EP257 – Don’t Believe the AI Hype with Fiona Challis and Ian Luckett

In this episode of the IT Experts Podcast, I sat down with the brilliant Fiona Challis to separate reality from the noise and give MSP owners a practical route to value. We opened with a simple viewpoint. AI is not a magic fix and it is not a toy to chase. It becomes powerful when it sits on top of clear processes, clean data, and a focused plan.  

 

That theme runs through the whole conversation with Fiona Challis, who has spent recent years enabling partners around enterprise AI and then translating that experience for the MSP world. The result is a set of grounded lessons that help you create capacity, improve client experience, and grow revenue without creating chaos. 

 

We began with the service desk, because it is where most MSPs feel the pain. Fiona Challis drew a helpful line between automation and AI. Many teams still have a backlog of simple automations available inside the tools they already pay for. Tidy those first to free time and reduce firefighting. Once the ground is set, AI can handle a large slice of tier one demand through voice agents and smart triage. A well-trained voice agent can answer calls, qualify the user, create a ticket with the right context, and get it to the correct queue. That single move lowers the noise floor and gives engineers the space to do higher value work. The critical point is that none of this works without basic workflows, decent documentation, and accurate data. Garbage in leads to poor outcomes. A little discipline in process creates a lot of value once you layer in AI. 

 

Sales and marketing came next. Many MSP owners dislike this part of the job and often push it to the bottom of the to do list. AI can carry a heavy load here when used thoughtfully. Fiona Challis explained how an AI SDR can answer inbound calls at all hours, qualify interest, book meetings straight into your calendar, and route non buyers to relevant assets that nurture interest. That removes delay and prevents lead leakage. On outbound and account development, an AI analyst agent can sweep your CRM and contracts to surface missed opportunities across your existing base. We discussed one real world example where this activity revealed more than six hundred thousand pounds of potential from accounts that were already paying the MSP. That kind of return changes the shape of the quarter and gives your team a clear priority list. 

 

Tool choice came up, and we gave a steer that saves time. Do not buy software based on headline price. Measure tools by the hours they give back, the improvement in client experience, and how they help your team perform. Money can be earned again. Time cannot. If one platform removes half of your tier one traffic or cuts proposal cycle time in half, that platform pays for itself many times over. 

  

We then tackled client offerings, with a special focus on Microsoft Copilot. Many MSPs sell the licence and stop there, which leaves clients confused and creates security risk from ad hoc use of multiple AI tools. The fix is simple and valuable. Adopt Copilot inside your own MSP first and create one or two internal champions. Capture the time saved and the outcomes you achieve. Lead with those use cases in your conversations. Follow that with a paid AI or Copilot readiness assessment that checks data hygiene, permissions, workflows, and change readiness. 

 

Fiona Challis has seen MSPs charge meaningfully for this assessment, then package remedial work to clean data, lock down access, and prepare the environment. Once the foundations are set, run a 30-day adoption pilot that targets a visible quick win, like meeting summaries with actions, agent setup for routine tasks, or document drafting for proposals. After the pilot, move into an acceleration phase that adds leaderboards, prompt packs, training rhythms, and light gamification to drive real adoption. The message is simple. You are not selling a licence. You are guiding a transformation that raises productivity, revenue, and experience for users and clients. 

 

A question many owners ask is who delivers all of this. The pathway is not heavy. Your AI SDR filters interest and books the right conversations. Your internal champions run the readiness assessment with a clear checklist. Your engineers deliver the remediation as projects with defined outcomes. Your client success rhythm then tracks adoption and wins. That repeatable sequence turns Copilot from an unprofitable add on into a profitable solution stack that protects your base and attracts buyers who value progress. 

 

Throughout the episode, Fiona Challis emphasised a steady cadence. Create a two-year roadmap across four quadrants, service operations, sales, marketing, and client offerings. Pick one quick win every 30 to 90 days. Implement, measure, and move to the next win. That rhythm stops the noise, builds confidence, and compounds results. It also positions you as a managed AI provider in the eyes of your clients. You become the partner who assesses readiness, remediates risk, aligns workflow, and accelerates adoption with measurable impact. 

 

AI becomes a growth engine when it sits on top of simple process, clean data, and a plan your team can follow. Start inside your business. Automate what you can. Deploy AI where it makes a dent in time and quality. Use AI to make sales and marketing consistent so that your calendar fills with qualified meetings. Become your own best Copilot case study, sell the readiness assessment, deliver the remediation, and lead a visible 30-day pilot that wins hearts and minds. Keep going with an acceleration pack that keeps adoption rising every week. That is the path to scale with confidence. 

You can connect with Fiona Challis on her LinkedIn HERE. 

Make sure to check out our Ultimate MSP Growth Guide, a free guide that walks you through a proven process to take your MSP from stuck to scalable, without working even more hours. It’s 44 pages rammed with advice, insights and inspiration to help you decide what support is available to you now if you want to grow and scale your business. Click HERE to get your copy. 

Connect on LinkedIn HERE with Ian and also with Stuart by clicking this LINK 

And when you’re ready to take the next step in growing your MSP, come and take the Scale with Confidence MSP Mastery Quiz. In just three minutes, you’ll get a 360-degree scan of your MSP and identify the one or two tactics that could help you find more time, engage & align your people and generate more leads. 

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Until next time, look after yourself and I’ll catch up with you soon!