The AI Revolution in Home Services: How to Future-Proof Your Trades Business

Are you worried about shrinking margins, rising overhead, or how artificial intelligence is reshaping the trades industry? You’re not alone. The last 12 months have transformed the game, and the companies that thrive are the ones embracing change, not fighting it.

In this must-listen episode of Catalyst for the Trades, Jennifer Bagley teams up with Lynn Wise, the spirited founder of Contractor in Charge and co-founder of One Path AI. Together, they break down how contractors can leverage AI to drive efficiency, streamline operations, and finally realize the freedom and profitability they went into business for.

This isn’t pie-in-the-sky theory or Silicon Valley hype; it’s real talk for contractors facing real challenges in a changing market.

Why You Should Listen

Lynn Wise brings decades of hands-on financial and operational experience in the trades. She sees today’s AI boom not as a threat, but as an unprecedented opportunity for home service businesses to raise margins, improve customer experience, and future-proof their operations. If you want actionable insight (minus the hype), this episode is your playbook.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• AI is Compressing the Timeline
  COVID accelerated tech adoption, but the last 12 months have been a seismic shift. Lynn and Jennifer reveal why “normal” is over, and what that means for contractors who want to stay profitable.
• Why Margins Are Tightening (and How to Fight Back)
  Overhead grew during the boom, but sales are cooling, and payroll is a drag. Lynn gives a candid look at financial trends she’s seeing in the plumbing, HVAC, and electrical world and how companies can adjust.
• How AI Is Changing Everything: Call Centers, Marketing & Operations
  From AI-powered voice and chat agents to booking systems and lead management, the tools are here now. Learn how today’s contractors can reduce training costs, increase speed-to-lead, and delight customers without adding headcount.
• Stop Drawing Lines in the Sand and Let the Customer Choose
  The best companies will be those who let their customers choose how they interact: phone, web, AI agent, text, or human. Discover why businesses that insist on “humans only” will fall behind as consumers and their devices become AI-powered.
• One Path AI: The Next-Gen CRM Built for the Trades
  Lynn introduces One Path, a groundbreaking, AI-first CRM with human-in-the-loop. It’s designed to personalize customer experience, streamline booking and dispatching, and nurture leads 24/7, even across multiple platforms.
• Rethinking Attribution, Reporting, and Performance
  With AI making and booking calls (sometimes never even touching your website), tracking performance is about to change. Lynn and Jennifer share how new platforms are tackling attribution and what KPIs you need to monitor next.

How Early Adopters Are Winning BIGHear about the next wave of competitors: tech-forward, AI-first operators who aren’t dragging their heels on change. Lynn shares a real-life case study of a contractor relaunching with zero legacy overhead and all AI-enabled systems.