AI is driving change across the print and IT channel, enabling smarter workflows, predictive maintenance, data‑driven intelligence, and more. In this VOX POP feature, we hear directly from leading industry players on how AI is being applied today and where it’s headed next.
PrintIT Reseller: How are you using AI within your products, solutions and services offering. What benefits are you realising and do you see AI as integral to driving efficiencies and give you a competitive edge?
Andy Bryant, Sales Director EMEA, Vasion: AI is deeply embedded throughout our Vasion platform through VAI (Vasion AI), our AI agent. Our AI Print Agent allows IT admins to update thousands of printers using natural language commands, reducing hours to minutes. Use cases include company mergers (inheriting hundreds of printers needing reconfiguration), office relocations (updating printer names and locations), and general environment cleanup.
Vasion Automate leverages AI for intelligent document capture, automated data extraction, and workflow orchestration. AI isn’t just a competitive edge – it’s integral to our mission of making digital transformation attainable by removing technical barriers and automating repetitive tasks.
Mark Asbridge, Head of Product Enablement, MyQ: MyQ uses AI across MyQ X and MyQ Roger for intelligent document processing, OCR, automatic classification, data extraction, and conversational AI assistants that simplify workflows and reduce manual steps. These capabilities speed up document handling, improve accuracy and deliver a smarter user experience that strengthens our competitive edge.
Khalid Aziz, Marketing Director, Digital Printing & Solutions, Canon UK & Ireland: AI is embedded across Canon’s product and service portfolio, where it plays a central role in improving resilience, performance and customer experience. Across fleet environments, AI underpins remote diagnostics and predictive maintenance capabilities that identify potential faults before they disrupt operations, shifting services from reactive to proactive, enabling customers to maintain uptime and save on costs.
For connected devices such as imageFORCE, which handle significant volumes of sensitive data, AI also supports a multi-layered, security by-design approach by improving visibility, enabling earlier detection of anomalies and strengthening proactive defence. Together, these capabilities are helping customers operate more securely, efficiently and confidently in an increasingly complex threat landscape.
Ryan Green, Digital Services Director, Carbon Group: At Carbon, we have tried to integrate AI where it delivers tangible, measurable value to our clients. This includes automating invoice capture and ERP posting to streamline financial workflows, optimising print and scan environments with advanced analytics for our clients and embedding AI into assisted‑reality tools that empower our field service teams to improve first-time fixes.
These innovations accelerate processes, reduce downtime, strengthen governance, and drive sustainability improvements both within our own operations and for our customers. By packaging AI as outcome‑based services and pairing it with actionable insights, I believe we have positioned AI as a core enabler of efficiency that gives a clear competitive advantage.
Daniel Gilbert, Managing Director, Key Digital: Using AI, or using AI as an add-on to our current service, is allowing us to deliver greater value for our customers. By improving the productivity of our existing resources through AI-generated insights, we’ve been able to deliver faster response times to customer queries and prevent future incidents.
Within our sales approach, AI-driven lead scoring and predictive modelling allow us to focus on high value opportunities that are most likely to convert, cutting out inefficiencies and assigning resources appropriately.
Operating as efficiently as we can is where we gain our competitive edge; if AI can aid in those efficiencies, then it’s worth the uptake.
Andy Muskett, Director of Channel, Xerox: Xerox is applying AI across its products, solutions and services to enhance productivity, improve decision-making and automate routine processes in the hybrid workplace – particularly across document workflows, service delivery and managed print services delivered through the partner ecosystem.
For example, Xerox DocuShareGo, allows partners to create and adapt document management workflows quickly without the need for specialist coding skills, reducing implementation time and complexity for client deployments.
Within service delivery and managed print services, AI supports predictive decision-making by optimising supply chains and enabling more proactive maintenance. This helps reduce downtime, avoid unnecessary site visits and lower environmental impact across client environments.
AI is integral to the company’s competitive edge, supporting more intelligent, automated and data driven workplace solutions for today’s distributed workforce.
John Green, Managing Director, Commerce Business Systems: People often worry that AI is all about replacing the workforce, but we see it as ‘adding more tools to our kit bag’. We are starting to see how efficiently we can respond to customers, offer more proactive servicing as well as summarise and document our customer review meetings. This also means the team is able to spend more time focusing on their areas of expertise.
Graham Foxwell, Product Marketing Lead, Kyocera Document Solutions UK: AI-native design is at the heart of our ecosystem, not just in print hardware but also in workflow automation and document intelligence through MDI Cloud.
