Building My Business Webinar Series
Designed to help dealers improve the management of their companies, take full advantage of market opportunities and, ultimately, improve the bottom line.
Length: One hour
Cost: Free to BTA members
The following webinar has been scheduled:
September 2026
Beyond ChatGPT: AI Agents Have Arrived. Can You Afford to Ignore Them?
4 p.m. Eastern, Thursday, Sept. 24
West McDonald, founder/partner, GoWest.ai
Active AI agents in Microsoft 365 grew 15-fold in one year. AI is moving from answering questions to doing work. But does the time saved justify the bill?
You hired salespeople to sell and technicians to solve problems. Somewhere along the way, you also hired them to copy, paste, search, chase and re-enter. During this webinar, join McDonald to explore what happens when agents take on some of that workload and what you need to know before handing it over.
Attendees will leave with:
- Examples of how agents could free up time in sales, service and administration.
- Key considerations for choosing between Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude.
- A plain-English understanding of token and credit costs, including how agent work can increase the bill.
- Cautions around company data, permissions, accuracy and human supervision.
- A complimentary AI Agent Cost Calculator to help estimate costs and weigh them against potential time savings.
West will also introduce the November BTA AI Workflow Assessment Workshop, where dealers will learn to identify and prioritize the improvements worth pursuing inside their own businesses.
McDonald is the founder of GoWest.ai and a recognized advisor, speaker and strategist focused on helping businesses turn AI into practical business value. With more than 20 years of experience serving office technology dealers, MSPs, IT solution providers and technology channel partners, he is known for translating AI from buzzword to business strategy. Through GoWest.ai, McDonald helps organizations identify high-impact AI opportunities, strengthen readiness and build practical paths to adoption that improve efficiency, customer experience and growth. He is also the creator of BizVantage, an AI business readiness assessment and enablement offering designed to help dealers, MSPs and their clients uncover workflow opportunities where AI can save time, reduce costs and drive revenue. A sought-after speaker known for humor, candor and no-fluff insight, McDonald has presented at major industry events including the FP Mailing Dealer Summit, BTA National Conference, Executive Connection Summit, CDA, the AI and Business U.S. Summit and three Channel Company XChange events — among the largest and most influential gatherings in the MSP channel. He is also a regular columnist and industry voice on the future of AI in the channel.
Members: Click on the registration link above to register via Zoom. You will need your BTA username and password to access the registration page. After registering with Zoom, you will receive an email containing information about joining the webinar.
Watch this page for additional "Building My Business" webinars, to be announced as they are scheduled.
Interested in sponsoring a Building My Business webinar?
Email Valerie Briseno at valerie@bta.org for more information.