How Do ChatGPT and Remodeling Go Together?

Though our ethos as a publication is to share the truth, I must admit something. We lied to you.

If you’re confused, click here for part one of this two part series.

If you read our last article on AI technology, would you say it’s well written? What about compelling? Informed? Could you tell it was written by ChatGPT?

Everything from the headline to the description line, benefits to negatives, were all formed by sending artificial intelligence a simple prompt: Can you write a 350-word column, with a headline and deck, on the topic of AI technology such as ChatGPT in the remodeling industry with a funny, engaging, and edgy tone? 

ChatGPT is one of those technical advancements with widespread impact. There can likely be a way to use ChatGPT in any industry, and that’s no different for remodeling.

Amongst the various topics I’ve heard from remodelers recently, one creeping its way into the conversation is AI. It’s undoubtedly both an eerie and fascinating development. As a writer, the world of ChatGPT is terrifying. For a remodeling business owner, it can be exciting.

As a remodeling business owner, communication is top of the list of skills to master. Communication via email, in-person, in casual settings, and legally binding ones, like a project scope, all become of utmost importance.
 
To type a brief sentence and for an AI chatbot to spin that sentence into as many words as you need, adding additional details and some flair, and achieving your overall goal, can really transform your communications.

How Real Remodelers Use AI

For Wesley Crocket, co-owner of Chicago-based Mahogany Builders, ChatGPT helps him ensure his Ts are crossed and Is are dotted for project scopes. When a project scope wavers on being too general or not clear, it can hold significant weight in a project. Crocket has utilized ChatGPT to ensure scopes are easy to read and understand for his clients while including every important detail.

“Ask ChatGPT to write you a scope for that simple job and watch as it describes much of what you already know, but in a manner that might give you some additional clarity, context, and language you might find protects you better than what you are used to writing,” says Crocket.

Bobby Vickers, partner at Fort Worth, Texas-based Doorvana, shared his love for Jasper AI in a past Pro Remodeler Pro’s Pick. For Vickers, SEO-rich content is a big pull for clientele finding his company organically. Though it’s a skill he could outsource, he instead found Jasper AI. 

“Jasper helps us quickly create optimized, easy-to-read content. It has lowered our production costs while increasing quality and volume, saving us thousands of dollars,” Vickers said.

One winner in our annual Forty Under 40 program spent time curating a tech stack for their company, which includes ChatGPT. They use it similarly to Vickers where it creates blog content, but surprisingly to us, they used it to enhance their nomination details (which were great).

What Other Ways Can ChatGPT Help a Remodeler?

I went to the bot myself through the eyes of a remodeler testing the waters: What if you’re working on a grueling website redesign or rebranding, and want to refresh all the copy on your site? Well, if you’re the non-existent Father & Sons company in Omaha, your “About Me” page could sound something like this after providing basic details:

Going straight to the source, I asked ChatGPT how a business owner could use its services, and it replied: 

• Customer service
• Sales
• Marketing
• Employee training
• Data analysis
• Content creation (but we covered that)

Crocket suggests these specific prompts:

• “Create a training manual for my new hire, here are the things that are important to me to include.”
• "Outline a management training curriculum for new managers.”
• “Help me rewrite our contract to make it fit on one page.”
• “Help me make a spreadsheet with formulas that track job profitability.”
• “Help me write a cheerful response to the following email.”

Most of its functionalities can be used to answer questions and guide new employees or clients through decision-making, according to the bot itself. Also note the request for a funny, edgy, engaging tone with the part one column—I requested several different tones for the piece, showing how your specific request can drastically improve a response.

Again: Eerie, But Fascinating—And Not Foolproof

Like any technology, ChatGPT is not perfect. Playing around with the technology, Crocket requested ChatGPT to share what it knew about his company. The basics were correct: it’s a company in Chicago. But some basic information is incorrect. 

It is a supplemental tool, and in an industry all about personal relationships and communications, it will, for the foreseeable future, remain supplemental.