Some contractors embed AI, others ‘wait and see’: ServiceTitan report

ServiceTitan on Tuesday published its first annual ‘State of AI in the Trades’ report. 

What’s happening: The company surveyed more than 1,000 contractors nationwide, 57 percent of whom represent the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical industries, about how they’re adopting AI — and the obstacles they face. 

The big picture: Contractors “expect the technology to impact their businesses soon — but aren’t yet sure how that monumental change will play out for them,” the report notes. Asked about their relationship with the technology so far, just 12 percent of respondents said they’ve embedded it in their processes. Meanwhile: 

• 34 percent are experimenting with a few tools
• 41 percent have taken a wait-and-see approach
• And 13 percent see it as not very relevant

Zoom in: Administration leads among areas with the most usage (59 percent), followed by marketing and sales (51 percent), and customer service and field operations (39 percent each).

• Of contractors who are “at least experimenting with AI,” per the report, two-thirds indicated it saves them more than three hours of work per week through automation. 
• Meanwhile, efficiency gains trumped cost reductions and increased profitability among the top expected — and realized — benefits of the technology. 

The other side: Asked about the barriers to adopting AI, respondents’ top three answers were lack of training and integration complexity (44 percent each), and difficulty understanding how to use AI tools (38 percent). 

What they’re saying: “With AI, every part of your business will fall into one of three categories: fully automated, human with AI help, or just human,” said ServiceTitan’s Vincent Payen. “That mix is what we are seeing shift rapidly as the solutions improve and contractors expand their use.”

• Go deeper: Full report