What are AI managed services?
AI managed services are AI work that a managed service provider delivers to its clients on an ongoing basis and bills every month, the same way it bills for managed IT or managed security.
By Connor Reece, updated November 2026
What’s usually included
- AI policy and governance: an acceptable-use policy, which tools are approved, and who can use what.
- Approved AI tools and data protection: rolling out Copilot, ChatGPT or Claude with the right settings, and keeping client data out of tools that aren’t approved.
- AI opportunity assessment: finding where AI saves the client time or money, in the client’s own numbers.
- Automations: building and running the workflows that do the work, across the tools the client already uses.
- Reporting: showing what AI did each month, usually in the QBR.
How it differs from reselling AI licenses
Reselling a license is a one-time margin on someone else’s product. A managed service is the work around it: scoping, setup, governance, automations and reporting. That’s where the recurring revenue is. It’s also why MSPs, who already hold the client relationship and the admin access, are well placed to sell it.
How MSPs price it
Three models are common: a flat monthly fee per client tier, a fee per automation or workflow in production, or a share of the measured return. Most MSPs start with a small fixed scope (policy, approved tools, one or two automations) and grow it at each QBR.
What you need to deliver it
You need a way to assess each client, a catalog of services with prices, the ability to build and run automations across your PSA, RMM and Microsoft 365, and a monthly invoice line. ResultsIQ Control Center is a platform built for MSPs to scope, price, build and bill AI managed services across the clients they already have.