In one embodiment, a service detects that an event of a particular event type has occurred in a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN). The service activates, in response to detecting the occurrence of the event, a machine learning model to assess telemetry data regarding a first tunnel in the SD-WAN. The service predicts a failure of the first tunnel, based on the assessment of the telemetry data regarding the first tunnel by the machine learning model. The service proactively reroutes at least a subset of traffic on the first tunnel onto a second tunnel in the SD-WAN, in advance of the predicted failure of the first tunnel.