From Copilots to Agents: The Shift Toward Autonomy 

In 2023 and 2024, businesses embraced generative AI tools like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT to increase productivity. These tools helped users draft, summarize, and analyze—but always with a human in the loop. 

Now, the game is changing. 

AI agents take things further by autonomously executing tasks. They don’t just suggest; they act. Need to reroute network traffic to improve performance? An agent can handle that. Have an influx of help desk tickets for a known issue? An agent can triage and resolve them—without human escalation. 

Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of customer service interactions will be handled by AI agents, up from just 30% in 2022. 

This trend is accelerating, and MSPs are poised to lead the charge. 

What Can AI Agents Actually Do for MSPs? 

Here’s how MSPs can harness AI agents and generative AI to deliver smarter, more autonomous services: 

1. Self-Healing Networks

Networks can now monitor their own performance and automatically initiate corrective actions when something breaks—or even before it does. AI agents can: 

• Detect anomalies in real time 

• Restart failed services 

• Rebalance loads to avoid downtime 

Think of it as a virtual NOC that never sleeps. 

2. Automated Help Desk Resolution

Tired of password resets and printer issues bogging down your team? AI agents can: 

• Read incoming tickets 

• Classify and prioritize them 

• Solve common problems using built-in playbooks 

• Only escalate when something truly requires human attention 

This is not just a chatbot—it’s agentic AI for managed services with real teeth. 

3. Cloud Workflow Automation

AI agents are now able to manage cloud configurations, spin up environments, handle patching, and ensure compliance—all automatically. This reduces risk, improves security, and saves hours of manual labor. 

MSPs can offer this as a packaged service, making complex cloud environments more manageable for SMB clients. 

Why Governance and Trust Are the New Frontiers 

Of course, turning over the keys to an AI agent doesn’t come without risk. Business owners—and their MSPs—must implement strong governance layers and maintain visibility into how these agents operate. 

Key Considerations: 

• Audit Trails: Every action an agent takes should be logged and reviewable. 

• Role-Based Access: Agents should only operate within their assigned roles and boundaries. 

• Fail-Safes & Escalation Paths: If something goes wrong, there must be a clearly defined human override mechanism. 

• Transparent Decisioning: Business owners must understand why an AI agent made a certain decision, especially in high-stakes environments. 

Wavestone emphasizes that successful agent deployment depends on balancing autonomy with control—giving MSPs the opportunity to build trust while delivering value. 

Packaging Autonomous Services: The MSP Opportunity 

So how do MSPs turn these innovations into revenue? By offering autonomous IT services as value-added packages. Some examples: 

Bundling these offerings under a clear, outcome-based pricing model positions the MSP not just as a tech vendor—but as a strategic, forward-thinking partner.