Kicking off my chat with Colleen Kapase, VP of Channels and Partner Programs at Google Cloud, I knew we’d be talking about AI - but I didn’t expect how quickly we’d get into it, and the nuts and bolts of making it work for partners in real life. Colleen’s take is on-point and practical for the day and age we are living in - AI isn’t just hype, it’s a way to predict outcomes, drive profitability, and fix issues before they even show up. We dug into how partners are using AI to speed up SOWs, commit to ROI-based pricing, and create new monetization opportunities through the Marketplace. We also talked about co-selling, the nine-figure services fund, and why helping executives get comfortable with AI can be just as important as training the next generation. Here's the conversation with Colleen Kapase on AI, co-selling, and partner profitability.
ChannelE2E: You’ve talked about AI being at the center of Google Cloud’s partner strategy. How are you using it to help partners? Colleen Kapase: I joined Google because I saw the scale of the AI opportunity here. We have the technology to solve complex customer problems, and I wanted to see how we could apply that same strength to help our partners grow.We got out of the starting blocks early and have a strong roadmap for how we are thinking about this. At Google Cloud Next, we talked about putting AI into Earnings Hub. It’s game-changing for partners. It shifts from a historical “how did I do?” view to a forward-looking forecast of “where do I want to go?”The enhanced Earnings Hub now gives partners insights into the most strategic customer engagements, personalized tips to increase their earnings, and predictive signals on where future customer demand is heading. That’s huge for optimizing earnings and uncovering new growth opportunities.Plus, incentives have been my world for most of my career, but connecting spend to behavior has always been a challenge - especially when payouts come after the fact. AI changes the equation. Partners can forecast outcomes, link rewards to profitability, and make decisions in the moment instead of after the opportunity has passed.
We’ve also seen partners using tools like our SOW Analyzer, which streamlines the creation, refinement, and approval of statements of work. It’s taking processes that used to take weeks and shrinking them to days. And our AI chatbot - used by thousands of partners - provides instant access to information, reducing resolution times by 25% and closing issues faster at first contact.In the past year alone, we’ve doubled partner funding for AI opportunities and quadrupled it for Workspace. Over the past four years, we’ve invested more than $100 million in partner learning services, and we’re continuing to expand in critical areas like Google Agentspace and Workspace.ChannelE2E: You’ve also made co-selling a priority. What’s working, and how are you measuring success? Colleen Kapase: At Next, we rolled out a new system that lets partners log pre-sales activities - workshops, assessments, events - directly into our Salesforce instance. This gives our sales teams a clear view of what partners are doing, links those activities to opportunities, and brings partners into deals earlier.The impact has been huge. We’re now collaborating on billions of dollars in opportunities with our partner community. Sales teams can see exactly how a partner is contributing, whether they opened a door, ran a workshop, or delivered a key assessment, rather than relying on vague “influence” tracking.We also launched a services component alongside it, so reps can track the full lifecycle from pre-sales through to delivery - whether that’s a migration, agent build, or other key outcomes. Adoption has already exceeded expectations. Sales teams are more proactive, doing more outreach, and working with the right partners at the right time.ChannelE2E: Google Cloud announced a nine-figure partner fund for services in 2025. What kind of AI-related incentives or enablement are you offering now? Colleen Kapase: Anything we can. This is our top priority as a company. In the agent space, for example, we’ve rolled out special discount programs, growth rebates, and new account rebates. The feedback from partners is that it’s motivating and opens new doors for more strategic, executive-level conversations.Beyond incentives, we’ve invested heavily in education - level 100 to 400 training, hands-on workshops, in-person agent development sessions, and even agent hackathons. We’re also seeing more agents being built for Marketplace, creating new monetization opportunities.We recently collaborated with BCG to research the agentic AI market for professional services companies. The study found it’s roughly a $1 trillion opportunity to help businesses plan, deploy, and optimize AI agent technology. That’s a space where we’re determined to help our partners lead.ChannelE2E: But not every partner is AI-savvy. How are you helping them keep up? Colleen Kapase: We’ve found it’s sometimes the executives - not the younger generation - who need the most help adapting to AI. One example is our “Using AI in Leadership” certification, which is free to our partners and customers. It includes five modules and practical exercises that show how AI can help leaders in their day-to-day work.We also share tips from our own teams. For example, many of us convert lengthy partner briefings into podcasts using Notebook LLM, so we can listen during a workout or commute. Partners love hearing about small, practical uses like that.The goal is to make AI part of everyday workflows so adoption feels natural.ChannelE2E: Are you seeing certain partners capitalize faster on these AI tools and programs? Colleen Kapase: No one’s saying AI is a fad anymore. Some partners, like Xebia, have leaned in hard. They’re using AI to create statements of work faster - going from weeks to days - by leveraging thousands of historical examples. That accelerates delivery, reduces costs, and helps onboard newer team members faster.We’re also seeing partners start to commit to ROI- or cost-savings-based project pricing. In the past, that was risky because there were too many uncontrollable factors. With AI, partners can control more variables - like process times and technology deployment - and confidently promise results such as 20% cost savings. Customers love that because it takes the risk out of the decision.ChannelE2E: Any final examples of AI making a direct impact for partners? Colleen Kapase: We use our own chatbot to support partners. Thousands of partners use it to get answers to common questions, and they’re getting responses at least 25% faster. As the LLM gets smarter, that number keeps improving. It’s reducing our support costs while improving partner satisfaction - a clear ROI in real time.
Suparna is the Senior Managing Editor for CyberRisk Alliance’s Channel Brands, including MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E. She manages content development, sharpens editorial workflows, and ensures storytelling is tightly aligned with audience needs. With a background in technology, media, and education, she combines strategic insight with creative execution.
