Timely analysis of the software, AI, and tools shaping the trades — written for contractors who don’t have time to track every vendor launch. When a new AI feature ships, a platform changes its pricing, or a major tool gets discontinued, we cut through the marketing and tell you what it actually means for a shop your size. No hype, no recycled press releases — just what’s worth your attention and what you can safely ignore.
Housecall Pro’s new AI-focused CEO, ServiceTitan and Avoca’s billion-dollar bet on missed calls, Jobber’s big tease, and Meta paying to train the trades — what this week’s moves mean for your shop.
There are now twenty-six software tools we’ve researched and written about across seven trades — and if you’re a contractor trying to pick one on a Tuesday night after a full day on the tools, that’s not a library, it’s a wall. So we built something to fix it: the Augmented Trades Tool Finder. Seven … Read more
Housecall Pro and Jobber just shipped photo tools that overlap with what CompanyCam has always done. Here’s an honest, trade-by-trade read on which contractor photo app you actually need — and when paying for two makes sense.
Two reports landed this spring that, read together, say something uncomfortable: being excellent at the actual trade is now the price of entry, not the advantage. Most contractors can’t be found by the AI tools homeowners are starting to ask — and most aren’t yet using AI to run faster. A weekend read on the gap that’s quietly separating shops in 2026.
ServiceTitan’s 2026 report found that 74% of residential contractors see AI as key to efficiency — but only about 1 in 4 actually use it. Belief is nearly universal; adoption is still the exception. Here’s what that gap means for your shop, and why the contractors closing it first this year will be hard to catch next year.
When homeowners ask ChatGPT for a plumber or HVAC tech, a 2026 index found roughly 87% of independent contractors don’t show up at all. Here’s why — and how to become findable.
ServiceTitan’s 2026 report found 74% of contractors see AI as key to efficiency — but only about 25% actually use it. Meanwhile, roughly 87% of independent shops are invisible when homeowners ask AI who to call. The gap between believing in AI and being found by it is where the trades are quietly separating in 2026 — here’s what’s driving it and what to do about it.
Simpro, BuildOps, and ServiceTrade all launched AI agents within nine days of each other in May 2026 — but none of them are built for a shop running one to fifteen trucks. The AI features actually worth using are already sitting inside the tools you pay for every month. Here’s what to turn on this week, and what’s just marketing.