The rise of artificial intelligence is fast transforming the business landscape, with generative AI (GenAI) emerging as a powerful productivity driver. In 2024, GenAI’s influence continues to streamline workflows, enhance operations, and deliver new value for businesses. Staying on top of GenAI’s latest tools, developments, and trends is essential for MSPs to guide their customers through the AI-driven landscape and maintain a competitive edge in 2025 and beyond.
What is GenAI?
GenAI is a type of artificial intelligence that creates text, images, audio, and video content rather than merely analyzing existing data. Unlike traditional AI, which follows specific instructions, GenAI produces unique outputs based on vast datasets. This makes it a powerful tool for everything from creating videos, automating customer support, and onboarding employees, to speeding the discovery of life-saving drugs, and delivering personalized treatment plans.
At its core, GenAI relies on deep learning models, such as large language models (LLMs) and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), which use neural networks to identify patterns in large datasets. These models allow GenAI to produce highly realistic, human-like content that enables innovation across creative, professional, educational, scientific, and other settings.
According to a 2023 report from McKinsey & Company, GenAI could add between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy across the 63 use cases it examined, with its potential impact doubling if integrated into software beyond those use cases. This report highlights GenAI’s transformative power as businesses increasingly rely on the technology to boost productivity.
GenAI vs Predictive AI vs Artificial Intelligence
Understanding the distinctions between the three forms of artificial intelligence — GenAI, Predictive AI, and broader AI — is essential in leveraging the value of each type to achieve specific outcomes:
- GenAI: A creative application of AI technology that uses deep learning models to produce unique, human-like outputs, such as text, images, or music. It’s the technology behind text-to-image tools, automated content creation, and synthetic media generation, bringing human-like creativity to machines.
- Predictive AI: Built for foresight, it analyzes data patterns to make projections about future events, from forecasting market trends to predicting customer behavior and detecting anomalies. It supports proactive decision-making in finance, marketing, and risk management.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): Encompasses all types of intelligent machine behavior and refers to the broad science of creating machines that can simulate human-like cognition. This includes learning, reasoning, and problem-solving technologies, with applications ranging from automation and data analysis to complex decision-making systems.
These distinctions underscore AI’s transformative impact across creative, analytical, and decision-making domains, reshaping industries from manufacturing and healthcare to retail, finance, and government. For MSPs, mastering AI’s various applications and guiding businesses to unlock their potential empowers the delivery of highly tailored, impactful solutions for each customer.
A timeline of GenAI developments in 2024
The first ten months of 2024 have been pivotal for GenAI, with a series of breakthroughs that have redefined its capabilities. As the year progressed, the impact of GenAI became more evident, influencing commercial and government implementations of the technology alike. These innovations reflect a clear shift toward embedding GenAI more deeply to drive efficiency and resilience in critical sectors like healthcare, IT, retail, and defense.
- January: Cerebras Systems collaborated with the Mayo Clinic to train large-scale AI models to process complex medical data, potentially transforming the speed and efficiency of healthcare professionals to identify and treat various conditions.
- February: Cisco announced its first context-aware AI assistant for Panoptica, which provides custom assistance in understanding, prioritizing, investigating, and remediating security issues. The assistant lets users ask things like, “What are my most important vulnerabilities?”
- March: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security unveiled its AI Roadmap strategy —a strategic plan for adopting GenAI in national security, focusing on threat detection, border security, and ethical AI practices.
- April: Cognizant and Microsoft entered a global partnership to expand the adoption of GenAI in the enterprise, leveraging Microsoft Copilot and Cognizant’s advisory and digital transformation services to help businesses operationalize GenAI.
- May: OpenAI launched GPT-4o, its latest model capable of real-time reasoning across audio, visual, and text inputs. The model delivers safer, more valuable responses by leveraging broader general knowledge and enhanced problem-solving abilities.
- June: SAP unveiled generative AI innovations in partnerships with tech giants Google, Meta, Microsoft, and NVIDIA. Announced at its annual SAP Sapphire conference, the collaborations are designed to unlock new customer value.
- July: NATO updated its AI strategy to strengthen its defenses against the spread of disinformation. The strategy included plans to expand its capabilities in strategic foresight and advanced analysis, aiming to resolve AI-driven threats proactively.
