“If you don’t adopt artificial intelligence (AI), you risk falling behind. And companies that fall behind this future will find themselves becoming redundant.”

Those were the words Rocky Ozacki, founder and CEO of the NoW of Work — a business transformation firm whose primary focus is helping leaders build future-proofed, resilient teams — said during his keynote address at Nexstar Network’s Super Meeting in September.

As a journalist covering the trades these past 10 years, I’ve seen a lot of keynote addresses at industry events. Ozacki had one of the best analogies I’ve ever heard, as he showed a photo of a robot and human side-by-side, coexisting.

“As we adopt more technology and adopt more AI, we implore you culturally to think about what you are doing in terms of building resilience in your organization,” he says. “These changes are going to keep happening more and more and more quickly. We believe AI is going to create a more human world — maybe more automated, but not a robot world, not Terminator. If you can get AI to do the jobs that nobody likes doing, who don't do it well, then we can focus on the right side of building more collaboration, focus on the human connection — communication, compassion and empathy.

Ozacki explained what really separates us from technology is the connections we make with people — staff and customers.

“I have a friend who’s going through a cancer battle right now,” he says. “If you had to go through a scan that was going to diagnose whether or not you have some kind of sinister disease in your body, and I told you the human was 85% accurate in detecting that disease, and the robot was 95%, who are you choosing? We’re all going to pick robots, right? We’re not going to risk a 10% Delta on our life because we want a human. So what’s the immediate response? We’re going to lose jobs. What if I told you, within the next five years, the human and robot together will be 99% accurate? This is the world that we live in. It's not about replacing humans. It's about augmenting them and making them better.”

On the other side of that example, Ozacki pointed out that if you were to be diagnosed with a sinister disease, the majority of us would rather have a human helping us through treatment and recovery over a robot.

“There’s your proof,” he says. “What we need to do is determine the repetitive tasks that aren’t always accurate, that people are not good at and don’t want to do, and let AI do that for you. Reallocate those resources into building human connections, whether it’s health care or home services.”

One interesting statistic that stood out during Ozacki’s presentation was 60% of the jobs that will be advertised in 2030 don’t exist yet today.

“What every industrial revolution has proved before is we’re going to lose a shitload of jobs, but we're going to create new ones,” he says. “And, in a world where talent is scarce, when you have a great employee who’s been with your company for 10 years and lives and breathes your company, don’t you think you’re probably going to find her another job somewhere to add value as a human?”

Makes sense, right? Good help is hard to find. You wouldn't want to lose a great employee because technology is doing his or her job more efficiently. Logically, you would find a new role for that person to excel in, and, as Ozacki said, add value as a human.

Additionally, one of the biggest challenges facing the construction industry is how to bridge the persistent — and now growing — labor shortage, according to Deloitte’s 2025 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook. Attracting new talent into the home services industry continues to be a predominant issue for plumbing and HVAC contractors. The aging workforce compounds this problem. According to the National Center for Construction Education & Research, by 2030, the average age of craft workers will be 46 years old. Integrating AI-enabled automation and digital tools can help address this issue.

“These tools can augment workforce productivity by helping workers focus on high-value tasks,” the report from Deloitte states. “They could also help attract younger workers to the industry while aiding the retention of older workers by reducing physical strain and enhancing safety. Additionally, AI-powered technologies like robots or autonomous machines can be used in labor-intensive trades like drywall installation, thereby helping the workforce to perform more tactical jobs.”

Bottom line: AI will revolutionize the home services industry over the next year. Intelligent scheduling and dispatching systems will optimize technician routes, ensuring faster response times and greater efficiency. Generative AI will enhance marketing content and communication, optimize for search, analyze data, and augment creativity at a faster and larger scale than ever before. Meanwhile, virtual assistants and chatbots will handle routine customer interactions, providing instant support and freeing up human resources for complex tasks. AI-driven insights will also help contractors improve service quality by analyzing performance metrics and customer feedback, while predictive analytics will refine inventory management and reduce waste. The possibilities are endless.

As AI integrates deeper into the skilled trades, it will empower businesses to operate smarter, save time and deliver a level of convenience and reliability that transforms customer expectations. What an exciting time to be in the industry.

I wish all of you a safe and Happy New Year. Cheers to 2025!