Positioning & Preparation

Introduction

MSPs can't win on AI by being “first.” The opportunity is to be the trusted partner who makes AI safe: governed, explainable, and client-ready. SMBs will lean on their MSP not for AI hype, but for assurance that new tools won’t create compliance, liability, or trust problems.

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Strategic Positioning

MSP Opportunity: Position as the "safe AI adoption partner" for SMBs by:

• Providing governance expertise clients lack internally

• Managing AI vendor relationships and compliance

• Offering hybrid human+AI service delivery models

• Building AI literacy among client staff

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Preparation Framework

Policy:

• Draft AI Acceptable Use Policy

• Create client AI disclosure template

• Document shadow AI detection

Vendor:

• Audit all AI features in stack

• Review DPAs for training opt-outs

• Negotiate liability + residency terms

Staff:

• Train on output verification (not just prompts)

• Add AI steps to incident response

• Run tabletop exercises for AI misfires

Ongoing:

• Track false positives and misses

• Log AI-assisted actions for audit

• Maintain manual fallback for critical workflows

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Bottom Line

MSPs win client trust not by selling AI as revolutionary, but by proving it won’t outpace accountability. Strategic positioning is simple: govern it, explain it, and keep people in the loop. The MSP that makes AI safe is the MSP that keeps the client.

These steps respond directly to the regulatory, audit, and vendor trends outlined in Where We’re Going