The partner base is about to split in two — PartnerImpact ========================================================= Source: https://www.partnerimpact.net/insights/ai-agents-reshaping-partner-base Text version: https://www.partnerimpact.net/text/insights/ai-agents-reshaping-partner-base.txt Site: PartnerImpact — B2B SaaS partnerships advisory by Bart Dirksen Published: 2026-04-24 Category: Ecosystem Strategy AI is automating the routine middle of partner services. Sort your partner base into the tiers that will matter in 18 months, before the split forces you to. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AI agents are taking over the work that used to give many services partners their margin. Onboarding. Basic setup. Provisioning. Small-business rollout templates. This is the routine middle of services work, and it is being automated faster than most partner programs have updated their training. Big enterprise change work still needs people. The work below that is moving to software. The new space is above it: designing how AI gets deployed, owning the result, coordinating many parties, and managing adoption over time. This work is harder, and for now it pays more. The clearest sign is in the hyperscaler marketplaces. Co-sell deals that include AI deployment work close at much higher value than software-only deals. The programs that handle this well make an honest call about their current partners. The useful test is not what a partner can do on paper. It is whether the partner has already put their own money into AI deployment talent. That one signal separates the partners who will lead from the ones still waiting for the vendor to pay for it. Many programs still run the same model across every partner and hope the partners will upgrade on their own. That worked when software margins paid for the patience. It does not work now. The partner base is starting to split. Some firms move up into AI deployment work. Some get bought by larger integrators built for this motion. A long tail drifts into low-margin, self-serve marketplace work. And new AI-native firms arrive from outside the usual channel. Programs that made the call early already know which partners sit where. Everyone else is running quarterly reviews trying to work it out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Navigation: - Home: https://www.partnerimpact.net/ - Insights: https://www.partnerimpact.net/insights - Partner Program Maturity Assessment: https://www.partnerimpact.net/partner-maturity-assessment - Finding Traction in Partnerships (book): https://www.partnerimpact.net/book - Free book sample: https://www.partnerimpact.net/book/sample - Contact: https://www.partnerimpact.net/#contact - Privacy policy: https://www.partnerimpact.net/privacy All plain-text pages: https://www.partnerimpact.net/text/ Contact: partnerimpact@outlook.com © PartnerImpact — Kweldam 1, 6678DK Oosterhout, NL — VAT NL005331357B74