AI is rewriting the rules for MSPs in cybersecurity

Selling cybersecurity is becoming a more complicated business for Managed Service Providers (MSPs). As customers grapple with the risks of AI adoption, providers are being expected to offer advice that goes well beyond choosing and managing tech.

That shift is creating opportunities for MSPs with the right industry and regulatory expertise, according to the Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA), but it also raises questions about how providers adapt their services to meet changing customer demands.

New GTIA research shows that 78 percent of UK and Ireland IT service providers plan to expand their cybersecurity offerings over the next 12 months, with privacy, compliance and AI-related services among the areas expected to generate the strongest revenue growth.

Speaking to ChannelPro at the IT channel trade association’s flagship EMEA event, ChannelCon 2026, the firm’s VP of research and market intelligence, Carolyn April, said AI was accelerating a broader shift towards advisory services.

“We’re seeing across the board a shift toward more advisory services,” she said. “AI is driving a lot of that because as people try to figure out what their AI story is going to be in the company [...] they need a counsellor, they need somebody to hold their hand.”

Cybersecurity becomes an industry-specific challenge

GTIA’s Channel Trends in Cybersecurity research found that 46 percent of UK and Ireland respondents expect data privacy and compliance to deliver the greatest revenue growth over the next year. Cybersecurity consulting and risk assessments followed at 43 percent, with agentic AI and other AI-related cybersecurity services at 42 percent.

But April said that capitalising on these opportunities will require MSPs to understand far more about the industries their customers operate in.

“That’s going to be deep industry knowledge, deep sector knowledge, and understanding how to speak to that customer because the application of AI and high-level cybersecurity services is going to require an understanding of what each business industry needs,” she said.

The challenge is particularly relevant in Europe, she suggested, where privacy and regulatory requirements are generally more extensive than in North America.

April also pointed to digital sovereignty as an area MSPs will need to understand, alongside the compliance implications of customers’ technology decisions.

“If you can’t translate [technology] into what matters from a regulatory perspective, or a compliance perspective, or sovereignty perspective, you’re not going to be able to [give] your customer the full service that they’re going to be looking for.”

AI changes the security conversation

The research also highlighted the growing threat providers see from AI-enabled cybercrime. Some 47 percent of UK and Ireland respondents identified the use of generative AI by cybercriminals as their top cybersecurity concern, up from 37 percent in 2025.

Meanwhile, the proportion planning to add cloud security services rose from 33 percent to 47 percent.

April contends that MSPs can no longer treat AI adoption and cybersecurity as separate conversations. Providers without the necessary in-house capabilities should consider working with specialist partners rather than leaving customers to navigate the risks themselves.

“The key takeaway is there is no AI without cybersecurity,” she said.

“You almost cannot operate with just one practice or the other. You need to make sure that you have consideration for both when you talk to customers about what their AI journey is going to look like.”