WatchGuard has introduced
Rai, an agentic AI digital workforce built for MSPs that need to deliver security across multiple client environments without adding more operational strain. Launched at the company's EMEA Impact Partner Conference in Dubrovnik, WatchGuard is positioning Rai as part of a move from assistive AI toward autonomous execution in managed cybersecurity.
Rai is designed to act as an always-on digital worker inside an MSP’s security operation. The first available role, Analyst, focuses on detection, investigation, and response across endpoint and network activity. Alert volume, staffing pressures, and 24/7 coverage expectations continue to collide for MSSPs and MSPs. If Rai can reliably handle first-response work, it could help partners reduce after-hours alert handling and give analysts more time for higher-value client work.
A WatchGuard spokesperson told ChannelE2E that the distinction is in how Rai moves beyond the AI tools partners may already see in endpoint, MDR, RMM, or SOC platforms.
“Most AI in the market today still sits in an assistive role, surfacing alerts, recommending actions, or accelerating workflows, but ultimately relying on a human to investigate and respond. Rai is designed to move beyond that model into autonomous execution,” the spokesperson said.
That means WatchGuard is positioning Rai as more than a co-pilot. The company says Rai continuously monitors environments, correlates activity, and takes pre-authorized action in real-time. The spokesperson described Rai as “a true extension of the security team – acting more like a first-line analyst than a co-pilot.”
“The key distinction is that Rai doesn’t just suggest what to do; it completes the task, then documents what happened, why the action was taken, and what, if anything, needs follow-up,” the spokesperson said.
Many partners are already drowning in security alerts, tool noise, and manual triage. The issue is not just whether AI can summarize an incident faster. It is whether the system can handle repeatable security work across many customers without creating more work for the team.
“For MSPs managing multiple client environments, that shift from 'assistive' to 'operational' AI is what enables true scale,” the spokesperson said. “It reduces alert fatigue and removes the need for teams to manually triage and respond around the clock, while still keeping humans in the loop through transparent reporting.”
Governance Will Be the Test
Autonomous execution brings a second question for MSPs: control. Partners are responsible for many customer environments at once, and a bad automated action can create client risk quickly. That makes governance, auditability, and client-level visibility central to whether MSPs will trust Rai in production.
WatchGuard says Rai’s decision-making and actions are visible through WatchGuard Insights Hub, which gives partners a centralized view across their managed estate and lets them drill down into specific client environments. The built-in Daily Brief summarizes actions taken, items that need attention, and the current protection status across customer environments.
“WatchGuard designed Rai with MSP-grade governance at its core,” the spokesperson said. “All decision-making and actions are fully visible through the WatchGuard Insights Hub, which provides centralized, estate-wide visibility alongside the ability to drill down into individual client environments in a single click.”
The company says partners will maintain control through configurable policies that define what Rai is allowed to do. Every action is logged and measurable, with auditability built in.
“Partners maintain full control through highly configurable policies that define what actions Rai is authorized to take,” the spokesperson said. “Every action is transparent, measurable, and logged, with built-in auditability. Features like the Daily Brief give MSPs a clear summary of actions taken, current protection status, and any items requiring attention.”
That will be important for MSPs that need to explain AI-driven actions to clients, auditors and internal teams. A system that acts autonomously still needs clear boundaries. Partners will want to know which actions are pre-approved, how policies differ by client, how exceptions are handled and when humans are pulled back into the workflow.
A Margin and Scale Opportunity
WatchGuard says Rai can help MSPs grow without adding headcount at the same rate. In practical terms, the company is tying Rai to three partner priorities: margins, service levels, and competitive positioning.
“Rai gives partners a way to change the economics of how they deliver security,” the spokesperson said.
The first area is delivery cost. If Rai can absorb high-volume investigation and response work, MSPs may be able to support more customers without expanding analyst teams as quickly.
“First, it improves margins. By taking on high-volume investigation and response work, Rai reduces the effort required to deliver services, lowering delivery costs without sacrificing quality,” the spokesperson said.
The second area is coverage. Many MSPs want to offer stronger security services, but staffing a 24/7 SOC is expensive and difficult. WatchGuard is positioning Rai as a way to deliver always-on coverage without requiring every partner to build that capability from scratch.
“Second, it enables higher service levels. Rai operates continuously in the background, handling detection, investigation, and response so partners can provide always-on coverage without the overhead of staffing a full 24/7 SOC,” the spokesperson said.
The third area is competition. Larger MSSPs often have more security staff, deeper SOC operations and stronger scale economics. WatchGuard argues Rai could help smaller and mid-sized MSPs package AI-driven security services in a way that makes them more competitive.
“Third, it changes how partners compete. MSPs can package always-on, AI-driven security into their offerings, helping them compete more effectively with larger MSSPs that have traditionally had an advantage in scale,” the spokesperson said.
At the partner level, the pitch is simple: fewer limits tied to alert volume and analyst capacity.
“At a practical level, this means MSPs are no longer limited by how many alerts their team can handle or how many analysts they can hire. The work continues in the background, and the team steps in when judgment is needed,” the spokesperson said. “The result is simple: partners can grow revenue and customers without scaling headcount at the same rate.”
What Comes Next
WatchGuard says Rai’s Analyst role is available now. This role focuses on detection, investigation and response. The company plans to add two more roles next: Auditor and Admin. Auditor role will help MSPs spot compliance gaps, misconfigurations, and issues like firewall rule conflicts. It will also keep audit trails so partners can see what happened and why. Admin role will handle routine tasks such as patch scheduling, certificate rotation, maintenance windows, and partner communications.
For MSPs, the point is simple: WatchGuard wants Rai to take on the everyday security work that eats up technician time. That includes triage, investigations, response, compliance checks and repetitive admin tasks. The real test will be whether Rai actually reduces workload without giving MSPs more to review. Partners still need control, visibility and trust before they let AI act across customer environments.
For WatchGuard partners, Rai could help make managed security services more consistent across small and midsize customers. It will not replace skilled analysts, but it could change how they spend their time. Instead of chasing every alert, teams could focus more on judgment calls, client strategy and complex security issues.