While Kyocera’s MFPs integrate AI features like handwriting recognition and super-resolution for better output quality, MDI Cloud brings this intelligence into the digital space. It enables intelligent document processing (IDP) capabilities such as smart document routing, automated filing, and metadata tagging, reducing manual intervention and improving compliance.
In addition, Kyocera’s AI Confidential Document Guard strengthens data security by automatically detecting sensitive information within documents and applying appropriate protection measures. This proactive approach helps prevent data leaks, supports regulatory compliance, and gives organisations confidence in handling confidential content.
Kyocera is also leveraging AI and Hyper Automation within its UK-based 24/7 Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) to deliver advanced cyber threat detection and response. Through our partnership with TORQ, we have implemented automated workflows that identify, analyse, and neutralise cyber threats, freeing up our cyber analysts to focus on proactive threat hunting and case escalations. This capability significantly reduces response times, minimises risk exposure, and ensures continuous protection for our customers.
The competitive edge comes from delivering a connected experience where physical and digital document processes are seamlessly integrated, saving time, reducing waste, enhancing collaboration, and safeguarding sensitive information while also providing robust, AI-driven cybersecurity that operates around the clock.
Ian Silvester, General Manager, EKM Global: Currently we are investigating the use of AI within our product, we have had rudimentary AI within the software for many years but are looking at new ways to use AI to improve the software’s functionality. As the print manufacturers add AI capabilities into their devices, we will look to make this data available within our systems to provide enhanced service functionality to all our customers.
Kerry Rush, Product Marketing Manager, Sharp UK: AI is still at an early stage within print, but it’s already delivering real value, particularly across capture and workflow solutions. Recent advancements are helping organisations classify documents and extract information more efficiently, reducing barriers that often slow down digital transformation.
Across our IT Services, we’re supporting our clients in leveraging Microsoft Copilot through our Copilot Consulting service, leading the conversation about how our clients can use it to its full potential. This is about helping organisations move beyond experimentation and understand how to use AI tools in a way that delivers genuine productivity gains.
Education continues to play an important role here, too. We actively support clients with guidance on how AI is evolving, the use cases for it in business, how it can be used safely, and how to develop and implement appropriate AI policies. That foundation of trust and understanding is essential.
Our research shows that 72% of UK SME owners now trust AI more than they did a year ago, driven largely by economic pressure and the need to work smarter. In print, that trust is translating into practical use cases such as large scale personalisation, where customised outputs can be produced without compromising speed or quality.
PrintIT Reseller: Are you leveraging or planning to leverage AI to improve productivity in your own business?
Andy Bryant: Absolutely. Our teams use Claude AI integrated with Notion, Gmail, Google Calendar, and ZoomInfo for instant access to product information, prospect research, meeting summaries, proposal generation, and calendar management.
We utilise Gong for conversation intelligence and deal risk identification, plus Seismic for AI-powered content recommendations. These integrations create a seamless workflow – from prospect identification and research through to proposal delivery and deal analysis. The result: research time reduced from hours to minutes, improved accuracy and consistency, faster deal cycles, and better customer experiences across EMEA and APAC.
AI enables our teams to work smarter, focusing on strategic relationship building rather than
administrative tasks.
Mark Asbridge: Yes, AI is already improving internal productivity through AI-powered documentation search, automated support triage, and the MyQ Support AI Agent, which accelerates issue resolution and reduces manual workload for our team.
Khalid Aziz: Canon is already leveraging AI to improve productivity across the business, with AI embedded into everyday marketing and operational workflows. Within marketing, AI is helping to streamline planning, accelerate content development and support activities such as SEO and lead scoring, enabling teams to focus more time on strategic thinking.
Alongside this, Canon is also investing in upskilling its people to ensure teams can work confidently and effectively with AI tools. Structured training and clear guidelines help employees build the AI literacy and data confidence needed to use these technologies responsibly, securely and productively as they become more embedded in daily workflows.
Beyond marketing, AI is also improving operational productivity, automating mundane tasks such as monitoring device performance, identifying potential faults and prioritising maintenance needs. Ultimately, this is evolving our engineering services, saving time for both teams and customers and improving overall performance.
Ryan Green: We have already committed to leveraging AI to enhance productivity across our business. Internally, we deploy AI-driven automation to streamline workflows such as document handling and approvals, while advanced analytics help us optimise resource allocation and improve management decision-making.
