About Augmented Trades
Augmented Trades exists for one reason: trade contractors don’t have time to evaluate every new AI tool that promises to transform their business. We do the digging while you do the heavy lifting…
Why This Site Exists
Most “AI for contractors” content in 2026 is one of two things: vendor marketing dressed up as advice, or generic AI-generated listicles padded with fabricated case studies. Neither helps a real plumber, electrician, or remodeler figure out which AI tools are worth their time.
Augmented Trades is the alternative. We cover AI tools and workflows for trade contractors honestly — what works, what doesn’t, what’s overhyped, and what’s worth the monthly subscription. No vendor scripts. No invented contractor success stories. No “revolutionary” anything.
Who This Is For
The audience is the working trade contractor — plumbers, electricians, HVAC pros, roofers, remodelers, custom home builders, landscapers, and general contractors. Mostly 1- to 50-employee shops. Mostly owner-operators or founders who handle estimating, quoting, scheduling, and customer communication themselves.
If you’re researching whether ChatGPT can write an estimate, whether Jobber or Housecall Pro fits your shop, or whether AI-powered review automation is worth $99/month — you’re in the right place.
What You’ll Find Here
Three categories of content:
Trade-specific guides. AI tools for plumbers, electricians, HVAC, remodelers, and other trades. Each guide focuses on what’s specifically useful for that trade, not generic advice repackaged with different headlines.
Comparison and decision content. Software comparisons, “DIY prompt vs. done-for-you software” breakdowns, and “when to upgrade” guides — built to help you make a real decision, not just summarize vendor websites.
Practical prompts and frameworks. Copy-paste prompt templates for ChatGPT and Claude, decision frameworks for choosing tools, and the kind of jobsite-grounded advice you’d get from a knowledgeable peer rather than a marketing department.
Editorial Standards
Three commitments that govern every piece of content on this site:
No fabrication. No invented contractor stories, no fake quotes, no made-up statistics. If a claim is presented as fact, it’s verified. If it’s an opinion or estimate, it’s labeled as such.
No undisclosed sponsored content. When an article links to a software platform that pays us a commission, that’s disclosed clearly at the top of the article — you’ll always know which links are affiliate links and which aren’t.
Honest pros and cons. Every tool covered has limitations. Every recommendation comes with the conditions where it doesn’t apply. The goal is helping you make the right decision for your shop, not maximizing affiliate clicks.
Why I Started This
Augmented Trades is written and published by Michael Carlin. I started it in early 2026 because the AI-tools-for-contractors content space was filling up with the same lazy patterns: vendor copy dressed as advice, fabricated case studies, and listicles padded with platforms nobody actually uses. As someone fascinated by how AI is reshaping the trades, I wanted to build something better — content contractors could actually use, written without the hot air that defines most of this category.
The unique angle: I’ve spent years managing major home projects from the homeowner side — basement remodels, hardscaping, landscaping overhauls, home theater builds. That perspective is rare in trade publications. Most content for contractors is written by people who have never been the customer making the hiring decision. Augmented Trades is built around helping good contractors operate the way their customers actually want to be served.
What I do and don’t do: I don’t test this software on job sites, and I don’t run a trade business. I read the pricing pages, the contracts, and the fine print, I compare what vendors actually publish, and I evaluate tools the way the customer hiring you does. Every figure in an article traces to a source you can check.
Get in Touch
If you have feedback on the site, want to suggest a tool we should cover, or want to tell me where I got something wrong — reach out. The site improves when readers push back.
Email: [email protected] X: @augmentedtrades LinkedIn: Augmented Trades
Affiliate Disclosure
Augmented Trades is a participant in affiliate programs from contractor software platforms including Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan, FieldCamp, Service Fusion, LeadTruffle, NiceJob, Rosie, and Projul. When you click a link to one of these platforms and make a qualifying purchase or sign up for a paid plan, Augmented Trades may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend tools we believe are genuinely useful for trade contractors. See our full disclosure for details.