'The biggest risk of AI is over-reliance': How AI is changing the way web agencies deliver value

I caught up with Suhaib Zaheer, SVP, Managed Hosting at DigitalOcean & GM, Cloudways, to get his thoughts on how AI is transforming the web agency space

by · TechRadar

Features By Owain Williams published 9 June 2026

(Image credit: Future)

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AI is automating the exact tasks that web agencies once monetized, like routine maintenance and web monitoring.

This shift may seem scary to some, but it is also unlocking new opportunities, creating operational efficiencies, and freeing up skilled website professionals to focus on high-value tasks.

I caught up with Suhaib Zaheer, SVP of Managed Hosting at DigitalOcean and GM of Cloudways, to discuss how AI is redefining how agencies deliver value to their clients. During our conversation, he highlights the opportunities and risks of AI adoption, as well as breaking down exactly how agencies can mitigate those risks.

Interview with:

Interview with:Suhaib Zaheer

Interview by:

Interview by:Owain Williams

Historically, agencies would bill clients for ‘maintenance and monitoring’. As AI automates a lot of these tasks, how are agencies' value propositions changing?

What used to take 30–40 minutes of investigation can now be understood in minutes.

For years, agencies have spent significant amounts of time on reactive operational work like investigating outages, reviewing logs, troubleshooting performance issues, and implementing fixes.

AI is changing that dynamic. What used to take 30–40 minutes of investigation can now be understood in minutes. AI can quickly surface root causes, identify patterns across applications and infrastructure, and in some cases even automate the next action.

Leveraging AI allows agencies to move further up the value chain and focus more of their time on performance optimization, improving SEO visibility, conversion improvements, and helping clients achieve better business outcomes.

This shift matters because the landscape websites operate in is more demanding than it used to be. There’s more automated traffic, more variability, and more pressure on performance and visibility. It’s not enough for a site to just be online anymore. The agencies that will stand out are the ones that use AI to reduce their operational load and reinvest that time into higher-value work that clients are willing to pay for.

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