Our field service teams benefit from AI-enabled assisted reality tools that reduce downtime and accelerate problem resolution. In addition, we have invested in AI-powered marketing platforms that deliver deep insights into client behaviour and preferences, enabling us to tailor campaigns and content to what truly matters to our customers. By embedding AI into operations and marketing, we aim to not only boost efficiency but also strengthen our ability to deliver value and maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Daniel Gilbert: We’re all time precious, so using AI to speed up administrative duties is where we’ve been able to gain those productivity boosts. We’re planning to use more of that in our support function, for handling queries and reviewing when similar things might have happened before leading to a faster resolution. This speeds up administrative time and training of new staff members.
We’ve built a knowledge base that’s accessible both internally and externally, meaning we can offer the best level of customer service in a quick and easy way, saving everyone time.
Andy Muskett: Yes, Xerox is actively using AI across its own operations to improve productivity, streamline decision-making and reduce manual effort.
In customer service, AI is embedded within the company’s omni-channel virtual assistant, which uses generative AI to interpret the sentiment and intent of client requests. This allows many enquiries to be resolved automatically, while ensuring more complex issues are escalated quickly to human agents. AI is also used for email classification and sentiment analysis, helping service teams prioritise and respond more effectively.
Across the business, tools such as Microsoft Copilot are used to analyse dashboards, surface insights and support faster, more informed decision making, reducing the time spent manually interrogating data.
Within marketing and communications, AI is being used to streamline content creation, including generating draft case studies from client call transcripts, improving efficiency and consistency.
Overall, AI use at Xerox reflects a practical, operational approach focused on simplifying processes and enabling teams to concentrate on higher-value work.
John Green: CBS has started to adopt AI technology throughout the business and for supporting our customers.
Our technical team use it to assist with our support functions through managed print, IT and telephony. It allows us to respond to and resolve support tickets quicker, and the proactive monitoring means sales and service teams are often able to forecast and create plans more efficiently with our customers.
As an example, the telephony solution we provide and support our customers with, has AI Calling Assistants. We have the ability to record calls, create a summary of those calls with accurate notes and actions that can be automatically dropped into our CRM system, which is great for improving productivity within our busy teams.
Graham Foxwell: Yes. In addition to hardware, we are using AI to enhance workflow automation and document/ content management. AI-driven analytics can enable optimisation of internal processes and deliver better customer experiences. For example, predictive insights into document usage patterns can help us refine service delivery and allocate resources more effectively. These capabilities complement Kyocera Fleet Services (KFS) for device monitoring, creating a comprehensive productivity model that spans both print and digital document ecosystems.
We are also exploring how AI can transform technical documentation by making it easier for technicians to access and interact with diverse content sources. This includes service bulletins, knowledge bases, and other repositories that often contain unstructured information. Our goal is to use AI to convert these materials into actionable insights, improving efficiency and accuracy in technical support.
Ian Silvester: AI is currently leveraged in our business in the development, sales and marketing areas. We are investigating how it can aid our support infrastructure to further increase our resolution times and self‑help capabilities.
As a company we are using AI now to help in creating marketing materials and to identify sales leads around the globe. During 2026 this will become more integral to our strategies. The key benefits will be efficiency and speed of content creation, and breadth of content that will form that creation. It will also allow us to deliver more personalised content in a reduced timescale.
Kerry Rush: Yes, like most businesses, we are adopting AI technology to streamline our own business processes, security and productivity. AI is helping to reduce manual and repetitive tasks, and much like our clients, we’re using tools like Copilot with some of our teams, giving them more time to focus on higher-value work and ultimately what they do best.
Our research highlights that while AI adoption is accelerating, 52% of UK leaders believe their business isn’t yet using AI as effectively as it could. That is why we also encourage vendors and partners to explore AI within their own organisations. Doing so helps streamline internal processes and enables them to authentically and credibly communicate the value of AI to their customers.
PrintIT Reseller: In what ways are AI-driven predictive maintenance tools changing the way printers are serviced, and how is this impacting uptime and customer satisfaction?
Andy Bryant: Whilst we don’t service printers directly, AI transforms how we support customers proactively. Through AI-powered analysis of support ticket patterns, product usage data, and customer health indicators, we predict potential issues before they impact operations.
This enables our customer success teams to intervene early with targeted guidance or technical support. AI also identifies expansion opportunities by analysing usage patterns and feature adoption. The result: higher customer satisfaction through proactive support, reduced time-to-resolution, and better retention rates. Customers benefit from predictive insights that keep their print infrastructure running smoothly whilst we strengthen relationships through data-driven engagement rather than reactive problem-solving.
Mark Asbridge: AI-enabled monitoring and analytics help detect performance patterns and potential issues early, allowing proactive optimisation and maintenance. This reduces unexpected downtime and improves reliability, directly enhancing customer satisfaction.
