Artificial Intelligence (AI) has quickly become part of doing business, and many HVAC businesses are putting it to work. From handling after-hours calls and scheduling appointments to assisting with sales and improving customer interactions, AI has become another tool in the contractor’s toolbelt. As adoption continues to evolve, companies are discovering where AI can deliver the greatest value and how to earn employee buy-in.

The Mushroom Effect

Adoption of the tool often begins when a company has a problem to solve or believes a process could be done better. Others adopt it simply because they’re a tech-forward company. No matter the route of entry, many HVAC businesses find additional uses for the tool once they start using it. Like mushrooms after a rain, AI applications seem to pop up throughout the business once HVAC contractors see what’s possible.

Service Professionals, based in Northern New Jersey and aiming to be a one-stop shop for home service companies, formally began using AI in fall 2025. The 115-person company turned to AI to answer phones.

“At the time, we had an answering service, but we weren’t happy with it,” says COO Evin Bogda, who oversees the leadership team. “With AI, we can book directly to our CRM, so we don’t have to call back. We use the tool for after-hours and overflow.”

Today, Service Professionals is applying AI in multiple facets of its business, and it has impacted each department manager. 

“Every manager is now building their own dashboard, and it’s enhanced how they do the job and sped up nuanced tasks,” Bogda says. He singled out the marketing manager who was tinkering with AI before the company formally adopted an AI tool. “He uses AI to figure out how to manage marketing spend on a daily basis.”

Jolly Heating Air Plumbing and Electric, which serves Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and has been in business since 1979, began incorporating AI into its business in early 2024. Initially, the team added Dispatch AI and chat. The tool enabled Jolly to gain data, so they could have the right tech for the right job.

Today, Jolly uses AI (Probook) to answer chats and phone calls, book appointments, assist with dispatching, send outbound text messages for maintenance reminders, scheduling, and promotions, and generate KPI data. 

The growth pattern of AI usage at Leonard Splaine Co., a third-generation, family-owned company serving Northern Virginia since 1956, is similar. In 2024, the company dabbled in AI, using it to answer after-hours calls. However, their usage of AI grew in 2025, in part due to the hiring of GM Johnny Baker.

“We looked at what gaps existed in our business and how tech can fill those gaps,” Baker says.

Today, Leonard Splaine has a few different use cases for AI, including:

• Creating a summary and scorecard for every sales call. Management reviews the results with each Customer Service Representative (CSR) and provides them with feedback and coaching;
• Building tailored SMS campaigns based on potential customers’ needs and engagement; and
• Analyzing unfilled estimates to identify follow-up opportunities.

Not Plug and Play

“You need to have a thesis,” says Golden Rule President Mark Paup. Golden Rule operates a fleet of 100+ vehicles and serves Des Moines, Omaha, and the Salt Lake City metro area. Paup’s interest in AI came in early/mid 2024 while attending a Nexstar Network meeting.

“The presenter was adamant that companies need to develop a thesis for how they’ll implement AI,” Paup said. Golden Rule hired the presenter to help them develop their AI strategy and has been intentional about how it explores and deploys AI. 

“I ask everyone, ‘Do you have a thesis? Does your company know how and why it’s going to roll out AI? If not, you’re leaving it vulnerable to people sabotaging it.”

Paup and Golden Rule call their third-party AI dispatch design partners and not a plug-and-play. “It’s like a child when you hire it, as it has to learn people and processes. If you think it’s an adult from day one, you’re setting an impossible expectation.”

Scott Sharrock, COO of Jolly Heating Air Plumbing and Electric, also preaches patience and a recognition that AI won’t change everything on day one.

“We look at onboarding AI function like onboarding a normal employee,” Sharrock says. “We need to train and coach AI like a person, but once it is up to speed, it’s generally very good.” 

Build the Business, Get the Team on Board

There are many negative preconceptions about AI, including the idea that it will take away jobs. Therefore, HVAC businesses need to consider how they introduce AI.

“For some it will make sense, but for others it will be harder,” says Baker about getting employees on board. “We empasize that we’re using AI to make you better and our customers better. Hard stop.”

At Service Professionals, Bogda notes, they had many conversations with the leadership team about AI, and they’ve built up their skill set. Despite that, half the team was initially fearful.

“When people see what it can do, they become more willing and even excited. Once someone has a good idea and can execute it, it starts to spiral, so they’re more excited and so are the people around them,” Bogda says. 

Bogda emphasizes that the company is not looking to take jobs but to create agents who can do extra work and farm out the work they don’t want to do.

Golden Rule hasn’t reduced headcount since incorporating AI. “It’s elevated our staff and enables them to be more efficient and productive and multiplied their abilities ten times over,” Paup says. Since using AI for dispatch, the average ticket has increased 35%.

AI has also helped Paup with acquisition research. What used to take two days a week can be done in 20 minutes a day.

Jolly has also stacked up the wins since implementing AI. The company has grown by 50%, while adding no dispatch staff and only one CSR. The company has also seen 40% revenue growth. Finally, when the company used a third party to answer after-hours calls, the booking rate was 25-40%. With AI handling the calls, the booking rate has jumped to 60-70%.

The best booking rate, 85-90%, still comes when humans answer the phone. “We don’t want to get away from the full customer experience which includes the human element,” Sharrock says. The company emphasizes that philosophy throughout its AI rollout, helping employees see it as a tool rather than a threat. “Once employees saw it was a tool to improve and not replace them, they grew more comfortable.”

AI continues to evolve, and so does how HVAC businesses use it. They identify a business problem or a growth opportunity, invest time in training the technology, and prepare their employees to work alongside it. As AI matures and HVAC companies discover more opportunities to put it to work, they also need to remember it’s the people using the technology who ultimately determine its value.