AI adoption across UK businesses is still far from mature. Government research published this year found that only about one in six UK organisations currently use at least one AI technology, with a further 5% planning to adopt. For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), that gap between interests, adoption, and implementation points to a growing advisory role.
In our latest MSP Playbook for Working Smarter, Not Harder, we explore how MSPs can support clients through a fast-evolving technology landscape, from cybersecurity and compliance to operational efficiency and AI adoption. One clear takeaway is that small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are taking AI adoption seriously, but many are still working out how to use AI in a more structured and secure way.
For many SMBs, adoption may start with simple automation, basic chatbots or employees experimenting with generative AI tools to speed up daily work. Advanced uses, including agentic AI, are still more common in larger enterprise environments and will take time to reach the wider small and mid-market space. Even so, AI is likely to become more embedded in how SMBs operate.
For MSPs, this points to a stronger advisory role. The traditional relationship between MSPs and the businesses they support is often built around keeping systems running, managing tools, and providing support when issues arise. While those services still matter, MSPs now need to provide help in making sense of where AI fits, how it’s already being used, and what controls should sit around it.
Turning AI interest into business priorities
Many SMBs are interested in AI and can see its potential value, but may not yet know where to focus their efforts. MSPs can help SMBs move beyond broad enthusiasm by identifying where AI can support specific business goals, whether that means reducing repetitive admin, strengthening reporting, or supporting security workflows.
Rather than treating AI as a general technology trend, MSPs can help their clients prioritise AI use that is realistic, measurable, and relevant to how the business actually operates. This is especially valuable for those businesses without dedicated AI or transformation teams or strategy, where decisions around tools and automation may otherwise be made in isolation.
AI adoption can quickly become fragmented when individual teams select their own tools and define success differently. MSPs can help create a more consistent approach by aligning AI initiatives with business priorities and ensuring adoption is measured against tangible outcomes. In doing so, they can help customers move beyond experimentation and embed AI in ways that deliver lasting operational value.
Bringing visibility to informal AI use
AI adoption won’t always arrive through a formal procurement process. In many SMBs, employees may already be using free or low-cost tools to draft content, summarise and translate documents, or analyse information across daily workstreams. While creating efficiency gains, these habits can also leave business leaders without a clear view of which tools are being used or what data may be leaving approved environments.
MSPs can help SMB leaders bring that activity into view. By reviewing current use of AI across the business, they can identify sanctioned and unsanctioned tools, assess potential data exposure, and advise on which behaviours should be encouraged, managed or restricted. The goal is to offer SMBs enough visibility to make informed decisions before risk builds quietly in the background.
Building confidence through guardrails
As AI use grows, SMBs will need rules that are practical enough for employees to follow and specific enough to reduce risk. Although most SMBs won’t need a heavy enterprise governance programme from day one, they will need a clear starting point, knowing which tools are appropriate, where sensitive data could be exposed, and when human judgement needs to stay in the loop.
That’s when MSPs should step in. By reviewing current tools, setting sensible policies and connecting AI adoption to existing cybersecurity and compliance processes, they can help businesses develop a clearer structure to move forward without turning early AI use into another source of risk.
Take Copilot for M365 as an example. Copilot does a VERY good job of only surfacing information that a user has access to. The problem is that over time permissions in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business drift, and the native tools in 365 for managing this are difficult to use and ineffective for many SMBs that may lack knowledge or licensing of more advanced features. As the trusted technology provider, a MSP could run a permissions risk assessment first to get the customer “Copilot Ready” prior to switching on Copilot for the customer’s tenant.
Another example worth noting is leveraging AI capabilities through AI-powered defensive tools. AI-enhanced threat scanning, and AI-enhanced security awareness training solutions are great ways for SMBs to gain the benefits of AI through a controlled security program that brings real value to the business.
Moving into a more advisory role for MSPs
AI adoption among SMBs is still taking shape, offering MSPs a real opportunity to influence its development while continuing to act as the trusted technology expert for their customers. The businesses they support need more than access to new AI tools; they need guidance on where AI can deliver value, visibility into how its already being used, and confidence that appropriate controls are in place before adoption accelerates.
Whether that means helping a customer prepare their Microsoft 365 environment for Copilot, identifying unsanctioned AI use across the business, or deploying AI-enhanced security tools to strengthen cyber resilience, MSPs are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between AI ambition and practical implementation.
As AI becomes more embedded in day-to-day business operations, the MSPs that succeed will be those that combine technical expertise with strategic guidance. By helping customers adopt AI securely, responsibly and in line with business goals, MSPs can move beyond traditional support services and establish themselves as long-term technology and security partners.
