MSPs know they need to start offering AI services. Clients are asking, vendors are talking, competitors are out there experimenting. The pressure is real, and the opportunity is even bigger.
But the conversation I keep having with MSPs sounds something like this:
“We know we need to start… we’re just not sure where to start.”
The best place? Inside your own walls.
Before you roll out AI roadmaps for clients or bundle AI services into your stack, you need an internal AI culture that’s actually being used and lived by your team.
You Can’t Teach What You Don’t Practice
When I talk with MSPs, most tell me a similar story:
“Our technical folks are already deep into AI. They’re using GenAI for documentation. They’re playing with automations. They’re looking for tools to speed up support.”
And that’s great. You want that kind of exploration happening.
But the next question I always ask is:
“How’s the rest of your team doing with AI?”
That’s where things usually fall apart.
Most MSPs admit their non-technical staff aren’t using it much at all. Some are hesitant. Some don’t know where to start. Some are outright skeptical of the whole thing.
And that’s a problem — not because everyone needs to be a prompt engineer, but because the internal culture gap mirrors what your SMB clients are dealing with.
If you can’t bridge that gap internally, you’re going to struggle delivering AI externally.
The Yoloers and the Nopers
One MSP I spoke to recently had a great way of framing their team dynamics.
On one end, you’ve got the Yoloers — the folks who dive right in. “You only live once, so let’s try this tech and see if it works.” These are your engineers, your automation fans, the people who don’t mind breaking something today if it means learning something tomorrow.
On the other end, you’ve got the Nopers — “I’m not going to use AI. I don’t trust it, and I don’t understand how it works.”
These are usually the non-technical employees, the ones who’ve done their jobs the same way for years and don’t see why they should change now.
Here’s the thing:
Your SMB clients have a much higher concentration of Nopers than you do.
If your own team doesn’t know how to bring a Noper along for the ride, how will you do it with your customers?
Being able to navigate this spectrum — and close it — is one of the most important skills an MSP needs before offering AI services.
Turning a Noper Into a Yoloer Starts With an AHA Moment
The fastest way to move someone from “Nope” to “Okay, this is actually useful” is to show them one meaningful, practical win.
Not a keynote.
Not a whitepaper.
Not some giant automation plan they can’t relate to.
A real AHA moment.
I’ve seen this happen so many times:
- Your finance wizard, who’s been buried in spreadsheets for years, suddenly learns that AI can eliminate hours of manual variance analysis.
That’s an AHA moment.
- Your sales rep, who usually spends 20 minutes trying to research a prospect, realizes they can get far better insights in five minutes with AI.
That’s another AHA moment.
Once someone experiences that shift, they’re no longer a Noper.
They may not be building custom GPTs next week, but they’re open, curious, and willing to explore. And that’s all you need.
AI Culture Doesn’t Happen by Accident
This kind of transformation doesn’t come from handing people a login to a GenAI tool and hoping they play with it.
It has to be intentional.
Leadership has to set the tone — not in a “mandatory training, check the box” kind of way, but in a way that says:
“We’re all going to learn this together. We’re going to try new things. And we’re going to support you while you experiment.”
That means:
- Giving employees access to the tools
- Providing resources and training
- Encouraging use case sharing
- Giving people permission to fail a little as they learn
- Celebrating the wins and AHA moments
Culture isn’t built by suggestion. It’s built through expectations, support, and repetition.
Why Internal AI Culture Matters When You Start Selling AI
If your goal is to start offering AI workshops, advisory services, or automation consulting to clients, you can’t wing it.
Your clients are full of Nopers.
Your ability to guide them depends on how well you’ve practiced internally.
You need:
- Real internal success stories
- Experience helping hesitant people adopt AI
- A library of use cases built inside your own MSP
- A team that’s comfortable talking about AI because they’re actually using it
When MSPs try to sell AI without having done this foundational work, clients feel it. And they don’t buy it.
When MSPs live an AI culture internally, clients can feel that too — and they trust you to lead them.
If You Want to Lead Clients Into AI, Lead Your Own Team First
Building an internal AI culture isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s the first step toward offering credible AI services.
Start with your people.
Help them find their AHA moments.
Close the gap between the Yoloers and the Nopers.
Practice internally what you want to offer externally.
And if you need help doing that?
At BSN, we’re giving MSPs the tools and resources to build that culture — from AI training for staff to team engagement activities and structured ways to identify and share new use cases. Everything you need to help your team build confidence with AI before you bring that value to your clients.
Start with your team. The services will follow.
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