- August: The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) established Task Force Lima, a specialized unit dedicated to ensuring that GenAI is integrated ethically and responsibly within its operations, reflecting its commitment to maintaining integrity.
- September: Intuit rolled out significant enhancements to its proprietary GenAI Operating System, designed to streamline and personalize financial solutions for its users through more intuitive, customized assistance.
- October: Walmart Introduced its Adaptive Retail strategy to deliver highly personalized experiences across its physical and online stores using proprietary artificial intelligence, GenAI, Augmented Reality (AR), and Immersive Commerce platforms.
As we look ahead toward the end of 2024 and beyond, GenAI’s impact is clear. Rapid advancements and widespread adoption are reshaping the IT, healthcare, finance, retail, and government sectors, opening new avenues for innovation.
GenAI tools released in 2024
As GenAI becomes more sophisticated, MSPs must stay informed about emerging tools that enhance their service offerings, streamline their operations, and improve customer interactions. From powerful conversational agents to innovative coding assistants, understanding the capabilities of these tools is essential in driving efficiency and competitiveness.
Microsoft Copilot and Copilot+PCs
Microsoft updated its Copilot and Copilot+ PCs, introducing enhanced security and data protection through its new Recall feature. These updates brought advanced data analysis capabilities powered by Python in Excel, intelligent document comparison in OneDrive, time-based chat summarization in Teams, and broader language support for global users — all aimed at strengthening its ecosystem for a more seamless and secure user experience.
Claude AI
Developed by Anthropic, Claude AI is noted for its ability to process long and complex documents and interpret extensive messages. This makes it ideal for summarizing technical documents and facilitating extended conversations while maintaining context. The tool emphasizes safety and ethical use, featuring built-in protections against misuse, including fraud and cybersecurity protection.
Google Gemini
Launched as a successor to Bard, Gemini processes text, code, audio, images, and video simultaneously, unlike earlier Google models, which were primarily text-based. Designed and trained as a multimodal model from the ground up, it provides deep integration with Google’s Search, Mail, Documents, and other applications, integrating into Google Cloud’s Vertex AI, for businesses that require sophisticated AI tools for diverse tasks.
IBM Concert
Leveraging real-time AI insights and built on the IBM watsonx AI engine, Concert is tailored for application owners, site reliability engineers (SREs), and developers who manage complex systems across various environments. It provides real-time data mapping, dependency analysis, and vulnerability management capabilities, allowing teams to diagnose issues, address potential risks, and efficiently automate fixes as the “nerve center” for IT operations.
Cognition Labs Devin
Launched as the world’s first fully autonomous AI software engineer, Devin AI uses machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to analyze human speech and behavior patterns and interpret the context and tone of a conversation. Notable for its software development abilities, it can implement plans, generate source code, and benchmark unit testing, working independently or in collaboration with humans to complete tasks.
How GenAI can help businesses in 2025
As businesses navigate the GenAI landscape, they are discovering a wealth of opportunities to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and drive innovation. From content creation and personalized customer experiences to automating routine tasks, GenAI represents a transformative technology that’s reshaping how businesses operate in these key ways:
- Content creation: GenAI tools can assist businesses in generating high-quality content, such as blog posts, marketing materials, and product descriptions, at a faster pace and with greater consistency than humans.
- Personalized customer experiences: By leveraging GenAI’s natural language processing capabilities, businesses can create more personalized and engaging customer interactions, from chatbots to virtual assistants.
- Automation of repetitive tasks: GenAI can automate a wide range of tasks, from data entry to report generation, freeing employees to focus on more strategic and creative work.
- Enhanced decision-making: Businesses can harness GenAI’s predictive power to make more informed decisions, analyze data more effectively, and identify new growth opportunities.
- Prototyping and ideation: GenAI can assist in the ideation and prototyping process, helping businesses explore new concepts, generate innovative ideas, and validate their feasibility.
As we move into 2025, GenAI’s potential to transform businesses is undeniable, and MSPs are at the forefront of this evolution. By focusing on continuous additions, enhancements, and optimization, MSPs can empower their customers to harness GenAI’s full benefits.
