WatchGuard Technologies has introduced Rai, an advanced AI-driven digital workforce tailored for managed service providers (MSPs), at its EMEA Impact Partner Conference.
Designed to enhance cybersecurity operations across client environments, Rai automates threat detection, correlation, and response, reducing the need for human intervention. As an ever-present digital worker, Rai operates within security teams to provide real-time threat management and action with transparency.
Enhanced Security Coverage
Rai represents a novel approach to workforce management for MSPs by offering continuous operation and on-demand scalability. Currently available is the Analyst role, which enables 24/7/365 threat detection, investigation, and incident response, reducing the manual load on partners.
Currently available is the Analyst role, which enables 24/7/365 threat detection
Upcoming roles include Auditor, focusing on compliance and configuration management, and Admin, which will address operational tasks such as patching, certificate management, and communication facilitation. By alleviating routine duties, Rai empowers engineers to prioritize strategic initiatives like client relationship building and complex problem-solving.
Optimizing Customer Experience
Ben Oster, VP of Product Management at WatchGuard, commented, “Cyber threats are increasing in both volume and complexity, and organizations need AI that is built to work continuously across every client. Rai shifts security operations from reactive to predictive, taking action instantly to deliver more consistent protection.” This transition to predictive security allows MSPs to rapidly scale operations, enhance profitability, and improve service delivery across their offerings.
Comprehensive Oversight
All of Rai's actions are trackable via the WatchGuard Insights Hub, providing centralized dashboards that combine broad MSP overviews with detailed client-specific insights effortlessly. The Daily Brief simplifies oversight by summarizing ongoing actions, highlighting issues, and providing real-time status updates for managed environments. Highly adaptable controls assure partners of complete visibility while operating at AI-optimized speed and efficiency.
Michael Ruffolo, Senior Cyber Security Engineer and Analyst at eSecurity Solutions, noted, “What stood out right away was how quickly everything came together in one place. Instead of jumping between tools or piecing things together, the experience made it easier to understand what was happening and what needed attention. That kind of clarity is what helps us make better decisions and deliver more consistent service to customers.”
Future of Cybersecurity Operations
The launch of Rai coincides with a significant development in WatchGuard's strategic focus on AI, advancing from support tools to autonomous operations and enabling MSPs to expand their reach without increasing staff numbers. Future updates will introduce a natural-language, intent-driven interface, allowing direct interaction with Rai.
Joe Smolarski, CEO at WatchGuard Technologies, emphasized the transformative impact of Rai, stating, “This is a fundamental shift in how cybersecurity gets done. For too long, growth has been constrained by people – how many analysts you can hire, train, and retain. Rai changes that equation. It enables our partners to operate continuously, act instantly, and scale far beyond the limits of traditional security teams.”
WatchGuard® Technologies, the pioneer in unified cybersecurity for MSPs, today redefined how managed service providers (MSPs) deliver security at scale with the launch of Rai™. Unveiled at the company’s EMEA Impact Partner Conference, Rai is a new agentic AI digital workforce built specifically for MSPs that proactively performs cybersecurity duties across client environments.
Rai is an always-on digital worker that operates as a true extension of the security team, detecting, correlating and responding to threats before human intervention is required. She continuously monitors environments, identifies threats and takes authorized action in real-time to reduce workload, speed response and provide more comprehensive coverage for partners and clients. Each action is transparent, measurable, and delivered in a single intelligence function.
More comprehensive coverage
Rai introduces a new kind of workforce for MSPs: one that operates continuously, scales on demand, and offloads the operational burden that consumes valuable team time. The Analyst role is available today, delivering always-on detection, investigation, and response across endpoint and network activity, acting as a first responder so partners aren’t managing alerts 24/7/365. Auditor and Admin roles are coming soon, extending Rai’s capabilities into compliance and operations.
The Auditor role will continuously identify compliance gaps, flag misconfigurations, and resolve issues such as firewall rule conflicts while maintaining audit trails. The Admin role will handle operational tasks like patch scheduling, certificate rotation, maintenance windows, and partner communications. By taking on the work that typically slows teams down, Rai frees engineers to focus on higher-value priorities like strengthening client relationships, solving complex problems, and driving business growth.
Improving customer experience
“Cyber threats are increasing in both volume and complexity, and organizations need AI that is built to work continuously across every client,” said Ben Oster, VP of Product Management at WatchGuard. “Rai shifts security operations from reactive to predictive, taking action instantly to deliver more consistent protection. This approach enables partners to scale faster, enhance margins and improve the customer experience across their entire portfolio.”
Rai’s decision-making process is fully visible through the new WatchGuard Insights Hub. The Insights Hub contains centralized dashboards that provide estate-wide context and the ability to shift from high-level MSP views to detailed, client-specific insights with just a single click.
Maintaining complete oversight
The built-in Daily Brief delivers a concise summary of actions taken, items requiring attention and the real-time protection status across all managed environments. The controls are highly-configurable to ensure partners maintain complete oversight while operating at AI-driven speed and scale.
“What stood out right away was how quickly everything came together in one place,” said Michael Ruffolo, Senior Cyber Security Engineer and Analyst, eSecurity Solutions. “Instead of jumping between tools or piecing things together, the experience made it easier to understand what was happening and what needed attention. That kind of clarity is what helps us make better decisions and deliver more consistent service to customers.”
Intent-driven interface
The introduction of Rai at EMEA Impact 2026 marks a major step forward in WatchGuard’s AI strategy and deepens its commitment to MSP success. By moving beyond assistive AI to autonomous execution, Rai allows MSPs to extend coverage, reduce operational burden and grow without adding headcount. As agentic capabilities continue to expand across the platform, future enhancements will include a natural-language, intent-driven interface that enables partners to interact directly with Rai.
“This is a fundamental shift in how cybersecurity gets done,” said Joe Smolarski, CEO at WatchGuard Technologies. “For too long, growth has been constrained by people – how many analysts you can hire, train, and retain. Rai changes that equation. It enables our partners to operate continuously, act instantly, and scale far beyond the limits of traditional security teams.”
