Pax8 launches 8os to govern AI agents for IT partners

Pax8's launch addresses a governance gap its own surveys keep finding. Nine in 10 small businesses are using or experimenting with AI, but only 23% have a documented policy covering it. Among those using AI, 71% have built at least one tool of their own, and just 31% of those builders have a formal review or approval process. Nearly half of those surveyed said they had found unsanctioned "shadow AI" in the past six months.

The company wants its partners to close that gap. Pax8 said 84% of the business leaders it surveyed would trust an outside technology adviser to help them implement AI. It has taken to calling partners that do AI work managed intelligence providers, and a program launched at its Beyond conference in Salt Lake City in June walks managed service providers through that change, starting with an assessment of their AI maturity.

The new operating system is built on the marketplace that more than 47,000 IT providers already use to sell software to some 800,000 small businesses, so partner and client identities carry over. Each customer's memory and context are kept separate, so the AI workers get more useful to that client over time. Employees at client businesses get 8bot, which takes on everyday tasks and returns work that staff can review and refine before using it elsewhere in the business.