LOS ANGELES — ServiceTitan’s 2026 State of AI in the Trades report finds contractors shifting their focus from adopting artificial intelligence to implementing it effectively and measuring its business impact. While AI users report productivity gains, many contractors still struggle to identify practical applications and integrate the technology into existing operations.

The report draws on a survey of 1,017 verified U.S. residential and commercial contractors across eight trade categories, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing.

According to ServiceTitan, 66% of contractors using AI save at least three hours per week. However, fewer report improved profitability (47%) or increased revenue (43%), highlighting a gap between time savings and broader business results.

Workforce challenges are a leading reason contractors experiment with AI. Difficulty hiring and workforce shortages ranked first, cited by 37% of respondents. Another 34% cited the need to provide after-hours support, while 33% pointed to reducing operating costs.

Contractors also identified practical barriers to implementation. Understanding how to use AI in their businesses was the most frequently cited obstacle, at 44%. Another 43% cited a lack of clear use cases, and 40% pointed to difficulties integrating AI with existing software.

Cost concerns have declined compared with the previous survey. High purchase cost fell 12 percentage points to 17%, ranking last among the key barriers measured.

Contractors are also seeking technology tailored to their operations. Forty percent said clearer returns on investment would encourage greater AI adoption, while 38% identified AI trained on trade-specific data. Additionally, 61% of AI users prefer AI and automation built directly into their core software platforms.

Trust remains another challenge. Only 11% of contractors reported high or complete trust in the AI tools they use, while 58% reported little or no trust. Among AI users, 35% cited accuracy and reliability as their leading concern.

“Over the next few years, the businesses that pull ahead will be the ones that weave AI into the fabric of their operations,” said Abhishek Mathur, chief technology and product officer at ServiceTitan.

Thrive Analytics conducted the survey on behalf of ServiceTitan from May 26 to June 15, 2026. The research included contractors in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, garage doors, pest control, landscaping, and fire and life safety. The reported margin of error was plus or minus 3.7 percentage points for the full sample, with wider margins for subgroups.

ServiceTitan compared the findings with a previous survey of 1,032 contractors conducted from Oct. 23 to Nov. 12, 2025. The company noted that question wording changed slightly between survey waves.

The full report, The Update: 2026 State of AI in the Trades, is available from ServiceTitan.