Dive Brief:
- Nine in 10 small and medium-sized businesses are actively using or experimenting with AI, exposing critical skill gaps, according to Pax8 research. The managed service provider cloud marketplace surveyed 400 small business leaders in the U.S. in its AI pulse report published Monday.
- Nearly one-quarter of respondents cited a lack of internal expertise as their top barrier to AI adoption, alongside concerns about security and ROI.
- Implementation gaps represent an opportunity for partners. “Our data suggests AI deployment increasingly looks like an advisory opportunity,” Eric Torres, VP of channel and community engagement at Pax8, said in an email. “Businesses don't just need technology; they need guidance, governance and expertise. That's where MSPs and managed intelligence providers can differentiate themselves.”
Dive Insight:
IT service providers aiming to capitalize on AI adoption will need to become strategic advisors in the SMB market, according to Torres. MSPs can identify use cases, establish governance, define success metrics, integrate AI into existing workflows and create roadmaps for scaling.
“The message shouldn't be, ‘Let us help you buy AI,’” Torres said. “It should be, ‘Let us help you get results from AI.’ The experimenters in our research aren't questioning whether AI matters. They're telling us they lack the expertise to deploy it confidently.”
Among SMBs implementing AI, 31% said they have a technical edge on competitors. Only 12% of respondents that aren't using AI expressed the same level of confidence. This competitive advantage is backed by significant investments: 53% of SMBs using AI increased their technology spending over the past year, compared to 24% of non-users, Pax8 found.
AI can level the playing field for SMBs. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said AI helps small businesses contend with much larger enterprises. The technology is a workforce multiplier that allows smaller teams to operate with capabilities that previously required much larger organizations, Torres said.
But not everyone is sold on AI. Nearly 40% of SMBs are either experimenting with or not using AI, per the report. If partners want to act as guides in the AI transition, they need to make the case for the new technology.
“Providers should focus less on AI as a technology discussion and more on practical business outcomes,” Torres said. “The conversation should center on productivity, customer responsiveness, employee efficiency, and growth; not on large-scale AI transformation projects. Showing a business where AI can solve a real operational problem is usually more effective than discussing the technology itself.”
As partners initiate SMB projects, governance is essential, Torres added. Only 23% of the respondents reported having documented AI use policies, raising security concerns.
“One of the patterns we observed is that the most successful AI users often have more guardrails, not fewer,” Torres said. “Many have approved tool lists, usage guidelines, human review processes, and employee training programs in place. They're using governance to enable adoption, not prevent it.”
Torres expects the AI conversation to continue to shift from adoption rates to execution, governance and measurable business outcomes. The next phase of the journey will measure how effectively businesses deploy AI, not whether they deploy it.
“We're moving from the era of AI curiosity to the era of AI operational maturity,” he said. “The organizations that build the right leadership structures, governance frameworks, and external partnerships are likely to widen the gap over the next year.”
