Small teams, big impact: How SMBs can get started with AI in IT

For many small and midsize businesses (SMBs), AI can seem both exciting and overwhelming. Although there’s endless talk about its potential to revolutionize operations, for resource-constrained IT teams, the challenge is real. How do you capture AI’s value when your team is already stretched thin managing tickets, documentation, cybersecurity and user requests?

The truth is, AI doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing leap. According to research from the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), smaller teams can gain immediate, measurable results by starting their AI journey where it matters most — within IT itself.

The SMB AI paradox: Unlimited potential, limited resources

SMB IT leaders know the pressure well: accelerate operations, support hybrid work and keep systems secure, all with the same or smaller teams. In fact, 95% of IT leaders say they’ve had to speed up operations by at least 25% in the past three years. Another 82% report their IT environments have become more complex, making every task more time-consuming.

This is where AI can make a difference. 92% of IT leaders now recognize that generative AI enables operational scaling without adding headcount — a critical advantage for smaller IT departments. When the right AI is embedded into the right tools, it acts like an extra team member — automating workflows, documenting knowledge and surfacing insights instantly.

Instead of chasing broad, one-size-fits-all AI tools, SMBs see the biggest impact when they use AI that’s built right into their existing IT management platforms and tailored for their current workflows. This approach minimizes risk while maximizing return.

Why start with AI in IT

In most small businesses, IT wears many hats. It’s the team that keeps the lights on, the data secure and employees productive, all while managing endless requests and limited resources. That makes it the ideal place to start introducing AI, where teams can see quick results and maintain full control over their data and processes.

By integrating AI into existing tools — such as those for documentation, service management or endpoint monitoring — teams can:

• Automate repetitive work like ticket triage and status updates.
• Accelerate resolution times, improving employee and customer satisfaction.
• Enhance documentation quality with AI-driven summaries and knowledge base generation.
• Reduce human error, leading to stronger compliance and fewer escalations.

The goal isn’t to replace people but to give them more time to focus on meaningful, high-value work.

How IT teams are using AI today

AI is already driving real impact for IT teams of all sizes. Here are a few examples of how small teams are making big gains:

• Automating documentation updates: A two-person IT team at an MSP uses AI to automatically generate and update asset documentation, saving several hours each week.
• Smarter troubleshooting: An internal IT department at a 200-person company leverages AI to suggest resolutions for recurring tickets, reducing resolution times by up to 30%.
• Instant onboarding support: An MSP integrated AI-driven templates into its onboarding process, creating standardized client documentation packages in minutes instead of days.
• Faster audits and compliance: AI-powered searches and data linking have helped teams quickly pull audit-ready information, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

And according to ESG’s research, organizations that have started using AI in IT are already seeing impressive results.

• 96% report improved automated documentation.
• 72% say IT operations see the greatest benefit from generative AI — more than cybersecurity, DevOps or HR.
• 58% expect more than a 30% improvement in key metrics and KPIs within the next two years.

Offloading repetitive work to AI means faster responses, fewer errors and a team that can spend more time improving customer experiences and driving the business forward.

How IT Glue makes AI work for you

At IT Glue, we believe the best AI is built where you already work. That’s why we’ve embedded AI-driven capabilities throughout the platform, helping IT professionals turn documentation into action.

Here’s how IT Glue’s AI features, powered by Cooper Copilot, empower small teams to do more:

• Smart Relate: Automatically identifies, creates and updates relationships between assets so your documentation always reflects the real-time state of your IT environment.
• Smart Create: Uses AI to organize, summarize and automatically generate flexible asset templates that consolidate critical IT data into a single, easy-to-navigate view.
• Smart Assist: Keeps documentation clutter-free and compliant by flagging outdated or duplicate assets and helping replicate proven documentation across organizations.
• Smart SOP Generator: Builds step-by-step procedures automatically, turning documentation into actionable workflows and improving consistency across teams.

With these features, small teams gain the efficiency, accuracy and scalability of much larger ones without the overhead.

Three practical steps to get started

Implementing AI doesn’t require massive budgets or deep expertise. The key is to start strategically:

1. Assess your organization’s needs. Identify manual or time-intensive processes. Ticket handling, knowledge documentation or reporting are great first candidates.
2. Start small. Launch with one or two related use cases within IT instead of a full-scale rollout. Early wins will build momentum and confidence.
3. Measure results. Track metrics like resolution times, workload reduction and service quality to quantify ROI and refine your AI adoption plan.

By taking this approach, SMBs can harness AI’s transformative power without disrupting operations or risking data security.

Empower your team with smarter IT documentation

AI works best when it amplifies human expertise, and that’s exactly what IT Glue’s AI-driven platform delivers. From faster documentation to automated knowledge management, AI gives your team the bandwidth to innovate, not just keep up.

Check out the full ESG infographic to see how SMBs like yours are transforming their IT operations with AI.
Watch our webinar, Optimizing IT operations with AI documentation to see real-world examples of how IT Glue’s AI tools are transforming IT efficiency.

Turning AI into real outcomes

Cooper Copilot is driving measurable business results for IT Glue customers worldwide. IT Glue helps teams by automating asset relationships, organizing workflows, generating SOPs and cleaning up outdated data. This means less manual work, more accurate documentation and more time for technicians to focus on supporting the business.

Book a demo with an IT Glue expert today and discover how IT Glue’s AI features can transform your documentation and boost your business’ potential.