Remodeling Leaders Say AI Is No Longer Optional—And It’s Already Reshaping Operations

During Pro Remodeler’s Q4 Thought Leaders call, a quarterly roundtable of CEOs and presidents across design-build and home improvement, participants compared notes on the market and debated emerging issues shaping the industry. Hosted by an industry advisor, the call has operated for roughly a decade as a candid forum for tracking business cycles, surfacing risks, and sharing what’s working. Participants are granted anonymity so they can speak plainly and share details that can be translated into useful intelligence for Pro Remodeler readers.

This quarter, the group consolidated quickly around one point: artificial intelligence is moving faster than anyone anticipated and is already reshaping sales, marketing, and operations inside their businesses. The consensus: AI isn’t a future tool. It’s happening now, and companies that fail to adopt it risk quickly falling behind.

Dedicated chatbots for each project

A Mid-Atlantic design-build remodeler described formalizing AI adoption after discovering employees were using tools like ChatGPT independently and inconsistently. The company is now building a structured, company-wide AI framework with custom GPTs for each department and even per-project assistants for production teams. “Every department has low-hanging fruit that AI can help with immediately,” the executive said, from rendering upgrades to automated task lookups inside project management systems.

Call center improvements

An East Coast replacement contractor said the company has already felt transformative gains, particularly in marketing and call center operations. Instead of relying on a small number of expensive production shoots, the company now produces weekly AI-assisted creative, feeding social algorithms with far more varied content. But the biggest shift has been in the call center: all inbound and outbound calls now start with AI. The executive said their AI can schedule appointments, qualify leads, and produce quality-assurance feedback by analyzing 100% of call transcripts. “It’s your assistant,” he said. “Master it and you’re safe—ignore it and you fall behind.”

Keep the inputs and outputs real

On the design-build side, several leaders said AI is already improving communication and customer experience. Some mentioned AI-enhanced renderings and AI chatbots outperforming human responsiveness online. Others warned that adoption is happening faster than anyone expected. One Upper Midwest design-build leader emphasized the need to build internal “operating systems” to guide inputs and outputs, ensuring the models reinforce company values instead of drifting into inconsistent behavior.

Do people like chatbots better than humans?

Several participants discussed a cultural shift: many consumers now prefer AI interactions in early discovery phases because AI is patient, consistent, and instantly available. But that raised parallel concerns about the human side of remodeling. “Have we really lost our skill to listen and be patient?” one leader asked, noting that AI’s communication quality may highlight deficits in human service expectations.

Despite different approaches, everyone agreed that AI is moving far faster than previous technological shifts. The takeaway was clear: remodelers must integrate AI into daily operations now or risk playing catch-up in a sector that won’t slow down.