How MSPs can enable AI adoption in 2025
As organizations look to harness the benefits of GenAI, building an integrated strategy is essential to enable smooth and effective adoption. MSPs that prioritize a structured approach can thrive in today’s AI-driven era by empowering customers to leverage GenAI effectively.
Here are essential best practices for MSPs to support their customers in the GenAI landscape:
- Consultative approach: Take a consultative role, collaborating closely with customers to understand their needs, challenges, and goals. Recommend tailored solutions and guide their implementation to align with customers’ business objectives.
- AI expertise and training: Develop in-depth knowledge in GenAI, staying current with the latest tools and trends. By offering comprehensive training and ongoing support, MSPs can equip customers to maximize GenAI’s capabilities and make informed decisions.
- Seamless integration: Prioritize seamless integration of GenAI tools within customers’ existing technology stacks, enabling a frictionless transition. The focus on compatibility ensures that new AI solutions have a powerful, immediate impact.
- Data management and security: Implement data governance and security measures that protect sensitive information and maintain regulatory compliance. By safeguarding customer data and assets, MSPs build trust and confidently enable AI adoption.
- Continuous optimization: Take a proactive approach by continuously monitoring GenAI deployments, identifying areas for improvement, and applying optimization strategies to enhance long-term benefits for customers.
By focusing on both customer enablement and building their own internal AI capabilities, MSPs can position themselves as essential partners in navigating the GenAI landscape. A well-rounded AI strategy allows MSPs to support secure, scalable, and successful GenAI implementations, establishing themselves as valuable allies in the evolving technology landscape.
Bottom Line: Leading the GenAI revolution
The rapid evolution of generative AI is opening new horizons for businesses across industries. MSPs need to stay ahead of this curve to harness GenAI’s transformative potential, deliver advanced solutions, and secure a competitive edge. By integrating GenAI and other hyperautomation technologies into their operations, MSPs can position themselves as key drivers of innovation and trusted partners in their customers’ digital journeys.
Explore how to make the most of AI innovations to enhance customer productivity and user experiences.
FAQs
- What are the differences between GenAI and other types of AI?
Generative AI, also known as GenAI, is focused on producing new content like text, images, or audio based on its training data. This differs from other types of AI like predictive AI, which is used for forecasting and decision-making, and narrow AI, which is designed for specific, well-defined tasks. - How can MSPs integrate GenAI tools into their customers’ existing technology stack?
MSPs should focus on providing seamless integration of GenAI tools with their customers’ existing systems and software. This ensures a frictionless transition and maximizes the impact of these new solutions. MSPs need to understand their customers’ technology stack and workflows to recommend the right GenAI tools and implement them effectively. - What are the potential risks or challenges associated with the adoption of GenAI?
Key challenges include data security and compliance, as businesses rely on sensitive data to power their GenAI applications. There are also concerns about the potential for misuse of GenAI, such as the creation of misinformation or the automation of certain tasks at the expense of human jobs. MSPs need to help customers navigate these risks. - How can MSPs ensure the security and compliance of their customers’ data when using GenAI?
MSPs should prioritize data management and security when implementing GenAI solutions. This includes ensuring robust data governance policies, encrypting sensitive information, and adhering to relevant data protection regulations. Regular security audits and monitoring of GenAI deployments are also crucial. - What are the long-term implications of GenAI on the IT services industry?
In the long run, GenAI is expected to significantly impact the IT services industry. MSPs will need to evolve their services to incorporate GenAI tools and expertise, enabling them to automate tasks, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation for their customers. Those who can effectively leverage GenAI will gain a competitive advantage. - How can MSPs stay ahead of the curve regarding GenAI expertise and training?
MSPs should invest in developing their expertise in GenAI, and staying up to date with the latest tools, trends, and best practices. They can then offer comprehensive training and support to their customers, ensuring they’re equipped to leverage GenAI effectively. Ongoing professional development and knowledge sharing within the MSP community will be crucial. - What are some real-world examples of businesses successfully leveraging GenAI?
Numerous companies have already seen success with GenAI applications. For instance, marketing agencies have used GenAI to generate highly personalized content and campaigns, while software development teams have leveraged GenAI tools to automate coding tasks and enhance productivity. Financial institutions have also explored GenAI for fraud detection and risk analysis.