AI is changing how MSPs think about service delivery, but Matt Peters, CEO of Fixify, believes its value shouldn’t be measured simply by how many people or tasks it can replace.
In his conversation with Joey Pinz on the MSP Influencer Primecast, Peters makes the case for using AI to remove work that doesn’t require valuable human attention while giving MSP professionals more opportunities to tackle complex, higher-value work.
Here are four takeaways from the conversation.
1. Measure AI by the Outcome
Peters encourages MSPs to look beyond what an AI product promises and ask practical questions: What numbers will change? How much Tier 1 work can it address? Can it improve time to first response? How long will it take to implement, and what resources will the MSP need to provide?
AI also needs the right context. Knowledge bases, integrations, access, and information about the customer environment all affect what the technology can accomplish.
For Peters, the real test isn’t whether an MSP is using AI. It’s whether the technology produces a measurable improvement in the business.
2. Put AI on the Right Work
Peters describes work in terms of variance. Low-variance, predictable tasks are natural candidates for automation. Medium-variance work can increasingly be handled by AI when it has sufficient context. High-variance work is where human judgment remains especially important.
That distinction gives MSPs a practical way to decide where AI belongs.
A technician doesn’t need to spend valuable time on every repetitive task. That time can instead be directed toward complex troubleshooting, migrations, data analysis, business transformation, and other work that benefits from human expertise.
3. Let AI Elevate MSP Talent
Peters pushes back against the idea that AI’s primary purpose should be eliminating jobs.
Many MSPs have talented employees spending significant time handling Tier 1 work. If AI can take on more of that workload, those employees can move toward Tier 2 and Tier 3 issues, projects, consulting, and other higher-value responsibilities.
That also creates a growth opportunity. Instead of looking only at how much AI can reduce costs, MSPs can consider what additional work their existing teams could take on when repetitive responsibilities consume less of their time.
4. Keep People Where People Matter
Despite his enthusiasm for AI, Peters places considerable value on human interaction.
His cybersecurity experience taught him that when customers are facing difficult situations, how a provider communicates and shows up matters. There are moments when customers need judgment, reassurance, understanding, and a person who knows their environment.
Peters believes MSPs should identify those important human moments and deploy their people there—not on work that technology can reasonably handle.
What This Means for MSPs
Peters doesn’t present AI as magic or as a replacement for everything people do. His message is much more practical: automate the right work, measure the outcome, and use the capacity created by AI to put talented people where they can deliver greater value.
For MSPs, that could mean handling more work without tying every increment of growth directly to additional headcount—while still protecting the human expertise and customer relationships that distinguish great service.