Khalid Aziz: AI-driven predictive maintenance is changing service models from reactive to proactive. Connected devices and data-driven insights allow engineers to identify faults before they happen, rather than responding after an issue occurs.
In modern print environments, connected systems such as the latest imageFORCE devices and PRISMA workflow software automatically flag potential faults, order parts in advance and minimise service disruption. The result is higher uptime, fewer unnecessary journeys, improved reliability and time saved for both engineers and customers.
Ryan Green: AI-driven predictive maintenance is revolutionising printer servicing by moving from reactive fixes to proactive care. Solutions like Canon’s new imageFORCE series harness real time telemetry and machine learning to anticipate component wear and schedule interventions before failures occur. This approach dramatically improves uptime, reduces emergency service calls, and enhances customer satisfaction by ensuring consistent device performance.
For Carbon’s customers, it means fewer disruptions, faster turnaround, and a more reliable print environment that supports their business continuity and productivity goals.
Daniel Gilbert: Having real-time data analysis means we can take a proactive approach to maintenance jobs and assign resources at the best times. Anticipating potential issues before they escalate – looking at component wear, recent print jobs, and potential upcoming print jobs – means we can maximise uptime across our entire fleet without having to review individual cases every time.
Maximising uptime saves time for us as well as for our customers, presenting this as a tangible benefit to the customer means that they know they’re getting value for the service provided.
Andy Muskett: AI-driven predictive maintenance is shifting printer servicing from reactive to proactive. By analysing real-time device and usage data, AI can identify when components or consumables are nearing end-of-life, allowing parts to be replaced before failures occur.
This improves uptime, reduces unplanned service disruptions and enables supplies to be replenished based on actual usage rather than fixed thresholds. As a result, consumable storage can be reduced and deliveries consolidated.
The outcome is fewer callouts, more reliable device performance and higher client satisfaction, alongside a reduced environmental impact through fewer unnecessary visits and deliveries.
John Green: Being able to plan and forecast service calls and offer preventative maintenance allows us to stay a few steps ahead and be better organised. We constantly look at ways to improve our service, so being able to carry out extensive research into possible issues, using AI technology, means we can ensure the customer doesn’t feel any impact if their equipment has an issue.
Graham Foxwell: Predictive maintenance is already transforming service models. Kyocera Fleet Services combined with AI ensures early detection of potential faults, reducing downtime, waste and service costs.
When combined with intelligent workflow automation, this approach goes further by linking device health data with process continuity, ensuring that service insights translate into uninterrupted document operations. For customers, this means maximum uptime and uninterrupted document processes, which is critical in sectors like healthcare and legal, where delays can have serious consequences.
Kyocera is looking to add additional predictive AI features to help in monitoring device performance. This in turn will complement our existing KFS software, which already monitors and provides a predictive maintenance capability.
Ian Silvester: AI-driven predictive maintenance tools are transforming the landscape of printer management by proactively identifying issues before they cause downtime, reducing the need for reactive service interventions. These tools use data from printers such as usage patterns, performance metrics, and environmental conditions, to predict when a component is likely to fail or require servicing.
As a result, service teams can schedule maintenance before downtime happens, dispatch technicians with the right parts on the first visit, conduct platform remote diagnostics and firmware adjustments without a site visit, and prioritise service based on risk and business impact, not just alerts.
Predictive maintenance significantly improves uptime by reducing unplanned outages, which are the most disruptive and costly; shortening mean time to repair (MTTR) through accurate fault prediction; performing preventive maintenance as well as proactive to further increase the MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures); extending the usable life of components by servicing them at the optimal time; and enabling smarter fleet-level optimisation rather than device-by-device fixes.
For customers, this means printers are available when they’re needed – especially in high-volume or mission critical environments. The customer experience improves in several key ways – fewer service interruptions, leading to higher trust in the printing environment, faster resolution times and fewer repeat service calls (MTTR & MTBF), less disruption to end-users, since many issues are resolved proactively or remotely, and greater transparency through reporting and insights into device health and performance.
Over time this shifts the service relationship from reactive support to a predictive, consultative partnership, where customers feel their provider is actively protecting productivity rather than simply responding to problems.
www.vasion.com
www.MyQ-solution.com
www.canon.co.uk
www.carbon-group.co.uk
www.key-digital.co.uk
www.xerox.co.uk
www.commercebusinesssystems.co.uk
www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk
www.ekmglobal.com www.sharp.co.uk