Hatz AI launches “Activate” so MSPs can switch on AI for every SMB client in one click — AppH made the opposite choice: stay in direct contact with the owner who approves each action
On 4 August, Hatz AI launched Hatz Activate, a command centre that lets a Managed Service Provider onboard its entire SMB client base onto AI in bulk, with “Shadow AI” detection and automated maturity assessments. It is a real gain in scale for the indirect channel — and a useful reminder of why AppH chose the slower path of direct contact.
Hatz Activate plugs into the Hatz admin panel: the MSP partner connects its PSA system or imports a client CSV, and Hatz automatically enriches each account by domain and industry, generating use cases tailored to each business. From there, the MSP sees the status of its whole client base in real time, runs “Shadow AI” reports to spot risky use of consumer AI tools before it becomes a problem, sends out AI maturity assessments, and triggers bulk invitations in a few clicks. “Everything we build at Hatz starts with our partners... it gives MSPs a repeatable way to get every client started with safe, practical AI,” said Hatz CEO Jimmy Hatzell.
AppH does exactly the opposite: there is no intermediary partner switching on accounts in batches. Each SMB client deals directly with AppH, and every action by an agent still requires the explicit approval of the owner themselves — not an MSP dashboard deciding on their behalf, at scale.
For AppH
- Direct relationship: the SMB owner knows exactly who handles their data and approves each agent action themselves, with no IT intermediary activating accounts on their behalf.
- Vertical depth (fleet, tourism, health) rather than a generic AI layer dropped onto any MSP client.
Against / the honest limit
- Hatz's MSP channel can activate dozens of clients in an afternoon; AppH, in direct contact, moves one client at a time — slower by design.
- “Shadow AI” detection (risky use of consumer AI tools by employees) is a genuinely good idea that AppH has no equivalent for today on the SMB-client side — one to watch.
Hatz's bet is consistent with the market it targets: SMBs with no in-house IT department already rely on their MSP for everything else, so why not AI. It is not a bad calculation. But “activate in bulk through the trusted partner” and “the owner approves each action themselves” are two different bets on who actually stays in the loop when AI makes a decision. At AppH we chose the second, because we do not want a 5-click activation dashboard to be the thing that decides, in place of the owner, that this or that action is “safe”.
Reviewed by a human at AppH