Industry Leaders Warn MSPs: Rolling Out AI Too Soon Could Backfire

‘Don’t sell what you don’t understand,’ says Austin McChord, co-founder of Slide.

IT channel heavy hitters took the stage last week and discussed the harsh realities around AI, urging MSPs to take a measured, internal-first approach to AI deployment and warning that the rush to impress customers with unproven tools could erode trust and backfire.

The panel included Austin McChord, founder of software vendor Datto and now Slide; Jason Magee, CEO of software vendor Cynet and former ConnectWise CEO; Nick Heddy, president and chief commerce officer at cloud marketplace Pax8; and Chris Day, CEO of software vendor ScalePad. The all took to the stage at the Global Technology Industry Association’s ChannelCon event in Nashville, Tenn., last week to discuss how MSPs can further leverage AI and the pitfalls that can come with it. The panel was moderated by Carolyn April, vice president of research and market intelligence at GTIA.

McChord kicked off the panel by discussing the dangers of pushing AI into customer environments too quickly and advocated for MSPs to begin by using AI to optimize their own internal operations.

“The biggest risk actually out there is deploying this stuff too soon,” he said. “If you push it really, really hard, your customers are going to be like, ‘This is terrible. I hate it. Why did you do this?’ That will change their opinion on AI for everything moving forward.”

The message resonated with other leaders on the panel, including Heddy, who likened AI adoption to on-boarding a new employee.

“I would not put my new employees in front of customers until I have educated them,” he said. “And so yes, you should roll [AI] out to your customers only when you are sure that what it is delivering is going to be good.”

AI holds massive potential for the MSP industry, the executives agreed, but only if it’s deployed deliberately, starting with internal value, tested outcomes and real-world understanding.

From AI readiness to the agentic future, here are five bold statements the executives made around AI.

McChord On The Danger Of AI Being Rolled Out Too Soon

“The biggest risk actually out there is deploying this stuff too soon. If you push it really, really hard, your customers are going to be like, ‘This is terrible. I hate it. Why did you do this? That will change their opinion on AI for everything moving forward.

“Don’t sell what you don’t understand. The easiest use cases for deploying AI are figuring out how you can help improve and run your business more efficiently. Use AI to make yourselves more efficient first then take those tools or learnings to your customers.”

Heddy On AI Readiness And Caution

“I would not put my new employees in front of customers until I have educated them ... and so yes, you should roll [AI] out to your customers only when you are sure that what it is delivering is going to be good. At the end of the day, this is a new technology. This is a change management operational process that needs to be implemented throughout your business. Don’t be reactive. Don’t wait for it to show up. Don’t wait for it to disrupt your business. Be proactive. The time is now, from my perspective, to be proactive on this.”

Day On The Agentic Future (And How Far We Still Are)

“Everybody’s just sort of siloed in their own little chat box. Wherever this agentic future is, we can all see that’s where it’s going, but at what point do we trust an agent to actually do something? I haven’t seen agents deployed doing anything yet, other than very contained tasks. I would imagine most of the room hasn’t even done a lot of that let alone trust some autonomous robot to close tickets.

“So what are the steps? What is the training that has to happen? How do we have all this information in context for the individual, the team, the entire organization? Where we’re headed is clear. Just … how long does that take?”

Magee On AI’s Dual Role: Growth And Efficiency

“AI is going to be something you can monetize and grow your business with. It’s also going to make you more operationally efficient, more profitable. The MSPs will be seen more like SaaS companies, getting valuations and so on. Early adopters are going to pave the way. Imitate, then innovate. See what’s working, take the bits and pieces that are successful then build from there. Find your friends. Learn what they’re doing. Take a bit or two. Chunk it up. Step one, step two.”

Heddy On Having AI Conversations Early

“Don’t wait until you think you have it nailed and are the expert in the world on this to go have a conversation because those who are not experts on it are going to go have conversations with your customers about AI. We should consume it to make ourselves a better company, and then once we understand it well enough to sell it, only then should we go and try to sell it.”