Where to start with AI if you're not a tech person

When we ask home service owners which questions they most want settled, one comes up again and again: where do I start if I'm not a tech person?

It's a fair question. Most of what you read about AI is written by tech people for tech people. You run crews, price jobs and fix things people can't fix themselves. You don't have time to become a software expert.

Good news. You don't need to.

Start with your week, not the tools

Our founder AK starts with one question for any owner: "where in my business do I wish I was more efficient?"

Then he gave the example most home service owners know by heart. You keep missing calls while you're in a basement. So you ask an AI assistant, in plain English, what tools solve that exact problem for a business your size. In his words, it can be solved in about 24 hours.

That's the whole method. Business problem first. Tool second.

A simple way to find your first problem

When AK was at Google during the rollout of AI tools, the best conversations didn't start with features. They started with a different question: "What are the things that you hate about your day?"

So grab a pen tonight and write down last week. Then circle the moments that made you groan:

• The call you missed because your hands were full
• The estimate you wrote at the kitchen table at 9 PM
• The invoices you did on Sunday
• The follow up you meant to send and forgot
• The review you never asked for

Pick one. Just one. The one that costs you the most money or the most sleep.

Then take four small steps

1. 1Ask an AI assistant to explain your options like you're busy. Tell it your line of work, your crew size and the problem. Ask for three ways to solve it, with rough costs.
2. 2Pick the simplest one. Not the fanciest. The one you'd actually use on a Tuesday.
3. 3Try it for thirty days. Month to month if you can.
4. 4Count one number. Missed calls, estimates sent, reviews received. Whatever matches the problem you circled.

If the number moves, keep it. If it doesn't, cancel it and try the next thing.

Nobody skips a step

There's a rule we use with every owner on our Growth Ladder. Nobody skips a tier. If you're still the only one who answers the phone, a fancy all in one system won't help. You'll own an expensive tool nobody uses.

So if you don't know where you stand yet, the very first step isn't AI at all. It's three columns on your phone: the date, where the lead came from and whether it closed. Count last month tonight. Everything after that gets easier.

You've learned harder things

Here's the part we want you to hear. If you can read a set of plans, price a job in your head and talk a nervous homeowner through a scary repair, you can learn this.

AI isn't a new trade. It's a new tool in the truck. You don't have to love it. You just have to find the one job it does better than your Sunday afternoons.

Not sure which problem to start with? Our free Growth Ladder assessment takes about four minutes and names the one thing to do about it on Monday.

Written by AKFounder of Momentum. Former Executive Sales Coach Lead at Google.