely, strategically and with measurable business outcomes.
To better understand what that means for solution providers, ChannelPro examined the key themes that emerged from:
- GTIA’s Aug. 4 Channel Visionaries Power Panel, featuring leaders from MSPs, vendors and distributors
- New SMB research presented during Customer AI Adoption: Hype vs. Reality and What It Means for ITSPs on Aug. 5
- An interview with GTIA Vice President of Research and Market Intelligence Carolyn April
Together, these insights point to the channel entering a new phase of AI adoption, where execution matters more than excitement.
Carolyn April
“We are past this being only a hype cycle,” April said during the panel. “AI is probably something that every business of every size needs to think about executing on, figuring out a way to operationalize, make money and incorporate this technology into their business.”
That sentiment echoed throughout the conference. AI is no longer the story. Helping customers use it effectively is.
Customers don’t need convincing. They need guidance.
GTIA’s latest SMB research suggests most customers have already decided AI belongs in their businesses. The challenge is figuring out where it fits.
Many organizations are experimenting with general-purpose AI tools, but few have developed a comprehensive strategy. Others are enthusiastic but lack the internal expertise, governance or budget to move beyond individual productivity gains.
That creates a significant opportunity for MSPs. Instead of leading with products, providers can lead with business outcomes. According to the research, the areas where SMBs most want help include:
- Training employees to use AI effectively
- Identifying the right AI tools for their business
- Integrating AI into existing workflows
- Conducting cybersecurity and AI readiness assessments
- Developing governance and usage policies
“They’re excited about it,” April told ChannelPro in an interview. “But we’re not seeing strategy around that. They don’t know where to begin. This is a huge opportunity for our folks to go in and help with that.”
Jennifer Anaya and Craig Fulton
For Craig Fulton, M&A advisor at Evergreen, that opportunity requires providers to expand the way they think about automation. “With AI, there’s this new shift,” Fulton said during the panel. “You’ve worked so hard at automating your own business. Now you have to automate your customers’ business for the first time. It’s a different mentality.”
GTIA’s Sharon Florentine, who presented the research findings, said MSPs can use their own experiences to build credibility with customers.
“Don’t be afraid to share how you adopted it, how you integrated it, what the outcomes were and where you struggled,” she said during her presentation. “That can absolutely help your customers as well.”
Trust may become the channel’s biggest competitive advantage
Beneath all the discussion about AI, trust was a theme that consistently surfaced. In fact, security and governance have become the starting point for nearly every customer conversation, according to Microsoft Corporate Vice President Nina Harding.
“The biggest thing I’m concerned about for our partners is, are you really looking at it from a secure platform?” Harding said during the panel discussion. “Are you making sure you’re having real conversations with your clients? You need to start with that foundation of security and building trust. To me, that’s what’s going to make it or break it as businesses move forward.”
Jennifer Anaya, senior vice president of global marketing at Ingram Micro, argued that providers should resist the temptation to simply layer AI onto existing processes.
Nina Harding and Jonathan Philipsen
“AI really isn’t as much about technology as it is about now it is time for us to really think big. Understand the outcomes. Don’t use AI to redo the processes you already have. Rethink how you’re helping customers and how you’re running your own business.”
Jonathan Philipsen, executive vice president of channel and alliances at tech outsourcing firm Thrive, pointed to deeper vertical expertise as another way MSPs can strengthen those relationships.
“If we can become more specialized in whatever the client’s vertical is, it’ll make us look like humans. That’s not just across the desk with clients, but on the same side of the desk with them. If we can understand the tools that we can leverage better within their business and help them mitigate that risk, that’s huge. The customer touchpoint is a huge opportunity for us.”
Those comments closely mirror GTIA’s customer research, which found that concerns about data security, privacy and compliance remain among the biggest barriers to broader AI adoption. In other words, the more customers adopt AI, the more valuable MSPs become.
MSPs have to transform themselves first
The panelists also delivered a message many MSPs may not want to hear. Before helping customers embrace AI, providers need to mature their own internal AI strategies.
That starts by using AI inside the business before trying to sell it. “I still talk to a lot of MSP operators and owners that are not using AI internally,” said Jennifer Roy, CEO of Nucleus. “You have to drink your own champagne before you can ask your clients to trust you. Get comfortable, get training and then have those business outcome conversations.”
That means more than deploying a chatbot or adding AI features to existing tools. It requires governance, policies, training and change management. ConnectWise CEO Manny Rivelo said providers should carefully distinguish between using AI to differentiate their businesses and simply building technology because it’s new.
Manny Rivelo, Jennifer Roy and moderator Carolyn April
“The technology is available, and everybody should be taking advantage of it,” Rivelo said. “The question is, how do you practically apply it to your business? Think about where AI differentiates your business and where it makes more sense to buy versus build.”
The transformation also extends to people. Rather than replacing employees, panelists repeatedly described AI as an opportunity to elevate them.
“The real power we’ve seen inside our company has not, by default, come from the technical folks,” Rivelo said. “The creativity comes from the functional areas of the business. They’re the ones asking, ‘If I could build this all over again, how would I do it more efficiently?’ That’s where the power lies.”
Harding agreed, saying AI is shifting the value employees bring to organizations. “The most innovative things I’m finding are coming from nontechnical people. People are managing a whole series of agents to support their business. What they’re now able to do is much more strategic and of much greater value.”
The next phase starts now
The message emerging from ChannelCon wasn’t that AI has become less important. It’s that the conversation has matured.
Customers are moving beyond curiosity. They’re looking for practical guidance, stronger security and measurable business outcomes. They’re also looking for partners who understand their businesses, not just their technology. For MSPs, that means the next competitive advantage won’t necessarily come from selling more AI. They must become the adviser that customers trust to navigate everything that comes with it.
“You really need to spend the majority of your time thinking about the business implications of AI versus the technology ones,” April explained.
That may ultimately prove to be the biggest lesson from ChannelCon 2026. The AI gold rush isn’t ending. It’s simply entering the stage where strategy, trust and execution matter more than hype.
Anjali Fluker is managing editor of The ChannelPro Network, where she covers news, trends and best practices for the MSP community. She specializes in telling the stories that matter to IT providers serving the SMB market. When she’s not reporting on the latest in managed services, she’s connecting with channel pros at industry events across the country.
Images: Anjali Fluker/ChannelPro
