David and I sit down on Radio Row at Pax8 Beyond 2026 to talk about the real-world impact of AI automation on MSP operations and service delivery. David shares how Pia moved from educating the market pre‑ChatGPT to now serving a much more AI‑aware MSP community, and why waiting on the sidelines is a risky growth strategy if you want to keep up with demand. We walk through Pia’s Engage stack—PiaChat in Microsoft Teams and resolution‑driven smart forms that turn conversations and requests directly into completed tickets—plus a growing automation hub that lets vendors and MSPs publish and share proven runbooks. David explains how Pia’s out‑of‑the‑box automations free up level one techs, protect level twos from onboarding backlogs, and give MSPs room to focus on higher‑value projects instead of reinventing tools that already exist. === Chapters 00:24 PIA’s New Leadership 02:27 Seeing MSPs Differently 03:32 AI Competition Heats Up 07:18 Building on the Platform 10:11 Teams Chat Launch 11:48 New Features and Integrations 14:11 Level One in Transition 17:15 First Impressions of Utah 18:25 Pax8 Marketplace Debut 20:01 Skiing, Surfing, and Wrap-Up === Guest: David Schwartz, Pia Website: https://pia.ai/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-m-schwartz === Shout-outs Tim Coach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-coach/ === Companies / Vendors / Products / Books Pia Chat: https://pia.ai/news/introducing-pia-chat-msp-automation-in-teams-pia Pax8: https://www.pax8.com Pax8 Beyond (event): https://www.pax8beyond.com ChatGPT (OpenAI): https://openai.com/chatgpt Microsoft Teams: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams OpenAI: https://openai.com === SPONSORS: Livestream Partner, ThreatLocker: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/threatlocker Technology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/ Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoip Travel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugrid Digital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready === SHOW MUSIC: Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock Logo Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UET Author Username: AlexanderRufire Item License Code: 7X9F52DNML === Connect with Uncle Marv🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/🎙 Host: Marvin Bee🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcastIf you found value in this episode, share it with another MSP, IT provider, or tech entrepreneur. Your support helps keep practical, no-nonsense IT business conversations coming every week.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related