A survey of 153 managed service provider decision-makers found that 32% have adopted AI tools in their own operations, but only 12% can point to measurable productivity gains. The report, released October 20, 2026, by software company Nerdio, adds to evidence that AI adoption among businesses is moving faster than measurable returns.
Key Takeaways
- 32% of surveyed managed service providers have adopted AI internally, and another 46% are piloting it or plan to adopt it within 12 months.
- Only 14% of the providers surveyed operate a revenue-generating AI service line.
- 17% say customers are asking about AI tools they are not yet ready to support.
- How providers manage client software environments predicted outcomes more strongly than firm size, headcount, or the number of tools used.
- In separate Federal Reserve survey data, only 31% of small business respondents reported increased sales from their use of AI.
AI For MSPs Is Moving Faster Than Measurable Results
The 2026 State of the MSP Business Report surveyed 153 decision-makers at managed service providers, or MSPs, who manage Microsoft 365 and Azure environments across their customer bases. The research firm Thirdside conducted the survey through an independent research panel from June 22 to July 7. Nerdio, which sells software to MSPs, commissioned and published the findings.
The headline gap is between use and results. About one in three providers has adopted AI for its own operations, and nearly half of the rest are piloting or planning to. Yet 12% report measurable productivity gains, and just 14% have turned AI into a service line that generates revenue. For an industry built on selling technology expertise, that leaves most providers using AI without being able to show what it returns.
What Do Managed Service Providers Do
Managed service providers are outside firms that run technology for client businesses, handling tasks such as software administration, cloud systems, security, and user support. For many small and mid-sized companies without in-house IT staff, an MSP is the channel through which new technology, including AI tools, reaches the business.
That role makes the survey’s findings relevant beyond the MSP industry itself. When 17% of providers say customers are already asking about AI tools they cannot yet support, the readiness gap sits with the vendors small businesses rely on, not only with the businesses themselves.
Operating Models Predicted Results More Than Firm Size
The report’s most practical finding concerns how providers work rather than how big they are. Operating model, meaning how a provider manages Microsoft 365 and Azure across its customer base, ranked ahead of firm size, headcount, and tool count as a predictor of most outcomes in the dataset.
The report also links that finding to workload. Technicians stretched across more customers, more tools, and more manual work have less time to learn and roll out new capabilities. Will Ominsky, vice president and general manager of the MSP business at Nerdio, said AI did not create the divide in the industry but is making the existing one easier to see.
For businesses evaluating AI, the takeaway applies broadly: consistent, standardized processes give a new tool something stable to improve. Adding AI on top of inconsistent operations makes gains harder to produce and harder to measure.
AI ROI Measurement Lags Across Small Business Data
The MSP findings line up with independent U.S. data on small businesses. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, analyzing the Fed’s 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, reported that only 31% of respondents said their firm’s use of AI had increased sales. The survey was fielded between September and November 2025.
Adoption, by contrast, keeps climbing. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report released October 2 found that 66% of small businesses now use AI, up eight points from 2025 and close to three times the 23% recorded in 2023. The same report found that 47% say AI is creating jobs, compared with 6% who say it is enabling headcount reductions.
Read together, the three sources describe a market where using AI has become common and measuring AI ROI has not. That gap matters for budgeting. As more businesses pay for AI features and services, the ones able to tie spending to specific productivity or revenue outcomes will be in a stronger position to decide where to expand and where to cut back.
FAQs
What Do Managed Service Providers Do?
Managed service providers are outside firms that manage technology for client businesses, including software, cloud systems, security, and user support. Many small and mid-sized businesses without in-house IT staff rely on them to run and update their systems.
How Do You Measure The ROI Of AI In Operations?
Measuring AI ROI generally means comparing productivity or revenue results after adoption against a clear baseline from before. The Nerdio survey found that only 12% of managed service providers could point to measurable productivity gains, and that providers with more standardized operating models saw stronger outcomes.
How Do You See Productivity Gains From AI?
The survey data suggests gains depend more on how consistently a business operates than on simply adopting AI tools. Providers whose technicians were stretched across more customers and manual work had less time to put AI to use.
How Many Small Businesses Use AI?
A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report released October 2, 2026, found that 66% of small businesses use AI, up from 23% in 2023. Separately, Federal Reserve survey data showed only 31% of small business respondents reported increased sales from their AI use.
