Most small businesses with 1 to 30 employees have three options: hire someone, outsource to an MSP, or go without. Anthony is the fourth option. Here is how it compares.
| Typical IT / MSP | Anthony AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $800 - $3,000+ for a small team | $24.99/seat (Core) or $49.99/seat (Pro) |
| Response time | Hours to days | Seconds |
| Availability | Business hours (usually) | Always on |
| Remote fixes | Scheduled visit or remote session with a person | Autonomous Vision remote support |
| macOS support | Rare or extra cost | Full support, same as Windows |
| Remembers your setup | Inconsistent across technicians | Every conversation, every fix, every user |
| Tickets | Required | None. The chat is the record. |
| Knowledge base | Manual, if it exists at all | Auto-built from every resolved issue |
| Contract | Usually 12+ months | No contract. Cancel anytime. |
| Setup time | Days to weeks of onboarding | Install from the Teams App Store |
Traditional IT and MSPs have real advantages for certain work. Regulated compliance (HIPAA, SOC 2 audits, PCI), physical infrastructure (server rooms, networking hardware, cabling), enterprise security incidents, and complex multi-site deployments all benefit from a dedicated human team.
Anthony is not trying to replace that. Anthony replaces the day-to-day troubleshooting, the "my Outlook is frozen" and "the printer won't connect" work that eats hours every week and doesn't require a specialist.
Anthony provides best-effort IT support. When a problem is beyond what Anthony can safely resolve, you get a full diagnostic summary: what was tried, what was found, and what a specialist should do next. You hand them a head start instead of starting from zero.
Anthony is designed for everyday SMB IT support. It is not a substitute for incident response, regulated compliance projects, critical infrastructure administration, or enterprise security operations.
No IT hire needed. Everyone messages Anthony in Teams. Problems get fixed, knowledge gets built.
The accidental IT person on your team stops being the help desk. Anthony handles the repetitive questions and fixes.
Use Anthony for day-to-day support. Bring in a specialist for compliance, infrastructure, or security work.
Anthony is built for small teams. If you have 30+ staff, a dedicated IT hire or MSP may serve you better. Anthony can still help your IT person with documentation and triage.